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

by leave—on behalf of the member for Groom, I move:

That this House:

(1) notes comments by the Minister for Home Affairs in the House on Wednesday, 14 February 2024 in regard to 'parents who just cannot afford to buy the groceries they need for their families... parents who are struggling terribly with rents... people who can't afford to fill their car up with petrol';

(2) further notes comments in the CommBank iQ Cost of Living Insights Report for November 2023 that:

(a) Australians are spending more on essentials such as insurance, medical costs and pharmacies, leaving less funds for purchase of discretionary items such as household goods and clothing; and

(b) younger Australians between 25 and 29 years old have been the hardest hit with a 5.1 per cent decline in their total spending, the only age group to decrease both discretionary and essential spending;

(3) recognises that under the Government:

(a) the costs of food, housing, electricity, insurance and gas have all increased;

(b) real spending power has been reduced; and

(c) younger Australians, with and without children, are being especially impacted by rising living costs;

(4) condemns the Government for the current cost of living crisis which is due to the Government's mismanagement of the economy and failure to adequately address high inflation and increased interest rates; and

(5) calls on the Government to immediately develop and implement sensible economic policies to address Australia's cost of living crisis which is hurting all Australians.

In the almost two years since the last election, the Labor government has presided over a cost-of-living crisis. Their efforts to ease the pressure on Australian household budgets have been entirely inadequate. As the motion outlines, they have failed to address the high inflation and high interest rates that are crippling Australian household budgets. Rather than the economic mismanagement we have experienced, what Australians need is sensible economic policies to get them through these challenges. Members of the government may come into this building—and I'm sure we'll see them this afternoon—and run off the litany of actions they've taken, actions that have had zero impact, but it is cold comfort for the vast majority of Australians, who are far worse off since the last election.

The Commonwealth Bank report that the member for Groom highlights in this motion illustrates how Australians are spending more on essentials and have little remaining to purchase anything else. Many are struggling even to afford those essentials. In my electorate, the people of the Redlands are struggling with these costs, which continually rise. Over recent weeks I've had many constituents share with me the impact that Labor's cost-of-living crisis is having on their daily lives.

David is a pensioner in Alexandra Hills. Because of rising costs, he has been forced to cut fruit out of his grocery shop. Yvonne from Thornlands has seen her rent increase by $225 a week. A constituent on Coochiemudlo Island used to try each year to save $1,200 for holidays and $500 for home maintenance. She's had to do away with both of those expenses, as the money she's worked so hard to save is now being swallowed up by increasing daily living costs. Margaret has seen her monthly mortgage repayments soar from $2,000 a month to $3,300 a month in the last 18 months. Ron tells me that he and his wife are struggling with increased mortgage rates, home insurance and utilities. Ron reminded me:

The Prime Minister promised he was going to bring down the price of electricity, when is that going to happen?

Ken from Cleveland has sent me his power bills, which show a tripling in the cost since this government took office. Pauline from Birkdale is paying around $480 more this year than she did last year to insure her car. And Gladys from Victoria Point, a self-funded retiree, is concerned that she'll soon have to stop purchasing private health insurance.

There's no doubt that this is a crisis. So many in my electorate are struggling with costs in every possible area of their lives and businesses. This government continues to fail them. Another Redlander who's doing it tough is Christine from Cleveland. She reached out and shared with me some of the struggles that pensioners like her are facing. She wrote:

I'm a 71yo solo female pensioner, and at this late stage of life, I am experiencing a feeling I have rarely felt before—anger. Anger at this government, and its determination to ensure the majority of Australians live in poverty, especially pensioners. everything I have I have had to work bloody hard for. In my younger years I gave up holidays and going out with friends to work 3 jobs as I was determined that I wanted to own a home when I retired. Thank God I did! But now I honestly do not know how I can keep afloat. I live a very frugal life, no extravagance, but now it is a struggle to simply maintain a basic standard of living on the pension. How the hell are pensioners supposed to be able to handle these sky rocketing cost of living increases?

Christine feels that older Australians are now struggling so much that, she writes, 'we don't live; we just exist'.

These stories from members of my community are indicative of the struggles that Australians everywhere are facing due to Labor's cost-of-living crisis. The government's failure to adequately address the issues of high inflation and increased interest rates, and its inability to act on the cost of groceries, fuel, housing, electricity, gas and insurance, is proof positive that it is incapable of leading our nation in these trying economic times. Labor has let inflation stay too high for too long and is putting in place policies that make inflation and productivity worse. Labor inherited a strong economy from the coalition, but, in the last two years, we've seen that situation completely evaporate.

The people of the Redlands deserve better. The constituents who I've talked about this afternoon deserve a lot better from the federal government, and all the people of Australia deserve far better. I commend the member for Groom's motion to the House.

Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

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

I second the motion, and I reserve my right to speak.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our government understands that family budgets are tight and that the impacts of cost-of-living pressures and inflation are being felt at kitchen tables around the whole country. That's why, from 1 July, we are delivering a tax cut for every Australian taxpayer and bigger tax cuts for workers.

As always, we will continue to do everything we can to help Australian families. Of course, this needs to be carefully calibrated to take into account the inflation challenges that remain in our economy and a budget that remains under significant pressure. We'll do what we responsibly can in the May budget. There will likely be additional cost-of-living help, but it won't be anywhere near the magnitude of the tax cuts. We are already providing a tax cut to every taxpayer and a bigger tax cut to more workers. Any extra help will be targeted, responsible and affordable—as it must be.

On top of our tax cuts, we are rolling out billions in cost-of-living relief across rent assistance, energy rebates, cheaper medicines, income support, Medicare bulk-billing incentives and much more. The Liberals, of course, those opposite, said no to cheaper medicines, no to energy bill relief and—as we know because the Deputy Leader of the Opposition told us—they will absolutely roll back our tax cuts. That will effectively, for most Australian workers, rip $800 out their pocket. When it comes to the cost of living, the Liberals, those opposite, always say no, while we've delivered the first budget surplus in 15 years, with a second one potentially in prospect, and overseen wages growth of 4.2 per cent, which is the fastest rate in 15 years, and three consecutive quarters of real wages growth.

I've noticed a tendency, in question time, for some of those opposite to yell out, 'Yes—but "real wages".' We've seen three consecutive quarters of real wages growth. We've seen around 790,000 jobs created since we came to government, which is a record for a new government in its first term. For unemployment, we've seen the figure recently and it has a three in front of it. Unemployment is back under four per cent, and that is below pre-pandemic levels, which is great news. Inflation is also moderating under us. But it's not 'mission completed' or anything like that, because we know that people are still under pressure, particularly those with mortgages.

The most recent CPI showed the quarterly inflation moderating to 4.1 per cent in the December quarter, down from 5.4 per cent in the September quarter. Headline inflation is now at its lowest level in two years. We know that monthly figures can bounce around a bit, as the Treasurer is always mentioning, but this is encouraging progress. The point is that inflation is moderating, and that's good news. It's not moderating as fast as we would like it to, but it is moderating. The Australian Bureau of Statistics also shows that our policies for electricity, rent and cheaper childcare are all directly putting downward pressure on inflation. That's why it's so baffling that those opposite voted against those measures.

But our budget strategy is working. We said we'd get wages moving again, and that's exactly what we've done. Real wage growth is back, and it's ahead of schedule as well, which is a good thing. Our government, under our Prime Minister, want to see Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn so they can look after their interest and their family's interest. Annual real wages grew at the end of last year, for the first time in almost three years. Since the election, nominal wages have been growing at four per cent, compared to 2.2 per cent under those opposite when they were in government. So we've turned that around in less than two years.

We are for jobs growth and we're getting wages moving, and inflation is moderating. We've delivered a budget surplus, the first in 15 years, but let's see how this next budget goes in May. We're getting on with the job and we're doing it for Australians.

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

I rise today to echo the sentiment of my colleagues, who are also disappointed by this government's inability to address the cost-of-living pressures facing young Australians. Young families in suburbs like Pacific Pines and Gaven in my electorate are doing it tough despite repeated assurances from Labor that things are about to get easier. Rent is up, power prices are up and grocery prices are up—just to name a few.

The Treasurer and those opposite use phrases like 'inflation is moderating' or it's 'under control', but the truth is the damage is done. Inflation is compounding and it is permanent. It's very rare for me to agree with the Minister for Home Affairs, but she said it best when she noted that there are:

… parents who just cannot afford to buy the groceries they need for their families … parents who are struggling terribly with rents … people who can't afford to fill their car up with petrol …

I couldn't agree more, and Labor is to blame.

My constituents across the Gold Coast have seen their standard of living collapse over the last 18 months. I recently heard from a local mum in Coomera who vented about the struggle to balance the household budget and about the stresses of just trying to get the kids what they need for school. Another local, in Hollywell, raised the issue of her power bill, which has increased by a whopping 52 per cent, despite her usage only increasing by a modest 10 per cent compared to the same time last year—and that is the thing. The total for that bill is $1,941. It's simply not sustainable for families. All of this is happening while bracket creep means that Australians are paying 23 per cent more income tax, inflation and interest rates remain high, wages in real terms are plummeting and Labor is introducing another new tax, one on Australia's favourite family and work vehicles, which will hit young families the hardest.

It's typical that, when faced with any issue, the answer from Labor is another new tax. Labor's new car and ute tax is simply poor policy. We've seen the consequences before of Labor's obsession with reaching net zero in some sort of world-record time and promoting big new taxes, and, make no mistake, we are seeing it again. Labor's new family car tax will add thousands of dollars to the price of the cars that Australians love and, more importantly, need to drive. Industry have made their concerns clear, releasing modelling that shows that Australians could soon be paying up to $18,000 more for their favourite ute and up to $25,000 more for their favourite SUV. Labor's policy will hit mums and dads who rely on SUVs to get their kids to school and soccer and will hit tradies who rely on utes to do their job.

We all want to see cleaner cars and utes as we do our bit towards reducing emissions by 2050, but Labor's proposed new vehicle efficiency standard is extreme and will add thousands of dollars to the price of the cars that Australians love and need to drive. Labor claims the new efficiency standard will result in lower running costs—not if you can't afford to buy them in the first place or they're simply unavailable. This is just another example of Labor having all the wrong priorities. Instead of addressing the cost of living, Labor's latest rushed pursuit of emissions reduction policy will hurt vulnerable Australians the most.

Young working families are the backbone of our country, and they are doing it tough under this Albanese Labor government. When I meet with constituents in my electorate, from Pimpama in the north to Labrador in the south, I am constantly reminded that Labor's complete failure to tackle inflation and rein in spending is making life tougher. Let us not forget that, prior to the last election, the Labor Party repeatedly touted its promise to reduce power bills by $275—another broken promise. On wages, power bills, groceries and mortgages, Australians are rightly disappointed by the broken promises. This Labor government is getting sidetracked with other issues. If you have a mortgage, the average increase has been $24,000 per annum on the average home loan. If you're a renter, rents have increased by 26 per cent, to $580 per week on average. If you own a car or ute, Labor is now going to hit you hard again. By every measure possible, Labor is failing Australians on cost of living.

Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's been nearly two years since we came to government, and for two years we've had the Liberals and Nationals oppose cost-of-living relief. What's been truly extraordinary has been that, while they have opposed the government's plans, they have not come up with any solutions themselves. There is only so far that negativity can get you, and the Australian public have seen straight through the opposition's constant negativity on cost of living. In fact, the only policy they have on cost of living is to claim that power prices will fall because they want to invest in the most expensive form of new power generation, nuclear. Let's just think about that for a minute. They think that power prices will fall by their investing in the most expensive form of power generation. Please make it make sense.

Much like the housing crisis, cost-of-living pressures existed before the election of this government. The highest quarter of inflation was under the Liberals and Nationals in March 2022, and interest rates started to rise, of course, under the Liberals and Nationals. But, unlike them, we've put forward policies to help address this. Our efforts have been the result of careful planning and dedicated policymaking. Their constant opposition to our plans tells you everything you need to know about this opposition. They voted against energy relief and energy price cuts. They rallied against cheaper child care which has reduced out-of-pocket costs by around 11 per cent in Sydney. They are running a scare campaign on new vehicle emissions standards which will save motorists about $1,000 on fuel a year. They oppose the rollout of renewable energy, which is the cheapest form of new power generation.

These people are not serious about governing and they're not serious about supporting Aussies with cost-of-living pressures. There was no greater example of their pursuit of politics over progress than their response to Labor's cost-of-living tax cuts. Labor's tax plan is better than Scott Morrison's tax plan. Labor's plan delivers every taxpayer a tax cut, not just some. It enables Australians to earn more and keep more of what they earn. It will give larger tax cuts to more workers, and represents direct cost-of-living relief for taxpayers across the country. Labor's cost-of-living tax cuts represent over $100 billion worth of cost-of-living relief. We know that those opposite don't really support them, because at first they said they'd repeal Labor's tax cuts, then they said that they'd fight them in the parliament, then they said that they would call an election on them and then they called them 'Marxism'. But then they supported them. Reluctantly, dragged kicking and screaming, they supported them. Who knows what they'll do if they occupy the government benches again?

Their reaction to our cost-of-living measures shows their inability to engage constructively with policies aimed at genuine cost-of-living relief. Instead of solutions, they put up ridiculous motions like this again and again. Instead of solutions, it's all politics. We have a plan that prioritises support for families. They have a plan that prioritises politics over progress, rhetoric over reality and opposition for opposition's sake over solutions to the cost-of-living pressures Australians face every day.

With Australians facing increasing financial pressures, the need for targeted, effective relief measures has never been more critical. Addressing cost-of-living pressures has been at the heart of every budget this government has given. These policies are set to make a big difference in Bennelong. From 1 July, 92,000 taxpayers in Bennelong will get a tax cut, and over 81 per cent of them will get a larger tax cut than under Scott Morrison's plan. The out-of-pocket costs of child care in Sydney have reduced by an average of 11 per cent; our reductions in the cost of medicines have saved people in Bennelong over $2.2 million; and over 30,000 60-day prescriptions have been written to date. And our fee-free TAFE policies have helped thousands of people to attend both Meadowbank and Ryde TAFEs to reskill and earn more, and to keep more of what they earn.

Our government's response to the economic challenges of today are comprehensive, strategic and focused. But we know that there's more to do. Unlike those opposite, we have policies, and we'll have more policies to address the cost-of-living crisis at the next budget. We'll continue to manage the economic circumstances of today while providing relief, repair and reform—importantly, cleaning up the mess that the Liberals left behind.

Russell Broadbent (Monash, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I don't think that the former member for Bennelong ever gave a speech like that one, where he never followed the dictates of the party or the talking points.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

John Howard?

Russell Broadbent (Monash, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes. Good man! One thing we know is that Australian families are enduring very difficult times, whether from high rents or mortgages, skyrocketing energy bills or insurance premiums going through the roof. Many families doing a tough right now with rising inflation. I heard a call before, saying that inflation is going down. Go and get a trolley full of groceries and find out if inflation is going down! If you can find inflation is going down—

then you're not doing the shopping!

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do the shopping!

Russell Broadbent (Monash, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That's what's happening. You're not seeing the price that families are paying—

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Moreton should restrain himself.

Russell Broadbent (Monash, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Moreton should never restrain himself! I really appreciate him. I don't want to go across you, Deputy Speaker Wilkie, but I enjoy the member for Moreton; he has been a great contributor to the parliament. He's prepared to stand up and talk about the real issues that are affecting families every day in Moreton, as I do in Monash!

A tub of yoghurt, for instance, used to be about five bucks; last week it was 10! What's going on? I don't think that's supermarket gouging—I don't know what it is—but you can't have a 100 per cent increase in something. Everything I touch is either getting smaller in the packet—smaller jam!—and still larger in price. I'm embarrassed to come home to my wife and say, 'Here's your marmalade.' The tub used to be about this big and now it's only about that big at the same price, if not dearer.

Last week a constituent told me her story. Alison and Dean are in their late 20s, with two young kids aged three and eight months. Up until late last year, Dean had run his own business for five years as a gas plumber. No longer in Victoria: when the Victorian government brought in new legislative changes which meant that gas could not be installed in new homes as of 24 January, Dean was out of a job—along with thousands of other people. Just like that he had to close his business. That's five years of hard work down the drain. Alison planned to have eight full months of maternity leave after giving birth to her second child in July last year. However, due to their financial situation, including the uncertainty of Dean having to find a new job, Alison had to return to work months earlier than expected. The couple now pay $260 week for their two children to attend child care three days a week. Alison told me that there have been weeks when their bank account has been in minus and they've had to wait until payday to be able to pay council rates and insurances. And she's not on her own there, I can tell you. This is because they prioritise their mortgage, childcare fees and ensuring their children are fed before anything else. To add to this, every time their account is in minus, their bank charges them a fee of between $5 and $10. At the moment they're living from pay cheque to pay cheque. At the end of the week, after taking into account the bills and the mortgage, there's not much left to spend, let alone save for a rainy day.

A recent report from the Brotherhood of St Laurence found, quite rightly, that people experiencing poverty and job insecurity are increasingly unable to budget their way out of financial crisis. I know a family that's reticent to go to the doctor because they can't afford the out-of-pocket costs. This is disgraceful in a country like ours; taking a child to the doctor is not discretionary! Apparently, more than 1.2 million Australians—and they would have been in Tasmania too, Deputy Speaker Wilkie—did not go and see a GP during 2022-23 because of the cost. That's twice as many as compared to 2021-22. It's affecting all of us. And then there are people who are rationing their medication in order to make it through to their next payday. This is not good enough in a nation as wealthy and with as strong an economy as we have.

Governments need to redirect their priorities towards those doing it toughest in Australia, towards those who are living independently or who are lonely. We have a responsibility to those who are least able to look after themselves in this country. I haven't stopped addressing those who need the most help since I first came into this place. Right now, this country is facing a crisis of people who need direct help. We have to find ways to give it to them.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm happy to speak on this cost-of-living motion brought by the coalition. Like everyone in this parliament, I know that my electorate is experiencing some extreme cost-of-living pressures at the moment. I speak in the context of the Liberals, under the member for Dickson, having only one playbook when it comes to Labor's initiatives, and that's negativity and even more negativity. They've consistently voted no when it comes to supporting cost-of-living measures—consistently! So don't listen to their words; look at their deeds. They talk about the cost of living but then vote against measures that would actually help people.

We know that Australians are doing it tough, so the message they're sending is, 'Not tough enough; we won't vote for these measures because they're put forward by the Labor Party.' The Albanese Labor government made the responsible decision to change the Morrison stage 3 tax cuts so that three million Australian workers wouldn't receive a tax cut on 1 July this year. We changed that. Instead now every single one of the 13.6 million Australian taxpayers will receive a tax cut. The average taxpayer on an income of $73,000 will get a tax cut of $1,504—an extra $804 compared to Scott Morrison's plan.

The tax cuts come on top of a swathe of measures that are already easing pressure points such as energy, child care, health, housing, rent, education and employment. Our energy bill relief fund is $1.5 billion worth of support for five million households and one million small businesses. This is in addition to the caps on gas and coal prices, which reduced electricity price growth by 25 percentage points in 2023-24. What did those opposite do? They voted against it—unbelievably.

I know that those opposite make up their own mind every time they cast a vote unless they're a part of the leadership and are bound. So I looked around. I heard these speeches about the tax cuts and about how we need to relieve pressure on people. Not one of them crossed the floor. All these free-thinking Liberals, who aren't sheep or Nationals, who are able to vote on whatever they like, all lined up with the member for Dickson and voted no. So Labor has focused on supporting families, delivering cheaper child care, and increasing the childcare subsidy rate to 90 per cent for families with lower incomes.

We're expanding paid parental leave so that more parents are eligible, and, from July this year, parental leave pay will increase by two weeks each year until it reaches 26 weeks in July 2026. That's practical support. And we've expanded the eligibility for the parenting payment single until the youngest child turns 14. That was a long festering sore for me. That will benefit around 57,000 single principal carers, and the overwhelming majority of those people are women.

We've made seeing a doctor easier with the development of Medicare urgent care clinics. We've backed this up with cheaper medicines. A two-month supply for 300 PBS medicines will be available for the cost of one month, effectively cutting the cost in half. This is in addition to the election commitment of cutting the general co-payment down to $30—something they lined up with campaigners and lobbyists to say, 'No, we're opposed to this.' Do you know how many people in my electorate have said, 'We are opposed to being able to get medicine over two months?' Do you know many people have emailed me about it? Taking out pharmacists, it's zero, nada, zip. None at all.

We are boosting training with fee-free TAFE for 180,000 people, and we're building on this with another 300,000 places across Australia. We're also providing solid and measurable assistance to renters and homebuyers. That's 1.1 million households that will benefit from an increase to the maximum rate of Commonwealth rent assistance to 15 per cent. For people wanting to own their own home, our Help to Buy scheme will support 40,000 Australians over four years to buy a home. That's also backed up by the Housing Australia Future Fund. All of these measures are underpinned by real wages growth that those opposite were opposed to during the election campaign. We promised to get wages moving again and we have done so. We are helping out all sorts of Australians.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a shame the member for Moreton has to leave because I would really like to know how many times he has actually crossed the floor. He mentioned the Liberals and the Nationals and their voting patterns and voting behaviour. I'll tell you the difference, Deputy Speaker Wilkie, the member for Clark, between the coalition parties and those Labor members opposite. It's that, if we feel passionate enough about a bill and we vote against it, we don't get expelled from our party. But those opposite, should they decide to cross the floor, will be punted from their party. I know. I've crossed the floor. I have actually had the courage of my convictions to vote against what was seen to be coalition policy. Whilst I was sent to Coventry for a while for doing so, I had the conviction—some might say 'temerity'—to do just that. But the members opposite don't vote against their party because they know that, if they do, it's an immediate expulsion. So don't ever accuse the Liberals and the Nationals of being sheeple when you are a Labor member at the dispatch box.

This is about cost of living, and we are in a cost-of-living crisis. But you wouldn't have known it last year. You wouldn't have known it from the talking points delivered by those opposite over and over again. They spoke plenty about the Voice. We haven't heard too much about that topic since it was roundly defeated by the people of Australia.

We have seen real wages collapse under those opposite. We have seen, indeed, real disposable income falling by 7½ per cent on a per capita basis. We have seen Australians paying 23 per cent more income tax. We have seen, across the board, prices increase by nearly 10 per cent. Interest payments on mortgages have almost tripled. Productivity is falling severely. This is not what Labor said it was going to do when it was elected in May 2022. When you see 2,000 people turning up to Wagga Beach, as they did on 6 December last year, to receive food, you know that something is crook in Tallarook. Tallarook's a long way from Wagga Wagga! But you know that things are not as they should be. Within an hour and a half, all eight tonnes of fresh and long-life food from this food bank had been distributed. That is unusual. We are seeing the Salvation Army and St Vinnies—and, God bless them, they do an amazing job—being overwhelmed. They're being overwhelmed by people who would normally not present themselves to one of those agencies. That is just so sad because it shouldn't be happening. Yet those opposite get their talking points and they just adhere to them. You see it over and over again.

We have had hundreds of households falling into electricity hardship every week since the Albanese government took over. We have youth unemployment now at 9.3 per cent. If you are a young person struggling to find a job, how on earth are you supposed to pay rent? How, if you are a young family, do you even get into the housing market? We saw only yesterday that we have 90,000 fewer tradies than we should. Who will build the houses? What, indeed, will they build the houses from when we have state Labor governments—and I refer specifically to Victoria's—wanting to shut down the timber industry? The construction industry is seeing failure after failure. It's not just in the homebuilding; it's in so much of the small-business sector, where businesses are doing it tough. They are shutting their doors because they just can't make ends meet.

I commend the member for Groom for bringing forward this important debate. I would urge and implore those opposite to look beyond the talking points and what the dirt unit of the Labor Party is giving you to present in parliamentary speeches. Talk and more importantly listen to your constituents and what they are saying, because there is a cost-of-living crisis, you are the government and you need to do something about it—and quickly.

Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There can be no greater misdirection by a coalition member than the premise of this motion. The member for Groom wishes to condemn the government for the current cost-of living crisis. I can tell the member for Groom that I was elected two years ago largely on three key themes—addressing neglect in aged care, taking action on climate change and the environment and cost-of-living issues—and so were my colleagues. This is why we are now in government.

Where does the member for Groom think the current cost-of-living crisis had its origin? The truth is that interest rates began to rise under the Morrison government, and this government's policies now, lauded by international agencies and commentators, have reduced inflation. We are now starting to see the effects of the solid, responsible governance and wisdom of those policies. Many of them, such as the cap on gas prices, were opposed by the coalition. The supply-side challenges also commenced prior to 2022.

The member for Groom wants someone to blame. To the extent that it's possible to find someone to blame locally for global conditions, he might want to take another look at the shambles that was the Morrison government. The member was, after all, here. He was supporting that government, and he should therefore know. Since the election almost two years ago, the Albanese government has actively supported people across Australia with a host of cost-of-living support measures in a way that has minimised inflationary effects and in some cases has acted to suppress inflation. The people of Groom, like the people of Hasluck, have much to think the government for.

I just want to reflect on a few of those different ways. We now have cheaper child care. We now have cheaper medicines. We've done record investment in bulk-billing. We've provided for electricity bill relief. We've increased support payments and rent assistance. We have introduced across a huge number of critical areas of need fee-free TAFE training. We've had a return of real wage growth. Of course, now we have the opportunity to look forward to tax cuts under an Albanese Labor government. It is almost certain that, if the member for Groom's party had somehow formed government at the last election, inflation and the cost-of-living challenges would have been a lot worse. Unlike the Morrison government, we seek to deliver programs in an even-handed way. We have seen, evidenced by the opposition to this government's policies and reforms, a true insight into the mindset of those opposite.

The people of Hasluck today are benefiting from cheaper child care. Over 16,000 families with children will have welcomed the assistance and the reduction in cost of early education and care. Would the coalition have delivered this? I think not. The people of Hasluck are benefiting from cheaper medicines. We capped the cost of PBS scripts, and we are delivering 60-day dispensing, saving thousands of people in Hasluck hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars. The Morrison government actually received the advice to move to 60-day dispensing back in 2018, but did they do so? No! Has that meant that millions of Australians paid more than was necessary for their medicines over the last five years? It's absolutely so! Thanks for nothing, coalition.

Labor believes in Medicare, and this government has delivered the greatest investments in Medicare since the inception of the scheme. We had to because the previous coalition governments had let it run down terribly. With record investment in bulk billing, targeted relief and Medicare urgent care clinics that are bulk-billing, it's no doubt that the people of Hasluck have welcomed a Labor government. It is a strain to imagine these policies, with all their benefits to Australian household budgets, ever being announced by the coalition, when they clearly and so deliberately wrecked it.

When I and every member of this House were summoned back to legislate gas price caps in December 2022, we delivered what was widely regarded as anti-inflationary relief for millions of consumers. But what did the opposition do then? They voted against the bill. In other words, we can reasonably say that, if the coalition had prevailed, inflation would be up to three-quarters of a percentage point higher and, worse, perhaps not on the downward trajectory that we now see.

Another example is that eighteen per cent of householders in Hasluck are renting, so we've increased the rent assistance to assist them in a very difficult market—more difficult in Perth, for sure, and in other places than I know it is elsewhere. But where is the coalition's housing policy? Where is their commitment to fee-free TAFE? Where is their commitment to tax cuts? Only a Labor government has delivered— (Time expired)

Andrew Charlton (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Unquestionably, the most important issue facing Australians today is the cost of living. People are struggling to make ends meet, they're struggling to put food on the table, they're struggling to pay their energy bills, and more Australians than ever before are in housing stress—unable to pay their rent or unable to pay their mortgage. But the question that this House has to consider is: what can we as governments do about that? Unfortunately, the Liberal Party, who moved this motion, have presented no plan for what to do about it and no contrition for the fact that they left Australia in this state, where we have extremely high pressures on the cost of living and the highest inflation that we've had for more than a decade.

When the Liberal Party left office, inflation was running on a quarterly basis at the highest rate in more than two decades. When the Liberals left office, food prices in Australia were at levels 54 per cent higher than the global average. Australia was one of the most expensive places in the world to purchase food, despite us being a net food exporter. The mover of this motion would do well to consider how we got into that situation and, most importantly, what we're going to do about it.

The Albanese Labor government are working on two levels. First of all, on the macro level, we're working to bring inflation down to make sure that we reduce cost-of-living pressures and help Australians by not having an ongoing high inflation rate that continues to chip away at their real earnings and continues to make it harder and harder for them to make ends meet. Secondly, we're working on the micro level to provide individuals with targeted cost-of-living relief, to boost competition across our economy and to invest in infrastructure and other supply chain bottlenecks to make sure that the efficiencies in our system deliver the best possible prices for Australian consumers.

Let's begin with the macro question. While the previous government spent up big, left Australians with a billion dollars of debt, left Australia with a high inflation rate and couldn't deliver a budget surplus, this government has taken prudent action to get inflation down, we've delivered a budget surplus and we've created more savings in two budgets than they produced in five. We've created an infrastructure program and programs to remove bottlenecks in our supply chains and keep the costs of goods low. Most importantly, we've implemented mechanisms to make sure that we have competition in our markets. We've appointed the ACCC to do an investigation into the supermarket sector, we've appointed Craig Emerson to analyse small suppliers and make sure they're not abused by the large supermarkets and we've appointed CHOICE, the consumer group, to crunch the data and look at which supermarkets are charging the most and which supermarkets are the best value. So across these measures—macroeconomic and microeconomic measures—the Albanese government is making real inroads to ensure that Australians are alleviated in their cost-of-living pressure, that we bring down prices over time and that more Australians can make ends meet.

The other half of this equation—this isn't just about prices. Prices are one part of cost of living, but the other part of the cost of living, of course, is wages. The higher your wages are, the higher the prices you can tolerate; the lower your wages are, the more difficult it is to make ends meet no matter what situation the price level is in. That's why the Albanese government has worked so hard to turn around the decade of zero wages growth that was presided over by the Liberal party.

I'm an economist and, if you ask me what the most extraordinary fact about the Australian economy over the last 10 years is, I would say it's that fact—that in 10 years we had zero real wages growth. That's 10 years in which Australian workers were going backwards. Despite growth in technology, progress right through our economy and expansion in profits, workers were getting none of that. In fact, when the Liberals left office, real wages were falling at 3.5 per cent.

Under this Labor government, we've had three successive quarters of positive real wages growth. That's what we're doing about the cost of living. We're bringing prices down by reducing inflation and increasing wages to help families make ends meet.

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.