James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm looking forward to getting back home tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to one of my schools to talk to the year 12 debating team there. We've just had a really good lesson from the speakers opposite on how not to structure an argument. Some are purporting that the government is doing all these amazing things to solve the cost-of-living challenge. Others are claiming that the previous government, which finished 15 months ago, are to blame for it. Then a third cohort are suggesting that there is no cost-of-living challenge to speak of and that Australians are doing very well.

When I go out and doorknock in my electorate, which I do every week, very regularly, the No. 1 issue raised is the cost of living. Everyone says that it is very difficult to bring the household budget together at the moment. Difficult decisions are being made by families across my electorate, and I'm sure that's the case across the country. They're talking about cancelling family holidays. They're worrying about how much the next electricity bill will have gone up since the last one. To suggest that things are not tough out there indicates to me that members opposite are simply not listening to people in their electorates, because it is really tough at the moment.

Real wages are going backwards. That's something to be ashamed of, not to gloss over, not to dispute. It is a disgrace, and they should admit it. The Labor Party is in government and real wages are going backwards; they should hang their heads in shame. Rather than take responsibility for it and do something about it, they put it on a government that finished 15 months ago, being more interested in excuses than achievements. That says a lot about the priorities of a government, particularly ones that calls itself the Labor Party. They need a new name, because they're clearly not about the workers of this country when they are presiding over the deterioration of wages. Wages going backwards is appalling and something to be embarrassed about.

In my home state, electricity prices are going up by 24 per cent this quarter. We've heard members opposite brag about the changes they've made to the energy system in this country, changes that are resulting in a 24 per cent increase on the average bill in my home state. To be proud of that—

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