Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to speak to the great, growing divide between what this Labor government preaches it will deliver for Australian families and the reality of the hardship those families are experiencing right now. Prior to the 2022 election, the Prime Minister and his Labor colleagues were on a media jaunt, flaunting their fake economic credentials and their ability to solve the problems of real wage growth and to raise living standards. We called out the Labor Party and their lack of detail. We could see what was coming and, sadly, we've been proven right time and time again.

As parliament has heard this week, the latest CPI data shows that, for example, food is up 8.2 per cent; housing costs, up 10.4 per cent; insurance, up 17.3 per cent; and gas, up a massive 28 per cent. Every home and business has to pay for their electricity, and the Prime Minister famously flaunted a $275 reduction in power prices—not just once, not even twice, not even three times, but over and over again. But the latest data shows that Australians are copping an 18.2 per cent increase in their power bills. Parents in my electorate are being forced to make a decision between whether they will keep the lights on at night or keep the kids' lunch boxes full for school the next day. Will there be a Christmas ham on the table or just presents under the tree?

A local cafe at Paradise Point is now paying twice as much for their wholesale food supplies, but they are reluctant to pass on those costs. Their friendly customer base quite frankly can't afford it, so instead that business is going without themselves. There is genuine pain out there in the community, and those being hurt hardest by this Labor government are Australian families, households and small businesses.

Labor having talked a very big game prior to the election, there are only two options that have led us to where we are today. Either this out-of-touch Labor government have deliberately broken numerous promises and commitments to the Australian people or they have recklessly and incompetently made decisions each and every day since they were elected. When challenged to explain his government's plant to actually deliver cost-of-living relief, the Prime Minister just talks about the coalition and former members of parliament. The Prime Minister has now been in charge for 18 months, and people know that they are worse off now than they were when Labor formed government. He's not fooling everyday Australians. The voters are feeling the results of poor policy. It's hurting their hip pockets.

Labor has added $188 billion to spending, with not much to show for it, compounding the inflationary problem that we see in the economy. Interest rates rise because inflation is too high, and Australia's inflation is higher than in almost every other major advanced economy. Like Australian families and businesses which are making tough decisions about their own budgets, Labor need to make tough decisions about theirs.

The reduction in living standards is a clear by-product of the pain of the interest rate rises, which affect the mortgage repayments of Australians who are simply trying to put a roof over their families' heads. Since Labor came to office, the RBA has hiked rates 12 times. A family with a $750,000 mortgage is now paying another $24,000 per year—a thousand dollars a fortnight after tax. Families quite simply can't afford it. Interest rates are now at the highest levels they have been since Labor was in office back in 2011. There is a common thread here: Labor governments equal higher interest rates. The circumstances are no better for renters. They're suffering as well. Families are going without the necessities because this government has taken its eyes off the ball. Higher inflation means higher rates. Higher rates mean higher mortgage repayments and rents, meaning less money in your pocket.

While Labor flounders in government once again, the coalition remains steadfast in its support of the best interests of our country.