Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about this motion that deals with the cost of living. At the outset, I will say that it is refreshing to see a member of the Albanese Labor government who now actually wants to bring forward a discussion on the cost of living. However, with all respect to the member for Hasluck, this motion does not deal with the issues on the cost of living that I am hearing about throughout my electorate.

What is not being spoken about in this motion is telling. It does not talk about Australian families struggling daily with the escalating costs of living, which has been occurring since May last year. It does not talk about the cost of energy. It does not talk about mortgage repayments. It does not talk about rents. It does not talk about the cost of fuel, the increasing cost at the supermarket check-out or the increasing cost of insurance premiums. It does not talk about the fact that real wages have dropped under the Albanese Labor government. It does not talk about productivity and what plan the government has, if any, to address productivity. It does not talk, overall, about what the government's intention is to combat inflation.

Let's turn to some of these headline issues. Australians are now paying more than ever for their electricity. There is still no effective energy plan. The energy plan that has been introduced by Minister Bowen, instead of delivering the promised $275 cut, means that Australians are now paying at least 15 per cent more in energy costs than they were paying one year ago. There is no sign of any reduction in gas costs, which are up by 14 per cent on latest data. Fuel prices continue to climb, with unleaded petrol typically past $2 a litre. In my electorate, the electorate of Hughes, I have not been able to find a service station where we can purchase petrol for under $2.36 a litre, and rates are significantly higher in the regions.

A third of my electorate hold a mortgage. An average Australian family with a mortgage of $750,000 is now paying $22,000 more a year than they were just a year ago. And the Albanese Labor government has not said what it is going to do to help these Australians. Australians in private rentals are paying on average at least 15 per cent more than they were a year ago. The government needs to put forward a back-to-basics economic agenda that will put fighting inflation and driving productivity growth at its centre. Inflation, overregulation and low productivity are the main problems now facing the Australian economy.

Turning to productivity, we are now in what is called a per capita recession. That means we've had two quarters where growth per person, growth per Australian, is negative. Outside of the pandemic, this is the first per capita recession we've had since the mid 2000s. This means that economic output per person is going backwards. And we've heard nothing from the Albanese Labor government. What assistance is it going to give to business for this? What assistance is it going to give to increase the productivity of all Australians?

This is what Australian families and businesses are feeling every day. It's what people in my electorate of Hughes have been telling me as I've been moving around the electorate. Cost-of-living pressures are not just an economic issue; they're also a social issue. Lifeline and beyondblue are now reporting that more than 80 per cent of calls are being made by Australians saying they are suffering from cost-of-living stress and personal debt. So, this has now moved beyond just an economic argument. It is now something that this government needs to address. It needs to address it quickly. It needs to stop being distracted by other issues and stop trying to distract Australians, because Australians know what their real issue is, and their real issue is cost of living.

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