Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It must be a Monday in parliament, because we've another motion from the government patting themselves on the back, telling the Australian people how lucky they are and how they've never had it better. Every week I get to stand up and have the opportunity to actually share what's happening with the challenges of the community, although I was a little confused when this motion came through, because it spoke about nominal real wages. I've spent a bit of time in business, did a degree and know a little bit about economics. I'd never heard the term 'nominal real wages'. The reason I'd never heard that term is that it doesn't exist. 'Nominal real wages' is not actually a term that's used, because nominal wages looks at total wages and how they've increased. They might have increased 4.1 per cent in the year to the June quarter. But real wages looks at your nominal wages, includes inflation and then works out, on those statistics: 'Are you going forward? Are you going backward?' I'll give the benefit of the doubt to the member for Werriwa. I don't know whether she wrote this motion herself. Many times ministers will write them and people will sign them. So, potentially, the Treasurer and his department think that 'nominal real wages' are a new term we are going to look at. Maybe it's an honest mistake. I'd be concerned if the Treasurer himself doesn't know the difference. Potentially he is looking to spin and he's put 'real' in there because many people talk about 'real wages' and think that that's what they take home. I'll let the Treasurer inform us of whether that's an honest mistake and he's not across the economic detail or if he's deliberately trying to provide a little bit of spin for us.

The national accounts just came out, and the government are telling us we've never had it better. One statistic they didn't want to put in, another important measure of how the Australian people are going, is disposable income. They don't like talking about real disposable income. The real household disposable income fell two per cent over the year on a per capita basis.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 13:15 to 13:24

From March 2022 to June 2024, real disposable income fell 8.7 per cent on a per capita basis. That per capita basis is crucial, because that is what everyone is feeling in the community of Casey and all across the country. That's the actual number of what they're feeling. While real wages are important at the macro level—obviously migration and other factors show that—at the micro level, households are struggling and they know that. They know that because everything is going up. Health is up 11 per cent since the election; education is up 11 per cent; food is up 12 per cent; electricity is up 14 per cent, even after the rebates; housing is up 15 per cent; rent is up 16 per cent; financial and insurance costs are up 17 per cent; and gas is up 33 per cent. Yet the government, the Treasurer and the Prime Minister pat themselves on the back and tell us that we've never had it better. As we go through this motion—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 13 : 25 to 16 : 00

Debate interrupted.

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