Henry Pike (Bowman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Many households within the Redlands community are facing a challenging Christmas. Hardworking locals will be digging deep into their savings, working extra hours, taking on extra jobs and making sacrifices in their household budgets to try to deliver a memorable Christmas for their loved ones. The sad economic reality is that Australians are suffering the worst fall in real disposable income in the OECD, collapsing productivity and an economy that is going backwards on a per-person basis. Every day, Australians are paying the cost of the Albanese government's failure to address the rising cost of living. The ABS tells us that, over the last year, the cost of food has gone up across Australia by 8.2 per cent, the cost of housing has gone up by 10.4 per cent, the cost of electricity has gone up by 18.2 per cent and the cost of fuel has gone up 8.6 per cent. With wages unable to keep up with these rising costs, it will be a stark Christmas for many.

With homegrown inflation still challenging our economy and no effective answers from the government, the RBA is forced to continue to squeeze households. The Reserve Bank's decision to hold interest rates at 4.35 per cent is of cold comfort for the hardworking Redlanders who are struggling to pay their mortgages this Christmas. The Reserve Bank is flagging that they are expecting inflation to remain a challenge until the end of 2025, so we know that these mortgage pressures will be here long after the lights and decorations are packed away.

The Salvation Army has told us that 62 per cent of Australians are more stressed about their finances this year compared to last year—that's a 10 per cent increase—and that, of all the Australians reaching out to charities, almost half are doing so for the first time. Within my electorate, the Champion Support Services in Thornlands has reported a threefold increase in demand for their food services. It's clear that many are finding it tough this Christmas.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the organisations like Champion Support Services within Redland who are working to make Christmas a little easier for local families. I want to mention the work being undertaken by Redland Community Centre's Christmas Appeal. This community effort is driven by the belief that no child should be left out during this time of joy and no family should bear the burden of hardship alone. STAR Community Services' Secret Santa project has also become a Redland Christmas tradition. Last year this initiative collected more than 2½ thousand gifts and 6,200 food and personal items through community donations, and packaged them into 761 hampers that were presented to local seniors who may be spending Christmas alone. I'm hearing that they may well surpass those numbers this year.

I want to thank the community for getting behind these important initiatives. Your generosity will make a real difference to local Redland families this Christmas.