Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The budget went over like a lead balloon. The budget left the entire nation feeling like they were stuck in the middle of the ocean without a life raft, barely keeping their heads above water. Australians all over the country are exhausted from the past two years and they're just trying to stay afloat.

Those living and working in my electorate of Dawson are tired; they're tired of trying to navigate and survive this Labor-government-created cost-of-living crisis. They're tired of the false promises and they're tired of being ignored, forgotten and punished simply for living in a regional area. Through no fault of their own, the people of my electorate are having their dignity ripped away from them. We're seeing a new class emerge: the working poor, the working homeless, the working starving. We can forget about the great Australian dream of home ownership; there are entire families in my electorate who have lost their homes due this Labor-created cost-of-living crisis. There are entire families who must now sleep in their cars, sleep in the streets or sleep in tents. Even this is going to be more difficult, due to the Prime Minister's new farm or family car and ute tax, which is going to see the cost of cars skyrocket.

Parents are now having to make decisions on whether to feed themselves or feed their children. The elderly must now choose between paying their rent, buying their groceries or buying the life-saving medication they need every single day. The Albanese Labor government-created cost-of-living crisis has gotten so bad that families, couples and individuals are being forced to surrender their pets to rescue and rehoming organisations because they can no longer feed themselves, let alone their beloved animals. These are families, couples and individuals who, even though they have a job, are being forced to visit neighbourhood centres, charity organisations and food banks just in order to survive. Mackay's Neighbourhood Hub is now taking 12,000 Mackay residents each year. To put that in perspective for everyone in this room, that's close to 10 per cent of Mackay's population. Such soul-destroying experiences are not uncommon.

The people in my electorate of Dawson are struggling. They're struggling because, for some, their last power bill has gone up more than 50 per cent in relation to the same period last year. This is despite the Prime Minister promising 97 times that they'd see a $275 reduction in their power bills. They're struggling because we've seen interest rates rise 12 times under Labor. We've seen the worst inflation of any developed country around the world. This Labor government have betrayed our fishers, they've deserted our miners, they neglected our farmers, they've hammered our tradies and they've abandoned our families.

The good news is that there's an alternative: the great Peter Dutton has a vision for Australia and, if elected, will bring our country back on track. A coalition government will curb inflationary spending; remove the regulatory roadblocks that are suffocating the economy and stopping businesses from getting ahead; condense approval processes and cut back on Labor's red tape, which is killing our mining jobs; remove the complexity and hostility of Labor's industrial relations agenda, which is putting unreasonable burdens on business; extend the value of assets for the instant asset write off to $30,000 and make this ongoing for small business; and provide lower, simpler and fairer taxes for all, because Australians should keep more of what they earn.

A coalition government will deliver reliable, consistent, clean power by adding zero emissions nuclear power into the energy mix, speeding up approvals and unlocking gas in key basins. There is much more that a coalition government will do for the people of Australia, for the people of my electorate of Dawson. Australia cannot afford another three years under the Albanese Labor government.