Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that Australians are struggling through a cost of living crisis and are being failed by the Government;

(2) notes that Australians have lost tens of thousands of dollars over the past two years through no fault of their own, with:

(a) workers paying 20 per cent more in personal income tax;

(b) real wages collapsing by nearly nine per cent;

(c) living standards falling by eight per cent;

(d) household savings reducing by almost ten per cent;

(e) prices on goods rising by around ten per cent;

(f) inflation remaining higher than any other developed nation; and

(g) homeowners with a typical mortgage of $750,000 being some $35,000 a year worse off; and

(3) calls on the Government to address the economic pressures being placed on Australian families.

Australians are struggling through a cost-of-living crisis. Inflation has been far too high for far too long, and the prices on everything from energy to insurance to household goods have skyrocketed. Our standard of living, as a consequence, has declined for ordinary Australians. In the last two years, we've seen hardworking families being turned against by this government. They have turned to this government also to look to receive some relief or at least in some sense to ease the pain of the burden that they are facing. Yet we have seen three failed budgets and clear evidence that Labor has no plan to reverse the current economic pressures and restore Australia's standard of living.

Instead of addressing the issues that are the root cause of inflation, Labor have made budgetary decisions which will only cause inflation to worsen. We now lag behind other developed nations in reducing the inflation rate, and it is now almost entirely homegrown, as the Reserve Bank has noted. While other countries have begun to cut rates, Australia is the only G10 nation where core inflation has gone up compared with December last year. What we have seen from this government is the continued throwing of fuel on the fire by adding $315 billion in extra spending in the recent budget—more than $30,000 for every single household. These cost-of-living pressures do not seem to be letting up any time soon either. This persistent homegrown inflation is being coupled with the economy grinding to a halt, and it is clear that Australians are being failed by the Albanese Labor government. The situation is just continuing to get worse.

Let's look at some of the numbers. Prices have gone up by 10 per cent, and for working households prices are up by over 18 per cent; personal income tax collections have risen by some 20 per cent; real wages for employees have collapsed by nine per cent; living standards have collapsed by eight per cent; household savings are down by 10 per cent; and a family on a typical mortgage of $750,000 is now around $35,000 a year worse off. As I've said before in this place, you don't listen to what the government and the Labor members in this chamber say; you look at what they do, because nine times out of 10 they are two completely and utterly different things.

Households are paying the price for this, and so are small to medium businesses. We are seeing the impact of this cost-of-living crisis across my electorate of Forde. Households are going to great lengths to keep their heads above water. They are digging deep into their savings and sometimes taking on an extra job or two in order to cover the bills—so much so that a record number of Australians now have multiple jobs. I know from talking to the food banks and other community organisations that help people in need that they have never seen this many people coming through the door. Many are people who they have never, ever seen before, and they are coming from areas of my community which generally you would regard as well to do.

That is the bad news. What is the good news? That there is an alternative: what a coalition government would provide and what this country needs. We need to see governments manage their budgets in a responsible way, and that is exactly what a coalition government has demonstrated time and time again. We need to get back to a basic economic agenda that will get us back on track. We will make sure that government spending doesn't outpace economic growth, ease the administrative burden on business, and get out of their way by reducing red and green tape and, more importantly, by providing affordable, reliable energy so that we can put downward pressure on energy prices, because the cost of energy is in every single thing that we do. Australian households are paying a high price for Labor's bad economic policies, wrong priorities and poor decisions. The government must immediately address the economic issues being placed on Australian families.

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