Simon Kennedy (Cook, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Dobell is right: they're trying. But they're not trying hard enough. The Governor of the Reserve Bank was taking the energy subsidies, for example, and saying they're going to look straight through them. They're a one-off subsidy and will have no effect on recurring inflation. So the government are trying, but they're not trying hard enough.

Let me give you a story that brings the true cost-of-living crisis and failure of the Albanese Labor government to life. Last week a woman contacted my office. She lives in Gymea. She's struggling to make ends meet. She looks after her severely disabled autistic son. Her rent has been dramatically increased, just a bit above the 14 per cent we're getting a year. She can't afford to pay her bills. She's trying to choose between rent, food and energy bills, and St Vincent de Paul in Gymea are trying to help her. They came as well to my office. This woman and her son are now facing homelessness. They're trying to get help from the state government. They can't find it, and they've come to my office as a last resort. When I speak to St Vincent de Paul in Gymea, this is one of many stories they're facing in my community.

Make no mistake: Australian households are in a recession, and they have been for over a year, and Australian households feel it. Australians feel it when they're paying their energy bills. They're up over 20 per cent. Australians feel it when they're paying their rent. It's up over 14 per cent. Australians feel it when they're paying their mortgage. They're paying more than $35,000 than they were two years ago. Australians feel it when they're buying their groceries. Cereal is up over 25 per cent in the last two years. Australians feeling when they pay their income tax. They're paying 20 per cent more in personal income tax because of bracket creep than they were two years ago. And Australian first home owners feel it because they can't save for a home. Australians' savings are down 10 per cent.

Make no mistake: this is the fault of the Labor government. Australia has higher inflation than comparable economies. Australia's inflation is going up while in the rest of the world it is going down. The UK, the United States, across the ditch in New Zealand, Canada and the euro area all have lower inflation than Australia. Unlike Australia, their inflation is dropping. So why is Australia's inflation continuing to rise? Well, it's not the fault of the average Australian, and it's certainly not the fault of my constituent in Gymea. The Labor Party's spending addiction is driving up the cost of living for average Australians. Since coming to government, the Labor government has passed expansionary budgets—$315 billion in extra government spending. That's almost $30,000 per household. To all the Australian households out there, would you rather the Albanese government spent this extra $315 billion, $30,000 for each household, or would you rather have it in the bank? Not only did you not get the $30,000; you are being hit with higher prices, higher interest rates and more pain. The average Australian is literally paying higher prices for the Labor Party's bad decisions.

From the last budget, we can see what Anthony Albanese believes will solve this cost-of-living crisis. What's his answer? More government. What is his answer to the higher energy costs? A $300 subsidy. What is his answer to the higher childcare costs? More subsidies. What is his answer to low homeownership? The government will take equity in your home.

In the Liberal Party we have different answers. While the Labor Party believes the answer to higher energy prices is a $300 subsidy, the Liberals believe in actually lowering prices. While the Labor Party believes the answer to higher childcare costs is greater childcare subsidies, the Liberal Party believes in actually lowering prices. The Labor Party believes the answer to low homeownership is the government owning part of your house. The Liberal Party believes it's lowering housing prices.

So how do we actually lower energy prices, child care or housing? We increase the supply. We want to increase the supply of clean and reliable energy, and not by closing power plants and not by writing off an entire technology before properly investigating it. We lower childcare prices by creating incentives for the private sector to build more childcare centres, not just subsidising demand.

Instead of addressing the underlying problem, Labor believes in giving out subsidy after subsidy, but what will the Labor government do when the money runs out? When the subsidies run out, the underlying issues will still remain and average Australians will be left to pay the price.

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