Keith Wolahan (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'll talk to your children, too! I want to speak to Victorian families right now, because they are doing it tough. Those of us who sit in this place have a privileged position; we are paid very well for what we do. But let's not forget that the average salary in Australia is half of what we get—$95,000. The median salary is $65,000—even less. When you think about what 'median' means, it means half of Australians earn less and half earn more. They are facing serious decisions and consequences of this inflation crisis. It's easy to talk about it in an academic way, but it has consequences for families who are feeling that stress and pain, who are losing sleep and who are feeling shame—and they shouldn't because it's not their fault. Particularly over school holidays, I have been overwhelmed by the phone calls and the conversations with Victorian families who are telling me, in heartbreaking circumstances, what they have to put back on the shelf and what they have to tell their children over these school holidays.

Like many, I have food banks in my electorate, and one told me they have never seen numbers like they have now—never. In one food bank in Templestowe, they are servicing 250 people in four hours; that's about 75 families. In another, there are queues out the car park. When you stand there and see the good work that the volunteers do at those food banks, more often than not they are helping families that have had a marriage breakdown, unemployment or illness. It is tough enough with two income earners in a family, but when one of those three things happens—and statistically they do—it sends people over the edge. Another food bank told me about a school that they support where they provide fruit in a bowl—fresh fruit. What they have heard from the teachers and the staff at that school is that as soon as they put it out it disappears.

What should we take from that? This isn't just about luxury items. We are seeing Australians right now hurting so much that young Australians at school are not getting fresh food. Families are putting meat, eggs and chicken back on the shelf because they cannot afford it. We are seeing parents who will go back to school a week after next in Victoria and say, 'I am really sorry that you cannot go on that camp.' And we see up here fewer schoolchildren coming to visit this place. One of the reasons we are seeing fewer is that families cannot afford it. They cannot afford it. That shouldn't be the Australia that we live in in 2024.

I see parents say, 'I can't afford the musical instrument or the musical lessons that you had.' You may not know it, but right now there's a soccer tournament on in Europe, and that is one of the most popular sports in my electorate. Many are losing sleep, staying up to watch the quarterfinals of the European cup. But I have heard again and again that families have had to pull their children out of soccer because it's not subsidised like AFL. It's more expensive, and they can't afford it. For the children in my electorate, that is heartbreaking. That's their dream. They want to be the next Messi or the next Ronaldo. It's a sport that they love, and they can't afford to play it. For the Victorian families in my electorate and for those that are running small businesses—and so many do: you are facing an increase in taxes that other states don't have. And that is why we have seen a flight of small businesses out of Victoria. We lost an aggregate of 7,600 last year, while Queensland gained 11,000. You're doing it tough in Victoria.

During these school holidays, I have heard families say, 'I feel ashamed for not being able to provide for them.' You shouldn't feel shame. It is for us in this place to do our best to make sure that you have a better life for you and your children.

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