Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

The Assistant Treasurer needs to be a little bit careful when he disparages Drongo. I know it's a popular term in the Australian vernacular, but it was a very good racehorse in the 1920s. Indeed it was. It was by the Melbourne Cup runner Lanius. It came midfield. It also ran in the Melbourne Cup. It ran second in the Victoria Derby, if my memory is correct.

Speaking of horses and the Melbourne Cup, last Tuesday we had the rates that stopped the nation. Another rate rise on Labor's watch. That makes it a dirty dozen. That makes it 12 rate rises under those opposite. Those opposite, who came into power promising that life would be better. Those opposite, who came into power promising that life would be cheaper. Those opposite, who came into power promising a $275 household power bill cut. How did that go? We know how that went. Under the coalition, in our last term, power prices went down eight per cent. Under those opposite, they've gone up a thousand dollars per household. It's just not good enough.

The Assistant Treasurer can disparage us all he likes and disparage former racehorses—he can do whatever he likes—but the facts are clear: those now in government have done a pretty dodgy job when it comes to the cost of living, and a pretty dodgy job when it comes to making sure that the economy runs efficiently.

But don't take my word for it, because all politics is local. A constituent, Kylie Downes, a Parkes mum, phoned my office the other day. She contacted my office and told my staff that she upgraded her electrical appliances to more energy efficient versions. She swapped from electric hot water to gas. She's having to do all of these things to try and make ends meet, and yet her quarterly power bill from the end of April to the end of July almost doubled. It almost doubled, from $717 in 2022 to more than $1,200 in 2023. Kylie's wondering where her $275 power bill cut is. She's wondering where that is.

But it's not just Kylie. It's people right across Australia. It's people those opposite are not listening to, and they'd be in each and every one of your electorates. You should get out a little bit more often and not just talk at your constituents but listen to them. Listen to them and what they are saying about their power bills. Listen to them about what they're saying every time they go to the bowser and fill up with fuel. Listen to them every time they go to the supermarket and get a trolley full of groceries, because it's costing more. Yet you're putting in policies that are just going to cost everyday, ordinary Australians, like Kylie and so many others besides, more and more every time they reach into their purse and every time they reach into their wallet. They're having to shell out more and more. This Christmas it's going to be so tough for so many people.

Again, don't just take my word for it. Listen to the advice from the Chief Executive Officer of the New South Wales Council of Social Services, Joanna Quilty. She said, 'We knew things were bad, but this is the worst we have seen in many years.' The member for Hume, the shadow Treasurer, was right when he said more and more people are looking to the services provided by St Vinnies, looking to the services provided by the Salvos and looking to the services provided for each and all of our communities. Ms Quilty said people are hanging on by a knife's edge. This isn't necessary. It's because of the policies of those opposite.

Our farmers are doing it tough. Just the other day sheep, which were once worth more than $200 a head, sold in Wagga Wagga for a dollar a head. How can farmers sustain that? How can they live on that? Yet those opposite are going to put a ban on live exports. They want to take the water away from our farmers and make it so much tougher to grow food and fibre. Have a rethink. Stop, pause and reflect about what you're doing to the Australian economy and what you're doing to the Australian people—mums like Kylie in Parkes and people in your electorates. Start listening.

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