Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) a report released on 7 February 2024 by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) on the Australian Passport Office revealed that passport applications were not being processed in a 'timely and resource efficient manner';

(b) since being elected, the Government has hiked up the price of Australian adult passports of 10 years by $38 and is planning for a second increase this year of $52 from 1 July 2024;

(c) while the Treasurer has called the price hike a 'relatively modest' change, Australians will be paying 29 per cent more to get their passports during a cost of living crunch; and

(d) Australians already pay more for their holiday thanks to the Government blocking airline competition and now they are paying more just to be allowed to leave the country; and

(2) calls on the Government to reverse their big passport price hike until they comprehensively respond to the ANAO recommendations so that Australians get a fair deal on passports.

Australians are paying more for their passports under this Albanese Labor government in return for what is a woefully inefficient service. A report released on 7 February by the Australian National Audit Office on the Australian Passport Office has revealed: 'Passport applications are not being processed in a time and resource efficient manner.' The report also found that the approach of the Australian Passport Office was not customer focused. Since being elected, Labor has hiked up the price for Australians, with an adult passport for 10 years going up by $38. If that weren't enough, they announced in MYEFO in December last year that there would be a second increase of 15 per cent from 1 July 2024. Fifteen per cent on an adult passport for 10 years is $52. That means Australians will be paying almost $400 for a passport from 1 July.

If we think of a typical Australian family of four—two adults and two children—to get those passports, it's going to cost almost $1,200. To make matters worse, let's say that someone needed their passport urgently—the priority processing fee has gone up by $15. Take into account the 1 July increase, and you're looking at a $290 processing fee. That, with a 10-year passport, will now cost you $688. The icing on the cake—or, rather, the next big slap in the face—was that the Treasurer called the 15 per cent increase 'relatively modest'. In a desperate cash grab, the Albanese Labor government has twice hiked the price of passports, with a third increase to come, yet this report reveals that Australians are forking out more just to wait longer for their passports. The ANAO report recorded that 24 per cent of passport applications for the 2022-23 financial year took longer than six weeks to process. The joke of the analysis is that the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs put out a statement in March 2023 stating:

The Albanese Government is helping more Australians get travelling again, with passport wait times now back to pre-COVID normal.

We cannot deny that there was a huge surge in passport applications following a hiatus during the COVID years. However, this does not explain the Labor government's intent to keep hiking up prices even after demand has returned to pre-COVID levels.

It seems that the Albanese Labor government has no shame in slugging Australians with higher passport fees whilst delivering woefully inadequate services during our cost-of-living crisis. The cost of international travel has increased by 23 per cent in 15 months, yet the Labor government prevented competition by blocking a bid by Qatar Airways for more flights. Australians already pay more for their holiday thanks to Labor blocking airline competition. Now they're paying more just to be allowed to leave the country.

While this government talks up a big cost-of living-relief agenda, we know that when Labor gives with one hand it will take twice as much from you with the other. We saw it recently with the spin on the tax cuts, where a $15-a-week tax relief measure was billed as revolutionary. Whilst the relief is welcome, net disposable income for the Australian family has fallen by $8,000, almost $160 a week, under this Labor government. During a cost-of living-crunch, the Albanese Labor government is putting a holiday even further out of reach for hardworking Australians.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has accepted all nine recommendations of the ANAO report pushing for:

… improving the measurement of time efficiency, a greater focus on resource efficiency, improved complaints handling and improving the department's time and resource efficiency.

The Albanese Labor government should reverse their big passport price hikes until they have comprehensively responded to these recommendations so that Australians can get a fair deal on passports, not just a costly, stressful mess. At a time when Australians are struggling with a cost-of-living crisis, another price hike is the last thing young families want. Whether it's the introduction of a new tax or a price hike, life will always be more expensive under Labor. So, yet again, we see the true colours of a Labor government shining through. Not only are they failing to deliver the actual service that Australians deserve and need in a timely fashion but we are all paying more.

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