Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today is 'payday mayday'. The front page of today's Courier-Mail says it all. As the cost of living dramatically rises under this government, 1.8 million households are now financially distressed and over 650,000 families have turned to payday loans just to get by. Both of those figures have doubled in the past decade. In return, Australians are paying interest rates as high as 884 per cent for household goods like fridges and washing machines, which would normally cost $350 but end up costing consumers almost $4,000 because of loan sharks looking to rip off vulnerable Australian families. And, whilst hundreds of thousands of people across Australia are being taken advantage of, the government sits by and does nothing. Despite endorsing the 24 recommendations from its own committee almost two years ago, we're yet to see any action from the government to step in and protect vulnerable Australian families.

We hear of stories like that of Trina Begg from Inala in my electorate who, after five years of a traumatic debt spiral where she took out hundreds of short-term loans and paid off tens of thousands of dollars in ridiculous interest rates, is only now back on her feet. Earlier today, I had the pleasure of meeting with the CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre and his colleagues, who are at the forefront of advocating for these families. For two years, the minister has sat on her hands and has been missing in action on these important reforms. Today I call on the government to listen to the community activists and make sure they start protecting vulnerable Australians.