Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I think it's always important to remember why we're here, and the reason why we're here is to make sure that we can make a big difference on the lives of Australians and their households. Sometimes, it's a bit exhausting in this chamber, where you have this side and that side—it's a bit of a sling match—but the truth is what we want to do is make sure that we help household budgets. I know that our Treasurer is working hard every day to make sure that we are making a real, tangible difference, and we see him working close in hand with our finance minister.

Tackling inflation is not an easy job. I'm not going to pretend that it's as simple as one plus two. It's really challenging, and the thing that I know that we have been doing is being really intentional with the decisions that we make. I think it's also interesting to see that the Liberals have been stirred up by the monthly CPI indicators that were released yesterday. As the Treasurer has said many times, the monthly CPI number is volatile and it can jump around because not every item in the basket is updated each month. So I tell those opposite: hold your breath. Don't get ahead of yourselves, because the ABS figures also confirm that inflation would be even higher if it weren't for Labor's cost-of-living policies. We know that inflation at this time is almost half of what it was at the time of the last election—half. We also know that inflation is lower than it was when Labor came into office.

The government is fully aware that we need to moderate further and faster, and this government is doing its bit to see this happen. It's taking responsible and considered actions to tackle inflation by managing the economy at the same time as delivering important cost-of-living relief for millions of Australians. Labor's cost-of-living measures are designed to assist the economy and manage these inflation pressures. We understand that people are worried about paying their mortgages and concerned about interest rates. We are listening and we are acting. Over the past few months, I've spoken with many people in my community to understand their struggles. This year, I've had 15 mobile offices in my community, hearing from people in my community through surveys, through phone calls and also through knocking on the doors and speaking to businesses because that's what Labor does. We are proactive.

This is why we've decided to deliver cheaper medicine. This is why we're delivering on help to rent and we're helping with student debt. Every household in Australia will receive $300 in electricity relief. Luckily, in Western Australia we're teaming up with the Cook Labor state government and households will get $700 in WA. We have a strategy that is responsible and fair. This is what we're doing.

We need to make sure that we do this in ways that protect the economy, not destroy it, which is what the Liberals threatened to do with the release of their mad policy on nuclear energy. It is a policy that would put enormous pressures on cost, and they're not even suggesting that the private sector do this. The private sector won't do it, because it's a stupid idea and the economics do not stack up. It will take longer, it will cost more, it will deliver less, and they want to do it on the taxpayers' purse. It is outrageous. The nuclear energy policy will deliver less because it won't be ready for decades. It will cost more because it is the most expensive form of energy. We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, and what do they come up with? 'Let's get the most expensive thing off the shelf!' Like, please, come on.

The truth is, in WA, in Australia, people know what a fake looks like. We saw that at the last election. People said to our former prime minister Scott Morrison, 'That's a fake.' And you know what? The people of Australia know that nuclear is not a real policy; it is a fake policy. I don't know why they're putting all their eggs in this one nuclear basket. If I had my ovary eggs in that nuclear basket, I wouldn't want that happening! So they were wrong, and they continue to make wrong decisions. I am proud of this Labor government.

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