Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

Australians are hurting. Right across the country, Australians are facing insurmountable pressure through the impact of inflation growing to 6.8 per cent in April. The cost of day-to-day living is ever increasing. Rising mortgage rates, rising prices at the checkout and rising energy bills are chipping away at already tight budgets. Constituents in my electorate of Capricornia are looking down the barrel of a 28.7 per cent increase in their electricity bills come 1 July. That's an additional $429 a year they will need to find at a time when inflation is smashing their cost of living. They are also paying eight per cent more for their groceries. For anyone living on the margins, every increase in the essentials means one less basic necessity. To make ends meet, Australians are working longer hours. In fact, Australians are working the most hours since 1978, but they aren't any better off for it. Make no mistake: times are difficult.

This month the RBA announced for the 11th time another interest rate rise under this government. The decision to lift interest rates once again will leave many anxious as to what this means for the budget's bottom line. I anticipate there will be many difficult decisions being made in the coming months as families struggle to make ends meet. Australians haven't seen the light at the end of the tunnel, with additional interest rate rises in the pipeline. NAB is already predicting further hikes in July and August, and Westpac is signalling to customers to expect another increase.

Leading into May's budget, Australians hoped to see policies that would effectively fight inflation and ease the cost-of-living crisis. Instead this Labor government delivered more pain on the hip pocket. The additional rate hike is the proof in the pudding that Labor's budget did nothing to ease the burden of inflation on the economy. Since coming to govern Australia, Labor have delivered two budgets. It was clear the policies delivered by those opposite have done nothing to fight inflation prior to the budget being released in May. Market expectation was that additional rate rise would be unlikely. The dramatic turnaround on these expectations, including the Reserve Bank decision to increase interest rates, proves Labor to be complacent with combating inflation. Once again, the Reserve Bank is forced to do the heavy lifting. This is the consequence of a government that has let inflation get out of control and has failed to take responsibility for addressing the biggest economic challenge facing Australians.

Our economy is grinding to a halt as Labor allow inflation to consume the country. Because of Labor's complacency, Australians are saving less. The household saving ratio is 7.6 per cent lower than a year ago and almost 20 per cent lower than during the peak the pandemic. It's been 12 months since Labor was elected, and our nation is far worse off than a year ago. The March quarter annual accounts show that, after a year of Labor, the economy is growing at the slowest rate since September 2021, when both New South Wales and Victoria were in COVID lockdowns. At a time when Australians need every dollar they can get, their individual income tax has increased by 11.4 per cent since last year. That's less hard-earned money in the pockets of my constituents and more in the coffers of the government.

Before the election, the country was promised it would be easier under a Labor government. Is it though? The reality is different to the dream Labor sold the public. Mortgage repayments, gas and electricity bills, supermarket and petrol station receipts, and insurance premiums are the evidence that we are not living in the utopia Labor promised. The number of businesses going into insolvency has almost doubled in over 12 months. A record number of mortgage holders are struggling to make payments. A typical Australian family with a mortgage and children is $25,000 worse off than it was last year. These figures are alarming, and yet we have a government which is failing to take strong and decisive action on fighting inflation. Hardworking Australians are paying a heavy price for this government's failures.

Under a Labor government, Australians will see real wages continue to stagnate, the cost of living continue to rise, gas and electricity bills continue to skyrocket, more unemployed and inflation sitting at elevated levels. What is needed is policies that we know are proven to work—policies that will help strengthen our economy, that will make sure our hardworking middle class isn't forgotten and that will provide tax relief. The coalition will support our resources industry, our farmers and our domestic manufacturers, and we'll make sure they can thrive and prosper here in Australia. We'll back small businesses and support households and families across Australia who are doing it tough under Labor's cost-of-living crisis.

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