Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sadly, it's getting harder by the day for hardworking Australian families to make ends meet under Labor. Under the Albanese government's watch, mortgage holders have suffered through nine consecutive interest rate increases. This is putting enormous pressure on everyday Australian families. When I get out and about, listening to communities right across this great country, the first thing that most people and businesses raise with me is how much harder life has become in the last 10 months. Life is particularly tough for the 800,000 families who currently have fixed mortgages who are about to go onto floating rates; we know they're going to see very sharp increases in their mortgage payments. In my home state of New South Wales 58 per cent of mortgage holders with a fixed rate will be rolling off those fixed rates this year—so a family with a typical mortgage of $750,000 will be slapped with $1,700 a month in increased mortgage payments overnight, as they go from fixed to floating rates. This could be enough to tip some over the edge. Let's not forget the soaring grocery bills and skyrocketing power bills. If you combine these together, the average New South Wales family with a mortgage could be slugged more than $23,000 a year in additional costs. It's just hard to fathom how they are going to find the money to pay those extra costs. That's almost $2,000 every month.

This is the ugly reality of inflation under this government. Every day I hear stories of great sacrifices hardworking Australian families are having to make to pay bills and put food on the table for their children. Jason, from Robina, in the member for McPherson's electorate, has been forced to take on a second job because the time for cheap money is over. The father of two is also considering cuts to the family budget, including cancelling things like kids swimming lessons, TV subscriptions and going out on weekends.

In my own electorate of Hume, small-business owner Kym, who runs at the famous Barenz restaurant in Camden, says he can already see the difference in customer behaviour caused by rising interest rates and soaring power bills:

Patronage is definitely lower. You can see the pressures of cost of living and concerns about interest rate rises holding back every day spending.

The little luxuries like hospitality get scaled back first.

We know that won't be the end of it, but that's what goes first.

In the member for Petrie's electorate, small-business owner Liz, from Flowerfusion, who I had the chance to meet recently in the Moreton Bay region, says cost of living is hitting her customers hard. She said she's starting to notice a huge drop in sales, particularly in the weeks the Reserve Bank has hiked interest rates. This is the reality. This is what is happening on the ground. Indeed, if you walk into any small business across Australia chances are that they will have stories just like this. Australian families are struggling, yet our Prime Minister wants to hide under the covers and pretend it's not happening.

There are more people than ever seeking help from charity groups like Foodbank and the Cowra Information and Neighbourhood Centre in the member for Riverina's electorate, where I was recently. They're struggling to put food on the table. Many have no choice but to take on a second job, as I gave an example of earlier, so that they can pay the bills. Lifeline has, worryingly, seen an increase of 50 per cent in requests for help and support in relation to financial issues.

The impact that this is having on people's lives and their mental health is frightening. When things get tough, Australians have no choice but to tighten their belts and manage their budgets. And that's exactly what the government should be doing to help them out, by taking pressure off interest rates and making sure it's not all just the Reserve Bank doing the work. There is currently more than $45 billion of extra spending from this government. That will only put extra upward pressure on interest rates for Australians. This is money going on the taxpayers' credit card. Australians will be paying the principal and the interest on it. We need this Prime Minister and this Treasurer focused on the issues that Australians care about, not their own favourite issues, not other issues, but on the cost of living and the real crisis we are seeing across our cities, our suburbs and our regions.