Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts) Bill 2024 is an important piece of legislation to speak on, and there are two fundamental questions that need to be asked when we speak on this legislation. I noticed that those opposite are focusing on one—the tax cuts and the changes, and I will get to those. They're conveniently ignoring the other question that the Australian people are asking, and that goes to trust and integrity: why has the Prime Minister broken his word yet again on a significant commitment that he made over 100 times? We just heard the assistant Treasurer talk about this package and how wonderful it is. It raises the question: if it was so wonderful, why didn't they take it to the last election? Or the one before that? And why did the Prime Minister promise 100 times not to change it and not to break his word? 'My word is my bond.' That's what we will look at.

I have to admit that I don't know the Prime Minister that well, I haven't had the opportunity to spend time talking to him in the House. But I do know someone who knows him quite well: the former Guardian editor, now Labor media adviser, Katharine Murphy. She knows the Prime Minister very well, as we found out in the last few weeks. How did she describe this Prime Minister in late 2022? This is a direct quote from the Labor media adviser, Katharine Murphy, when she was the Guardian editor:

Power is his natural habitat, and he's spent a lifetime studying all its forms, covert and overt. In order of preference, Albanese is fascinated by power, politics, parliament, policy and process.

In that couple of sentences, she has outlined why this decision was made. It was about power and it was about politics. It was about a prime minister who was losing the support of his backbench because he has been distracted for the last 18 months and hasn't been addressing the cost-of-living crisis.

And this is about the politics of it for this Prime Minister. Let's think back to the words of the ALP national secretary, Paul Erickson, in their party room, which someone was nice enough to leak out to us and we were able to see it in the media. I quote from Paul Erickson, and it's really important that we listen to his words: ' You must look like you're responding, first and foremost.' That was about the cost of living. He said, 'You must "look like"'. It was not, 'You must solve this problem,' it was, 'You must look like you are responding.' That's what we're seeing today, and in question time, from all of those opposite. They're talking about what they're looking like and what they're doing. We heard from many of those opposite before Christmas. Here is a quote from an MP on the Labor backbench who wasn't prepared to put their name to it:

People just don't see us doing anything on issues for them.

There was a long list. The member for Bennelong, the member for Hunter, the member for Lyons and the member for Macarthur all spoke out publicly about this government being distracted and not focused on the cost of living post the Voice referendum. There were many other unnamed backbenchers that were making the same noises. That's what this is about. This Prime Minister broke his word to the Australian people. The question comes, and many in my community have asked me: 'I'm going to benefit. I'm happy. I need every dollar I can get, given everything is going up and up, but how do I trust this Prime Minister? What's he going to break his promise on next?'

But it's worse than that. It's worse than the fact that he broke his promise. You'd think it couldn't be, but it is. This is classic Labor politics. It's all about the headline. It's all about the spin. It's about the song and dance of what they're delivering. But let's understand what is being delivered by this government when it comes to cost-of-living relief. There is not an extra dollar for the Australian people today or all of February, March, April, May or June. The Australian people have to wait until 1 July to see any kind of relief from this government. When 1 July comes, what relief do they see from this government? Let's be clear: every dollar they can get is crucial, because this incompetent government that continues to make the wrong decisions is driving prices up for all Australians. They get $15 a week in five months. In the last week in my community, petrol was at $2.19 a litre, so $15 a week gets you seven litres of petrol. We don't have great public transport. We're out of the outer suburbs. You've got to drive everywhere. It doesn't get you very far. If it gets you from one side of the electorate to the other, you're very lucky.

It's quite interesting that last week the Treasurer talked about 'a day late and a dollar short'. I couldn't help but laugh, because last weekend that's exactly how someone in my community described this measure from this government. They're a day late and a dollar short when it comes to the cost of living. They've said 'cost of living' and 'middle Australia' more in the last week and a day in this House than they have in the 18 months before that, because they weren't focused on it. The Prime Minister himself at the Press Club admitted that circumstances have changed because his policies are failing. It is the incompetence of this government that is driving the cost of living up.

Not only are they making decisions that are driving energy up, inflation up and groceries up; they're also doing the old trick of taking with one hand and giving back with the other. In July and August of last year, many Australians were shocked, low- and middle-income earners in particular, when they got their tax return back. They were expecting about $1,500 or $1,600, but it wasn't there. That was because this government made a decision to let the low- and middle-income offset lapse. They took that money away from low- and middle-income Australians—$1,500 last year from 1 July—when Australians needed it. And they're now asking the Australian people to be grateful for the $804, the $15 a week, they're giving back after taking that $1,500. But the Australian people know how tough it is, that they need support, and that this government has abandoned them.

The CPI has increased by almost 10 per cent. If you're on the average salary, of $85,000, your purchasing power since Labor has come to government has dropped by $7,600, and this government says, 'Be thankful for $15 a week in five months time.' Food's gone up by more than nine per cent. Housing's gone up by over 12 per cent. Electricity has gone up by 23 per cent. Gas has gone up by 29 per cent. If you've got a home loan and a mortgage, you've experienced 12 interest rate rises under this government. Rents are at their highest since 2009. But this Prime Minister and this government are saying: 'Be thankful for $15 a week in five months time. Be thankful for that.'

But let's be clear: all of these increases are happening because we've got a weak Prime Minister who's not across the detail and is making decision after decision that is making it harder for the Australian public. He admitted that himself at the Press Club quite a few weeks ago. He's been distracted, and the Australian people are paying for it. As the Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock, said in November last year:

… the remaining inflation challenge we are dealing with is increasingly homegrown and demand driven.

She is also reported as indicating:

While labour costs are a big part of the increase, huge increases in the cost of energy, rent, and insurance are all keeping inflation higher for longer. In the September inflation report, energy … prices increased more than 12% year-on-year and insurance premia increased more than 8% year-on-year.

But be thankful for your $15-a-week increase in five months time. I don't think you could be more out of touch than this Prime Minister and this government.

It's easy to talk about the numbers and the statistics, but I want to spend a moment to share some of the stories from my community. From a constituent in Healesville: 'I just received my car insurance renewal, with an annual increase from $971 to $1,690. These increases are not random. My circle of friends are all complaining of general increases of 60, 70, 80 per cent. Outrageous in these tough times.' From a constituent in the Upper Yarra, who recently turned 18: 'The cost-of-living crisis is getting far too out of hand, and Australians need some relief. This is my first year working. I work for $21.50 an hour in a factory far, far away from my home. My family has always struggled financially, but all of us receive an income. And, despite that, money still doesn't work out. I'm tired of worrying about this stuff. It's an extra burden when I'm meant to be in the funnest stage of my life. And the same goes for all the other kids my age in the Yarra Valley.' That's what we need. We need decisions that will actually address this cost-of-living crisis. The $15 a week in five months time is absolutely better than nothing, because who knows how expensive it will be to live in Australia in another five months under this government?

We talk about trust—and we've already seen the Prime Minister break his word. That leads to the other big question the Australian people have: are they prepared, at the next election, to write a blank cheque to this Prime Minister for higher taxes? That's what a vote for Anthony Albanese and the Labor government at the next election would mean. You'd be giving him a blank cheque for higher taxes, because he's shown that he's prepared to break his word if circumstances change. This will embolden him to do it again. Once you lie once, it's so much easier to do it again—

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