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

I rise to speak in favour of this matter of public importance, and I thank the shadow Treasurer for bringing it forward: that under this government Australia has experienced the largest decline in living standards of any advanced economy in the OECD.

I've just been present in this place to hear from the member for Jagajaga, who said that she was rising to speak against this MPI. The member for Jagajaga went through a whole range of areas in which she says that the government is improving the lives of Australians. What she failed to address though was the whole topic of this matter of public importance, which is: if the government is doing such a fantastic job, why is it that we are now facing the largest decline in living standards of any of our peers across the OECD?

I'll just remind the member for Jagajaga of what the then opposition leader now Prime Minister said on 17 March 2022: 'a Labor government will lower the cost of living.' We are now halfway through this government's first time, and what do we have? We have some of the worst economic indicators, not just in recent Australian history but when compared to the rest of the world, to other OECD nations, to our peers. I'll mention just some of them: Spain, Chile, the United States, Slovenia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Denmark, France, Belgium, Finland, Hungary.

Despite promising to ease cost-of-living pressures, under this Prime Minister Australians are going backwards and will continue to go backwards. In the 12 months to June of this year, Australian household income slumped by 5.1 per cent. It was the biggest fall amongst OECD nations. And there are three indicators for this: high inflation, declining real wages and falling productivity.

Australians' inflation is also higher than almost any other advanced economy. This includes the US, Canada, France and Germany. So, when the Prime Minister turns around and says: 'Oh, the inflation rate? A lot of these factors are from matters going on overseas, from conflicts overseas', why is it that our OECD peers are not so affected? We are affected more because it is not anything to do now with overseas conflict; it is instead due to the government's financial mismanagement and inability to rein in inflation. It's its spending in the wrong areas. It is spending that is not improving the lives of Australians, and it is not doing anything to increase productivity in this country.

Another pre-election promise of the Prime Minister was that Labor has 'real, lasting plans for cheaper mortgages.' Well, mortgages have now increased and housing prices have increased by more than 9.6 per cent. And I know in my electorate of Hughes average mortgages of $750,000 are, now, after 12 interest rate rises under this government's watch, $24,000 a year more than they were in April of last year.

While we're talking about inflation, I am reminded of a certain episode in The West Wing. There are probably many in this place on my side and on the other side who enjoyed The West Wing. I'm reminded of Josh Lyman getting himself caught in a bit of trouble. He ended up having to admit that there was a president's secret plan to fight inflation. Because of the silence on the other side about inflation, I'm wondering if there is, in fact, a prime minister's secret plan to fight inflation and, if there is that secret plan, when the Prime Minister will share it with the country and with those of us here.

It's not just us saying this—independent economist Chris Richardson told the Australian newspaper, and this is to do with conflicts overseas: 'inflation has locked up, and it's not just petrol, it's not just the Middle East; it is popping up in new areas of the Australian economy and that makes it a bigger juggle.' Under this government, Australia has experienced the largest decline in living standards of any advanced economy in the OECD. This is a national disgrace.

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