Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

The cost of living has spiralled out of control throughout the country. What have this Labor government been doing? Labor have stated that they've made medications cheaper. That's not hard. They have just continued the former government's policy—copy and paste, green tick, continue. Meanwhile the new government claim the regular indexation of pensions as delivering a win. It's great that pensioners are getting more money, but it happens automatically twice a year. It really is going up with the wild levels of inflation that we're having.

Labor is saying that Australians have to wait years before they get any cost-of-living relief. Australians cannot wait a year. They need action now. Two hundred and seventy-five dollars off your electricity bills—that's what was promised by this Labor government. This has gone. It was walked away from. It has been abandoned. They lied to the people of Australia. 'More secure, well-paid jobs' is what we've been hearing. You have inherited unemployment at its lowest rate in 50 years. The Prime Minister needs to come clean to the Australian people instead of kicking the can down the road with his summits, his photo ops, getting Shaq down and shutting down debate with his smoke-and-mirror politics of saying he's doing better but sitting on his hands while everyday Australians suffer.

Australians are sick of the Treasurer standing in front of the camera and offering an update on how bad things are. Australians know this when their pay hits their account and it's gone before they can go to the petrol station to fill up their car or the shops to buy groceries. They know this every time the postie drops off their electricity, insurance or rate bills. What is Labor's plan? What is the solution going forward? Australians want outcomes and solutions, not more of the Treasurer's excuses. Australians are looking for relief now, not next month, next year or in two years. A lot of families can't wait that long.

Instead of hitting the ground running, Labor has offered Australians 100 days of excuses. The cost-of-living pressures are hitting hard around Australia and the electorate of Herbert isn't immune. The people of Townsville are doing it tough with higher power prices, higher fuel bills and higher grocery bills. In July a study found that a basket of groceries in Townsville had increased by 4.2 per cent in just a six-week period, which is why food charities are having to work so much harder to keep up with the demand. Just before coming down to this fortnight's sitting I dropped into the ADRA food pantry, which provides low-cost groceries for those who need them the most. They do an amazing job, but they have queues lined up down the road from six in the morning. There are lines out the door. There are people picking up canned food and grabbing bread, and young mums grabbing nappies. The supermarkets are too expensive. These are the challenges that people are facing in Townsville. There is an average of 12 to 15 new registrations for families signing up to shop at the pantry. They have delivered more than 5,000 boxes of food to people who can't afford to shop anywhere else.

The constant increase in numbers demonstrates that we need to do more to ease the cost of living. We need a solution to ensure that the lines don't even get busier and longer in places like ADRA's food pantry. We need the government to act. The people of Townsville and our nation need action now.

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