Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to update the people living in Hasluck and in this House on how, in a few short months, this Labor government has taken long strides to implement the agenda we took to the election. All of us on this side of the chamber were elected, at least in part, on a promise to provide relief and a helping hand to working people, families and everyone left behind by the coalition's long decade of denial and neglect. We are getting on with that job, making a submission to Fair Work for an increase to minimum and award wages, making medicines and child care cheaper, and increasing pensions.

Hasluck has a burgeoning mortgage belt, with 55 per cent of residents having a mortgage, well above the national average of 35 per cent. Additionally, almost 20 per cent are renting. Three-quarters of the people in my community have been directly affected by the recent rises in interest rates.

In my role as member of the House economics committee, I questioned the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia in relation to the RBA's decisions to increase rates. I was able to represent the Hasluck mortgage holders and renters and to ensure that those who make the decisions to increase interest rates continue to do so with the full knowledge of the impact that these rises are having on the families and workers in Hasluck. I take my responsibility in this regard seriously, and I will keep presenting my constituents where decisions affect their livelihoods.

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