Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government has now been in power for more than two years, and I just want to remind this place what Anthony Albanese said on 17 March 2022, which was, 'A Labor government will lower the cost of living,' and 'a Labor government will deliver cheaper mortgages and cheaper rents.' I've just heard from a number of those across the other side, who have been espousing the economic credentials of this government. This government has failed in two key areas for Australians, and those are the cost of housing and the cost of everyday groceries. Under this government, for more than two years, we have seen real disposable income fall by 7.8 per cent. The cost of housing and rent has risen by 15 per cent. The cost of food has risen by more than 11 per cent. While inflation remains so high, interest rates must remain high. Why is it that inflation in our country is so high? When we compare ourselves with our trading partners, we see that their inflation rates are coming down. We now have higher inflation than every other advanced economy. We are the only G10 nation where core inflation is accelerating. The United Kingdom and Canada, for example, now have their inflation under control, and interest rates have fallen as a result. The inflation rate is clearly linked to this government's wasteful and irresponsible spending—$315 billion worth.

I hear the interjections from the other side. That's $30,000 spent for each and every Australian household. There's not a household in my electorate that feels $30,000 a year better off. The Reserve Bank last week specifically linked the continuation of high interest rates to homegrown inflation. That is spending by Labor, federal and state governments. Australians, already heavily geared with large mortgages as well as business loans continue to pay for Labor's overspending and its homegrown inflation.

Already, as a result of Labor's incompetence on the economy, Australian mortgage holders—and there are 22,000 of them in my electorate—are paying $24,000 more per year on their average mortgage than they were under the coalition government. That means that they've paid $35,000 under this government that they did not pay under the previous government. So much for cheaper mortgages.

Inflation means that each month the take-home pays of Australian workers buy less than they did in the last month, and Australians know it. We've all, in this place, been back in our electorates, with everybody telling the same story that they are telling me in my electorate. They know that their mortgages, their rents, and the cost of their groceries are higher now under Labor than they were previously. If we look, for example, at some basic food and grocery items, the price of eggs is up by 22 per cent, and milk costs 19 per cent more. Prices of breads and cereals are up by more than 20 per cent, vegetable oil by 28 per cent, pet food by 16 per cent, chicken by 10 per cent and cheese by 23 per cent. If you want to get a takeaway meal, that's now costing 15 per cent more than it did over two years ago.

This is what the Labor government has delivered for Australians in two years. Across my electorate of Hughes in Southern Sydney and beyond into neighbouring South Western Sydney, from Illawong to Ingleburn, from Bonnet Bay to Bangor to Bundeena, from Heathcote to Hammondville and from Moorebank to Macquarie Fields, Australians know it. They're paying more on their mortgages. They're paying more in rent, and they are paying far more each week for their groceries. Throughout the local government areas near me—Sutherland, Liverpool and Campbelltown—Australians are paying more.

The Reserve Bank has linked the inflation rate, and the fact that Australians are paying more, to this government's overspending. The government's continuing claim that this is due to global circumstances has been flatly denied by the Reserve Bank this week. All Australians—those in my electorate and those throughout our country—are paying the price of Labor's gross overspending and mismanagement of the economy. Australians deserve far better than this Labor government.

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