Keith Wolahan (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is not lost on me that in the chamber right now are nine members of the class of 2022. I just want to say at the outset that it has been a pleasure serving with all of you if this is our last time, and we'll find out soon. In a previous life I was a barrister, and I learned the most from a particular silk who, when he gave me the most constructive feedback, said, 'You know I love you,' and then would give me the feedback. So to the class of 2022 on that side I say: 'You know I love you—but.'

I go back to my first speech here, which was in September 2022. From time to time, we should go back to our first speeches because they should be a guidebook for all of us when we have tough decisions to make. And there is no tougher decision for this country right now than easing the cost-of-living pressure on Australians, because it's affecting their daily lives. We can rattle off the numbers on inflation. We can do: 'This is your fault. No, this is your fault.' We can do the Punch and Judy show. But let's imagine you are a young family at a supermarket buying essentials. Let's narrow it down to the ones that count: milk, bread and eggs. Milk is up 18 per cent this term. Bread is up 25 per cent this term. Eggs, an essential protein, cheaper than steak and other foods, is up 35 per cent this term. For those of you who don't use compound interest calculators much, I ask you to put 35 per cent in, divide it by three and see how long it takes to double it. It doubles every six years. If we continue that trend in the next term, it means eggs have doubled in two terms of your government—doubled! These are basic essentials to have breakfast at the table for a family, and there's not much change from $20. So, when we say Australians are doing it tough, that's the practical reality of what we're talking about.

I haven't touched on the big bills of insurance, the monumental bills of mortgage or rent, or the lack of hope that comes with that when you do live pay cheque to pay cheque. When you live pay cheque to pay cheque, people have moments of panic and desperation, and Australians are living in moments of panic and desperation between the fortnightly pay cheques that are coming through. They're not sleeping well. They're stressed. Some of them are in tears, and you know it. All of us know it. The class of 2022, on both sides, are good doorknockers, and we hit the phones and we know what people are telling us. Yes, this started as a global challenge that we all had to meet, but the truth is inflation was longer and higher here. It just was. We didn't do a good job compared to other countries. We didn't.

So when you want to ask, 'Well, what will a second term of a Labor government look like?' look to Victoria. I'm a proud Victorian. There aren't many Liberal Victorians here in this place, but guess how many Labor Victorians are in the federal caucus? There are 26. There is real frustration and anger and disappointment at the state Labor government, but to think that you can separate yourselves from that is a fantasy. This caucus is dominated by Victorian Labor. So the future for a second-term Albanese government is what you've seen in Victoria, where we have the highest debt, the highest tax and a sense of despair that hasn't been seen since the early 1990s.

I said in my first speech that, when we have tough problems, we should have a true north. The true north for me was to make sure that we democratise prosperity and democratise power. So, when we criticise the monumental increase in government spending over this term, it's because that's the antithesis of democratising prosperity and power. It is concentrating power and it is taking prosperity away from Australians, because that side of politics that I'm looking at have the opposite view. Yes, these are tough challenges. Yes, it's not all of this government's making, of course, but it's how you react to it. When there's a decision to be made, there are two doors you can walk through: you can walk through one based on power and self-interest or you can walk through one based on principle and values. That is a test of leadership and that's why this MPI is all about leadership, and this government has failed.

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