Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health, Aged Care and Indigenous Health Services) Share this | Hansard source

In the lead up to the last election, Prime Minister Albanese made a simple deal with every Australian. He said that, if he were elected Prime Minister, all he asked for was that his government be judged on three simple criteria. This is what the Prime Minister said:

I measure the strength of our economy by how it works for people. So for me there's a simple test … Do you feel better off … Are you finding it easier to pay your bills? Are you more certain of your future and, importantly, that of your children?

He said all this. As I travel around the great electorate of Braddon, in the north-west, west coast and King Island regions of the great state of Tasmania, it's blatantly clear that Prime Minister Albanese and his government have failed on each and every single one of these criteria. Families and businesses are struggling as they've never struggled before.

Under this Labor government, the self-inflicted cost-of-living crisis continues. There are many horror stories, whether it's groceries, petrol, diesel, electricity, housing, mortgages or the cost of doing business—the list goes on. I'm hearing every single day that life is much, much tougher now than it was even during the height of the global financial crisis. Households and businesses have copped 12 interest rate increases since Labor came to government. On a mortgage of around half a million dollars, that means $14,000 more per year on your repayments. Around half of all Tasmanian mortgagees and renters are now in mortgage or rental stress, and that is a fact. One in five are spending more than half of their earnings on their mortgage or their rent.

But this mismanagement goes further because, under this government, there's less money in their pockets to pay the mortgage itself. We're paying 20 per cent more in personal income tax. Our real wages have collapsed by nearly nine per cent. Living standards have collapsed by nearly eight per cent. Household savings have collapsed by almost 10 per cent, and still the Albanese government spruiks its May budget as the cost-of-living relief budget. It was an opportunity to demonstrate that they finally understood the extent of the harm that their policies were causing to families and businesses right around the country. Regrettably, it's fallen well short.

In another demonstration that Labor has no understanding of our region, only around 55 per cent of the residents of Braddon receive a taxable income. Forty-five per cent of them pay no tax at all. They rely on government benefits or they are retirees who have done the right thing all of their lives—worked hard, saved hard and funded their own retirement. These very Australians are amongst our most vulnerable. They are the ones that are being forced to visit food banks because they can no longer afford to buy food. And what's Labor's response in their cost-of-living relief budget? Give them absolutely zip, nada, nil—nothing.

In response to this claim, Labor spruik their $300 energy rebate—a rebate paid quarterly in instalments of $75 over the next year, I might add. But, in the lead-up to the 2022 election, Labor promised to cut power bills for households by $275. Instead, our energy bills have gone up by an average of 18 per cent. That $300 rebate doesn't even put a dent in Labor's broken promise to reduce our power bills.

Life under the Albanese government is really challenging. I get that; everyone gets that. In fact, I can't recall a time in my life when so many families or business owners have told me that they've never been more worried about their future. Families can't keep their heads above water any longer, and businesses are telling me that they can no longer afford to operate.

As we lead into this next election, I simply ask all Australians out there, and I want to look down the camera and ask them: Do you feel better off? Are you finding it easier to pay your bills? And are you more certain of your future now and, importantly, that of your children? Three more years under this Labor government is unthinkable.

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