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

Another motion about economic management from those opposite. Another motion patting themselves on the back for the great job they're doing, when in reality the Australian people are suffering. We all know there's not one Australian who's doing better today than when Anthony Albanese and Labor came to government in 2022, but those opposite continue to pat themselves on the back, and my community know that it's all spin. Let's be specific and look at point (2)(b)(iii): 'saved and reprioritised $77.4 billion of spending since coming to government'. They're fancy words, but my community knows what that means. That's $100 million cut from my community for the roads for community program. That's $100 million taken out of Casey, the Yarra Ranges, the Yarra Valley and the Dandenongs and given to Daniel Andrews, the state Labor government and the Suburban Rail Loop. That's what has happened for my community.

To be clear: it is a program that was committed to in 2019, with bipartisan support, for 10 years. The then shadow minister for infrastructure, now the Prime Minister, committed to that funding. It was a project that was being delivered on time and on budget. It was a project that the department itself admitted improved the safety of residents in the Yarra Ranges, the Dandenong Ranges and Casey. It was a program that was delivering economic benefits and productivity growth. It was ensuring that families in my community could play in their front yard without their children or their grandchildren being covered in dust and inhaling that dust. What did those opposite do when they came to power? They cut that money. They cut that $100 million, despite agreeing to it.

That's why I've been campaigning ever since to get it renewed, to get the money put back into the budget. It's why I had the shadow assistant minister for infrastructure, Tony Pasin, out with me last week talking to residents. That's why I'm urging residents to go to our national road survey and add their voice to this petition. This government does not care about infrastructure spending unless it's for the Suburban Rail Loop or the inner city. They don't even care about the west. They were happy to pull lots of funding out of the west, like the airport rail link. One project in Victoria is all they care about—and they can't deliver that, because none of their projects are being delivered on time. They pat themselves on the back at a time when my community is struggling. Everyone is struggling.

I want to read a quote from Thomas, who is 18, from Wesburn. He wrote to me about his struggles: '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 in Wesburn. My family has always struggled financially, but all of us receive an income, and, despite that, money still doesn't work out. I don't know what relief could seriously be provided to our citizens, but it's more than overdue for a mention to the powers that be. I'm tired of worrying about this stuff. It's an extra burden when I'm meant to be at the funnest stage of my life. The same goes for all the other kids my age in the Yarra Valley.' Thank you, Thomas, for sharing your story as we stand and have to listen to those opposite telling us how the Australian people have never had it better.

Let's be clear: last year their answer to the cost-of-living crisis was to take away $1,500 in tax relief from the Australian people. They let that measure lapse last year. They took away $1,500 from taxpayers on low and middle incomes. Then, this year, the Prime Minister broke his word in January, and he celebrated breaking his word. He's making you wait five months, until 1 July, to get $15 a week. To add salt to that wound, the government—the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and those opposite—then spent $40 million of taxpayer money to tell everyone about the tax cut that they're going to get anyway and to tell them about $15 a week. To make it even worse, at the same time that they committed $40 million to selling their broken promise, they committed $14 million to food banks across the country. It tells you everything you need to know about this government. It's all spin and misinformation; it's nothing for the Australian people.

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