Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health) Share this | Hansard source

Well, what does this tricky Labor government have to say to struggling Australians who are $50,000 worse off under their leadership? What cost-of-living relief do they have for them? Well, hang in there. In 462 days, Labor will give you 70 cents a day. That's the generosity—the cruel hoax—of Labor's so-called cost-of-living relief for those struggling today under Labor's homegrown inflation crisis. If Labor were a prison warden, that would be a crumb flicked to the inmates for their daily meal. It gets worse. Labor rattle the bars as they strut to the election thinking they are so generous—so brilliant. But the Australian people, particularly regional Australians, are the inmates trapped after three years of 'hard Labor' in the Prime Minister's homegrown cost-of-living crisis and unable to escape. Those opposite have locked up aspirational Australians, taken away their housing affordability and locked up their food affordability as well. Australians' wages no longer buy what they once did at the supermarket.

Leaving aside for one moment this government's inaction on the major supermarkets and price gouging, let's look at the food price hikes under Labor. Bread is up over 20 per cent, cheese is up 18 per cent, milk is up 17 per cent and breakfast cereal is up 15 per cent. Add to that cost-of-living pressures like mortgage repayments, which are up 41 per cent; gas prices, which are up 32 per cent; and rents, which are up 17 per cent. Electricity bills are up by $1,300, not down by $275 like Labor promised 97 times before the last election. They want you to forget that, and here they are again with the parlour tricks, extending energy bill relief of $75 for two more quarters. Wow!

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