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

I was here in question time today when I heard the Prime Minister say, 'Australians understand that the government I lead gets things done.' Well, the Australians that I speak to know that, under this Prime Minister, what this government has done is demolish and decimate their standards of living. Australians are experiencing a collapse in living standards under the Albanese Labor government that has been brought about by the Albanese Labor government and yet continues to be denied by the Albanese Labor government. Recent polls have shown that Australians now know that the cost-of-living crisis that they are experiencing is directly attributable to this government and to this government's gross overspending and absolute failure to rein in inflation.

In question time today, we heard some commentary by the Treasurer that I could not believe. When asked a question about whether he would take responsibility for the 12 interest rate rises that have occurred under his watch, he went straight back to the one interest rate rise that occurred under the former coalition government. For those Australians who would've listened to that or those Australians who will see it tomorrow in the news, on their newsfeed or on social media, they know that they are now experiencing a far worse standard of living than they were two years ago.

When I'm out in my electorate, through southern Sydney, the Sutherland shire and south-western Sydney, regardless of where I go—whether it be Bangor, Bundeena, Ingleburn, Illawong or Hammondville—they are all telling me exactly the same thing. Their mortgages are up by $24,000 a year. Their insurances are right up. When they go each week to the supermarket, the butchers, the fruit and vegetable shop or their local cafe to buy a coffee, they know that they are paying a lot more now than they were two years ago. That is just one of the impacts.

The major impact that this is having is on Australian's way of life. I've had so many families say to me that sport is a massive part of the community in the seat that I'm privileged to represent, and parents have now had to reconsider whether or not their children will play summer sports this year. They are saying to me that they are considering how much insurance they continue to take out. They're cutting back on insurance. This is not the Australia that was here two years ago. This is the Australia and the way of life that is now being delivered by this Labor government, and it is disgraceful. It is disgraceful that we have seen this tearing apart of the fabric of Australians' lives.

I speak to small business in my community regularly. Households will say to me their energy costs have gone up by $1,000 or more. Small businesses will talk about the tens of thousands of dollars more that they are now paying for energy costs, and that is directly attributable again to Albanese Labor government policies where they would look at nothing but renewable energy. They have refused, because of ideology, to look at a more pragmatic approach and to say: 'Maybe we've got this wrong. Maybe we should be considering other options, such as more gas or nuclear power, to work together with renewables to address our energy crisis.'

I was also here today when I heard the member for Adelaide say that those on our side have no solutions. We do have solutions. We would absolutely fight inflation. We would bring inflation down, and that would then allow the Reserve Bank to bring interest rates down. We would cut red tape. We would assist small businesses with instant asset write-offs. We would get this economy back on track. (Time expired)

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