Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have received a letter from the honourable member for Fairfax proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

The Government's failure to manage the economy and ease pressure on cost of living.

I call upon those honourable members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me start with some truisms: (1) Australia is the greatest country in the world; (2) the Albanese government is the worst government in Australian history; and (3) only a Dutton led coalition government can get Australia back on track. As we come to this next federal election, there is only one key question that Australians really need to ask themselves: do they feel better today than they did three years ago? Even in this chamber, the echo is no. When the Australian people do answer that question and say, 'No, we don't feel better,' they know that the last thing they should do in the ballot box is vote for a Labor candidate. But there is one thing worse than another term of the Albanese Labor government, and that is a term of a Labor-Green-Teal minority government.

Australians already know, after just one term of this government, that their standard of living has dropped more than in any other developed nation in the world, bar none. Australians are copping it. Their standard of living has dropped woefully. There is not a developed nation in the world where residents are feeling a drop in their way of life worse than Australians are. That is a direct consequence of this Labor government. If you look at the skyrocketing prices for food, education, health, housing, rent, insurance, electricity and gas, all of these have had at least double-digit rises in prices. In some cases there have been rises of over 20 per cent. In other cases, such as insurance, gas and electricity, it has been over 30 per cent. Prices have gone up. How's that for a track record for just one term in government? Can you imagine the damage they will wreak on the Australian economy and the Australian people if they're given yet another three years, let alone with the Greens and the teals as part of a minority government?

I think the issue here is that the Labor Party does not understand the importance of the economy, nor do they understand how to manage the economy. They have, indeed, never worked in the economy. In fact, what you have is the Attorney-General giggling as he leaves in shame because he doesn't have real-world experience. Indeed, what you see—he's coming back now, the Attorney-General—is that he is like the rest of the front bench. They're nothing more than a sales and marketing department for the CFMEU—

Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a farce!

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and what you are is their chief marketer.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Enough!

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You and the rest of the front bench of the Labor Party are nothing more than sales and marketing for the union movement.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Fairfax! Before I give you the call, Member for Deakin, I have a few comments to make myself. That was completely out-of-order behaviour. Member for Page, you were also part of the out-of-order behaviour. Let's not add to the slanging match that just took place. You can make your strong, robust arguments without descent into that. I'm going to give you the call again, Member for Fairfax. I'd like the member for Isaacs, the Attorney-General, to either remain and be orderly or leave the chamber. Is there anything further that the Manager of Opposition Business had to add?

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, Madam Deputy Speaker. I was going to raise the point that the minister was finding it difficult to control himself, but I think your remarks have dealt with that.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think the entire House had a little challenge in that regard. So let's try again. We are in an MPI, and I do give you latitude for debate.

Member for Groom, do you want to join in the Speaker's discussion here or what? Let's try and stick to the topic. I give you the call, Member for Fairfax.

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, this Labor government does not understand how to manage the economy. They do not understand the importance of the economy.

In the coalition, on the other hand, we understand that the economy is not an end unto itself but, rather, that a strong economy is the means by which you underpin a strong standard of living. A strong economy is the means by which you can guarantee Australians' way of life. A strong economy is the means by which Australians can pursue whatever it is they wish to pursue. A strong economy is what allows people to buy houses, to afford the rent, to afford to educate the children and to pay for their health care. A strong economy is what allows our broader nation to be strong within a volatile Indo-Pacific.

But this Labor government does not understand the importance of a strong economy. Labor sees an economy as nothing more than an ability to take money from taxpayers and play with it with whatever their latest ideological proclivity might be. We know that right now Australians are actually paying the highest level of income tax that they ever have. Up to 26.1 per cent of people's income, by average, is being paid in tax. That has grown enormously under this government—by around about three per cent. They want to continue to take people's money. This means that the average Australian ends up being out of pocket by about $3½ thousand because of this government's tax take. For a couple, two income makers in one house, that's $7,000. The thing is that, with the money they have left after they've given another $7,000 to the Labor Party government, they can buy less anyway because everything has gone up because of this government's homegrown inflation.

Of course, we know that Labor is very proud of the fact that they have already announced a $150 energy relief package as part of the budget they'll announce tonight, something the coalition will not stand in the way of, because we know that, under their policies, Australian families are on their knees, hurting. We know that Australian businesses are closing at a rapid rate. Some 29,000 businesses have gone insolvent, in large part due to the failed energy policies of this government, so we will not stand in the way, but let's not kid ourselves as to the business model of the government.

Really, the energy relief payments by this government, which now add up to somewhere around about $6.8 billion, are nothing but mopping up a failure in energy policy, and yet the Treasurer sells it as a virtue of how wonderful the Labor Party is. Seriously? He is a modern-day Fagin taken out of a Charles Dickens novel—teaching the caucus of the Labor Party how to play with their constituents' money. You see, what you do is you sneak up behind them, you take $150 out of their back pocket and then you run in front of them and go, 'Aha! Here is $150,' and you put it in their front pocket. Then you say, 'Aren't we great? We're fixing the energy problems.' This is their business model. They have no solutions to deal with the problem.

Of course, we're talking about Australians paying $3,500 more in tax on average under this government, so it is only 150 bucks they are going to get back in the front pocket. Everything else goes to the ideological dreams of the Labor Party, and nobody steals more than the Minister for Climate Change and Energy—just as an aside. We are talking about tens of billions of dollars on his 'all eggs in one basket' renewables-only program—a program that is already driving Australian businesses to the wall. We are seeing industries close, we are seeing regional Australian economies hauling out, and we are seeing manufacturers closing the doors and relocating to Asia as a direct consequence of these policies.

Those opposite want to close down baseload power stations. They would suffocate gas. Their renewables program is running at half the pace that they promised it would, so Australians are now paying among the highest prices for electricity in the world. This is a direct consequence of this Labor government. This is cost-of-living pain directly caused by this Labor government. Their only solutions to energy are (1) to keep going for an 82 per cent renewable energy grid, (2) that they want green hydrogen—it was in the paper today—which will require a doubling of the grid to deliver on that dream, and (3) that they want to import natural gas. This is their solution. It is a disgrace and all of you— (Time expired)

Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

ELLIOT (—) (): The choice at this year's coming election is so incredibly clear: we have Labor's plan to keep building Australia's future or, indeed, the Liberals' and Nationals' plans to cut everything everywhere. That is their only plan. We know they have at least $300 billion on cuts proposed, but they will not tell us exactly where. Is it in health or social services, perhaps in the NDIS, infrastructure, in areas or agencies like the National Emergency Management Agency? We don't know where these cuts will be, but they will be catastrophic for the Australian people. It is a very, very clear choice at this election, with us building and them cutting. That is all it is: build or cut.

The Leader of the Opposition will make families worse off by cutting the very things they need. He has done it before and he will definitely do it again. Those opposite don't have any plans at all except their one plan—the $600 billion nuclear madness scheme; that is all they have. What will they cut to pay for that? The end result of all that will be much higher power prices for Australians.

Let's have a look at exactly the record, particularly that of the Leader of the Opposition and Liberals and Nationals. As a health minister, the Leader of the Opposition cut $50 billion from our public hospitals, cut funding for Medicare and tried to end bulk-billing with that GP tax. We all remember that one, particularly how unpopular it was right across the community. He also tried to make medicines a lot more expensive and charge for emergency room visits. And, of course, we all remember that the Leader of the Opposition was voted the 'worst' health minister.

Let's go back even a little bit further. As we've heard a few times today as we reflect on 2013, we had the then Leader of the Opposition running around saying to people prior to the election that there would be no cuts—no cuts to health, no cuts to education, no cuts to pensions, no cuts to the ABC and no cuts to the SBS. What did they do as soon as they got in? Cut all of them—every single one of those.

Let's come back to the present day, to the Liberals and Nationals that we have here. Let's look at what they've done. They've opposed Labor's tax cuts for every taxpayer. They've opposed Labor's Medicare urgent care clinics. They've opposed Labor's cheaper medicines plan, opposed Labor's cheaper childcare plan and opposed Labor's energy bill relief in the past as well. All of our cost-of-living measures have been opposed by the Liberals and Nationals. Australians need those cost-of-living measures, and they have opposed every single one.

The fact is that now Australians are earning more and keeping more of what they earn under Labor. But the fact is that they'll be working much longer for less under the Liberals and Nationals. That's what will happen. We are so focused on the cost of living and the tax cuts for every taxpayer, and do you know what they are focused on? The only things they're focused on are tax breaks for bosses, long lunches and golf days. That's about it. That's what they focus on. We focus on everyday Australians and the cost-of-living pressures that they have. It has been absolutely clear cut that that's our focus and, of course, that will be the focus tonight in the Treasurer's fourth budget speech. Again, we will see that focus on the cost of living, which is so important.

Of course, when we came to government, inflation was high and rising, real wages were falling and living standards were declining. Under our government, inflation is almost a third of what it was at the election and is falling. Real wages are growing again. We have recorded the lowest average unemployment rate of any government in 50 years and we've overseen the creation of more than a million jobs, because our economic plan is all about helping Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn. We do that because responsible economic management is so importantly at the core of this government and all that we deliver.

I'd like now to turn to some of those cost-of-living measures that we have in place. We understand that people have been, and are still, doing it tough. That's why our entire focus is on cost-of-living measures. First of all, we have had, of course, those tax cuts for every taxpayer. Can I tell you, in an electorate like mine on the North Coast of New South Wales, that's more than 70,000 people that have had a tax cut.

We have provided energy bill relief for every household, and we just announced an extra $150 in energy bill relief, extending our energy rebates until the end of 2025. That builds on the $300 energy rebate we already delivered to households. And, of course, there are the cheaper medicines that are so vitally important for Australians. We've said that scripts will cost Australians no more than $25 under the PBS, and the cost for pensioners and concession card holders will remain capped at $7.70. That's going to make a huge difference in the lives of so many Australians, particularly our senior Australians.

One of our other cost-of-living measures is cheaper child care, which is so important for families—particularly for getting women back into employment—and so important for our economy as well. We've also provided our HECS relief, and we have announced—if re-elected—a 20 per cent cut from HECS debts, which will really help younger people with HECS debts in particular. And, of course, there is free TAFE. What a game changer this has been in terms of training Australians. Again, in an area like mine, 5,000 people were able to access TAFE because of Labor's free TAFE.

We also have our Medicare urgent care clinics and our Medicare mental health clinics, where people can walk in for free. At those, you only need your Medicare card. We're doing that on top of increasing the bulk-billing rebate for everyone so more people can access a doctor when they need it. We are absolutely committed to strengthening Medicare; we always have been.

We also, as part of so many of the measures we've introduced, invested in social and affordable housing, including recently expanding the Help to Buy scheme as well, so that more younger people and renters can get into the housing market. We have also strengthened our social security safety nets, which are so vital in this country. Particularly, we have increased rent assistance by 40 per cent and increased pensions by almost 17 per cent since we came to government. As I said before, the Liberals and Nationals oppose all of those cost-of-living measures. They've always opposed them—all along the way and all along the line. The fact is Australians would be much worse off under the Liberals and Nationals. We know that to be an absolute fact.

I'll just add that, whilst we are absolutely committed to building on our focus for Australia and our absolute priority is that we make sure of that every step of the way—every day that we've been in government we've done that—we are also very mindful that we have natural disasters in this country. I want to touch on that briefly as well because it goes to the heart of what our government are committed to and what we do—that is, addressing cost-of-living measures whilst also being proactive in communities, like mine, that were impacted recently by Tropical Cyclone Alfred. That's because our government, the Albanese Labor government, is there for people and communities. That is a fact. From those hardship payments to repairing roads, we have absolutely been there. I would like to briefly acknowledge, firstly, all of those agencies that were so well prepared and worked together in my region. We had the SES, the RFS, the ADF—they were there on the ground, which was wonderful—Essential Energy, councils and Services Australia.

I particularly want to acknowledge and thank the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister for being there on the ground with people in our region and for talking to them, as well as the New South Wales Premier, all of the New South Wales state ministers, our Minister for Emergency Management, Senator Jenny McAllister, and also Senator Tony Sheldon, who was our flood envoy. All of them were on the ground, every single day, coordinating and working with those agencies, and our Prime Minister was coordinating that from the National Situation Room at the NEMA, National Emergency Management Authority, headquarters here in Canberra, which is an agency we set up to respond to natural disasters because we know we have to be there for Australians whether that is every single day with cost-of-living relief or planning and providing support when we do have natural disasters. We have invested a huge amount in disaster funds and also in NEMA, but the fact is we were there on the ground with all of those agencies and it means so much to people.

We also announced some of the really important payments people could access—the hardship payments of $180 and the disaster allowance—as payments for people's wages lost during natural disasters when they can't get to work or their place of work is closed. There is also the disaster payment of $1,000 for major damage, and we, for the first time, activated those payments prior to it happening, again, because we care about Australians and we address the issues that they have. We have been doing that ever since we were elected—since day one—and our main focus, every single day, is addressing the cost-of-living pressures that Australians have. That is the focus of everyone in our government, and that will absolutely be the focus of the Treasurer tonight in outlining his fourth budget and those measures that will help Australians, because we understand people are doing it tough and we are a government that continue to be committed to providing the support that Australians need, right across our nation.

Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy Affordability) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have some real-life figures for you. The cost of bread is up 21 per cent. Dairy is up 18 per cent. Seafood is up 15 per cent. Fruit is up 12 per cent, and chicken is up 10 per cent. These are essential items, but Australians just can't afford them right now because of the Albanese Labor government's cost-of-living crisis. Labor have spent the election so far talking about anything and everything apart from their policy failures that are hurting everyday Australians right now. Every minister on the economic team should hang their head in shame for the way they keep patting themselves on the back, despite every Australian suffering. It's like Australians couldn't have ever had it any better than they have it right now.

In addition to groceries, energy is No. 1, and it's up. The cost of energy is one of the biggest drivers of the economic harm to young people, families and seniors that are battling at this time. The draft default market offer this month highlighted a stark reminder for every person in Western Sydney. My community will be paying more than $1,300 extra on their electricity bills in the coming financial year than what this Albanese Labor government promised. Remember their tagline? It was that energy would be $275 less in 2025, which is where we are today, compared to 2022 prices. Prime Minister, you may have said that on almost 100 occasions during the last campaign trail, but I can guarantee that, when you set foot in Western Sydney during the election, it will be the first and last thing you hear from people on the ground. The Albanese Labor government's broken promise on energy costs is astounding. It's about time the energy minister actually apologised to his Western Sydney community, who are furious about the price of energy to power their homes. And I know they're furious, because I'm in the neighbouring electorate, and every time a member of the minister's community steps over they tell me how angry they are with the minister for energy.

I've met with businesses in the McMahon electorate, which borders my community, and those manufacturers are struggling so much right now. Higher energy prices mean less money is being invested in their business to employ more local people to make more local products so people can get the benefit of a strong local economy, which is not happening right now.

The price of gas is sky high. These family manufacturers, these cafes and these households across Western Sydney are struggling, and they know the answer is gas. We must approve more gas projects to get more gas into domestic supply lines to bring down costs. It is that simple. But this Labor government only cares about renewables. We need a diversified energy grid made up of sources that fit communities and provide us with reliable, 24/7 base-load power, like nuclear energy can, and gas as well.

I've touched on groceries and I've touched on energy prices, and both of these things are heartbreaking because these are the costs that are impacting Australians. These are the costs that mean Australians who have never had to line up at a food bank previously have to do so so they can feed their families—those double-income families. This is real-life stuff. The figures are real life. You go to any local community food bank, and they can tell you this very sad story.

We come to housing. Unfortunately, buying a house, a family's first home, is getting harder. A coalition government will limit housing for foreign investors, to ensure more homes are available for young couples who just want their chance at the Australian dream. Rent is at record rates in many areas across Australia, and our young people in particular are being smashed by this, as are single parents—as is every Australian. The coalition will invest billions of dollars to get sewerage to local roads and much more built to ensure greenfield development sites aren't sitting idle—which is what's happening right now—but can be approved to build great Aussie homes as soon as possible.

I've touched now on groceries, energy and housing, and finally I want to talk about small business. Insolvencies are at record rates for our great local small businesses. We never hear about this from the small business minister, though. Parts of Western Sydney have some of the highest rates of business insolvencies. Australians are fed up, and we know that all they want is for Australia to get back on track.

Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Back in 2019 I sat on that side of the chamber, and I remember speaking to a deaf government about the challenges that families were facing around stagnant wage growth and the rising cost of living, and that was just completely dismissed by the people who were in charge of the economy back then. Having now been on this side of the chamber for three years and having listened to those opposite from a different perspective, I can see why. It's because they do not have a single policy that would tackle the challenges that people face. They can whine and they can moan and they can stir people up. We know that people have been hurting. We know what the consequences have been. That's why we put forward sensible, thoughtful measures—not to fix everything instantly, because none of it has a quick fix, but to address and ease the pain that people are feeling. Unfortunately, nothing we've heard from anybody opposite offers any alternative approach—how they might tackle the economic issues that we face.

In every budget we've handed down, we've been focused on helping with the cost of living, using the levers that we have. But we've also been very mindful that we inherited a big Liberal debt and that that needed to be paid down. We found savings in the budget, savings that those opposite were incapable of finding when they were in government. There were no savings in their budgets. They never delivered a surplus. As we found those savings, we used them to pay down debt that we inherited. We did that because we knew that we needed to provide a secure foundation for Australia to find its way in what we now know is an ever-changing world and a challenging world.

Let's think about where we are now compared to where we were. When we came to government, inflation was shooting up like a rocket. It was going up and up and up. People weren't yet feeling those price increases because they take a little time to work their way through, but it wasn't long before people realised that those price increases equalled pain. We have done a total reverse on that. Not only is inflation not going up now; it's actually on its way down, and it's within a range that clearly gives the Reserve Bank confidence that it's okay to ease interest rates. That's a pretty significant thing to have achieved. We've achieved that without something that normally happens and that other countries have resorted to, and that is high unemployment. Over the last few years, together, Australians have achieved something quite remarkable—and that is that we have made substantial progress on inflation, we've got wages growing again for the first time in memory, we've got low unemployment and we've seen the creation of more than a million jobs under the Albanese Labor government. As of last week, unemployment continues to be low; it sits at around 4.1 per cent, with record participation and widespread job creation. Four out of five jobs are in the private sector. Those are jobs that businesses are having the confidence to create. That doesn't happen without a steady hand at the wheel steering the economy of Australia.

One of the things I think that those in opposition fail to appreciate—and some of them might be too young to remember, and I'll forgive them for that—is that the consequences of high unemployment are not just numbers. This is not a piece of data that looks bad on a piece of paper. It's what that does to people and people's lives. It really, seriously impacts someone's self-esteem and their mental health, let alone their finances and their financial future. It impacts their relationships. It impacts our wider society as people choose to withdraw from things. It has such far-reaching consequences, and I know because I saw this in the nineties. That is not something that Labor believes should be repeated. Everything we have done, as best we could, has been with a view on minimising that impact of unemployment and ensuring that people still have jobs. I am so proud that Australian businesses rose to that and that we've got this economy where it is now.

Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

After three long, hard years for Australians, relief is soon at hand with the federal election in the wind. Regardless of what you'll hear tonight, the facts don't lie about the very real struggle Australians have under the Albanese government. We warned at the last election, 'It won't be easy under Albanese,' and it has proved to be far worse. In fact, Australians simply cannot escape. The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that gas prices are up 32 per cent; rents are up 17 per cent; bread is up over 20 per cent; cheese is up 18 per cent; milk is up 17 per cent; and breakfast cereal is up 15 per cent—it's enough to make you choke on your Weet-Bix. It's no joking matter, however, with insurance also up 32 per cent. My constituents in Mallee are hopping mad about it, and they are very happy that the Leader of the Opposition has put insurers on notice to ensure insurance is affordable and accessible for Australian families and small businesses. I will be bringing Andrew Hall from the Insurance Council to Halls Gap next week to meet with constituents—business owners who've been unable to access or afford fire insurance, even though Halls Gap itself has never been burnt in a bushfire in all its history. The Leader of the Opposition, at my invitation, came to Halls Gap to talk about insurance, in contrast with the Prime Minister and Premier, who flew over the town in its time of need.

Australia's cost-of-living crisis has been running for three years. The Nationals have been urging for action at the supermarket check-out to assist struggling Australian shoppers and farmers, but this government has yet again been slow to act. Grocery prices have gone up 24 per cent, compared to all other goods and services at 22 per cent. Critically, by early 2023, grocery prices were increasing at twice the rate of wage growth. The coalition has been proposing tough action on supermarkets that abuse their market power, including tough new penalties, such as a $2 million on-the-spot fine, 10 times more than Labor have pledged, and increased powers for the ACCC to conduct random audits of major supermarkets. We will create a supermarket commissioner as a confidential link between farmers and suppliers so there can be no fear of retribution, which they currently face, for speaking out about unfair prices. Of course, we in the Nationals are committed to divestiture powers as a last resort to put an end to price gouging. That's what real action on the cost of living looks like.

The Albanese Labor government pretends it never said 97 times before the last election that power prices would permanently come down by $275. They've put forward in tonight's budget two $75 relief payments for two quarters, a bandaid for a gaping wound. But voters are smarter than that. They know their power prices have actually gone up $1,300.

The list of pain for Australians, particularly regional Australians, after three long years of Labor goes on. In the coalition's time in office we secured 43 mobile black spot investments in Mallee, in places like Kalkee, Laharum, Minyip and Toolondo. But Labor has not funded one mobile tower in its three years. Mallee residents have had to pay for alternatives or have lost productivity due to poor mobile coverage. Productivity is also evaporating in Mallee farms in the north as Labor wastes taxpayer money buying more water from our food-producing irrigators just to send it down the river, driving up the cost of water and ultimately the cost of food at the supermarket. Fruit prices have already risen 12 per cent under Labor. Where will they go with less water to grow it with in another three years of an Albanese government?

Spending in my electorate after three years of hard Labor has fallen by 95 per cent, one-twentieth of what I secured in my first term in office. Everywhere you look, Labor is robbing regions to buy votes in the inner cities, pretending Australians will fall for their tricky budgeting to get over the line this election. Only a coalition government will get Australia back on track.

Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It has been three years since Labor got back in the driver's seat. After nine long years on the road to nowhere under the coalition, this government took the wheel and has driven our economy in the right direction. The terrain has been tough at times, but we have not shied away from being up to the job. When we came to government, inflation was high and getting higher. Real wages weren't keeping up, and Australians were going backwards. Those opposite had spent nine long years driving us into the economic desert. Since we have taken the reins, we have been moving in a much better direction. Inflation has fallen to a third of what it was. Real wages are growing, and living standards are rising again. Unemployment is the lowest it's been in 50 years, and over one million new jobs have been created, the most in a single term of any parliament in Australian history.

We know the drive towards a better place hasn't been easy. Australians have felt every bump and turn. But, unlike those opposite, we've felt every bump and turn with them. That's why delivering Australians cost-of-living relief has been our No. 1 focus, and all those opposite have done is stand in the way.

The member for Fairfax says we've failed to ease cost-of-living pressures. I think he has been talking to himself. That's the only thing I could really think of to make any sense of this. I think he woke up this morning, looked in the mirror, thought about the last three years and went, 'Wow, we have failed to ease cost-of-living pressures!' I admire the member for Fairfax's honesty, because it's true. He, along with all of those opposite, has stood in the way of our cost-of-living relief for the past three years. They opposed Labor's tax cuts for every taxpayer. They opposed Labor's Medicare urgent care clinics, including the ones in the Hunter. They opposed Labor's cheaper medicines plan. They opposed Labor's cheaper childcare plan. They opposed Labor's $300 energy bill relief.

If it would ease the cost-of-living pressures, you can bet the coalition opposed it. That's why we call them the 'no-alition' for a reason. Whilst it's never too late to admit your own mistakes, Australians wish the member for Fairfax and the coalition had looked in the mirror and had their wake-up call a little earlier. If they had supported our cost-of-living measures over the past three years, it would have made life easier for all Australians.

The member for Fairfax also says that we have failed to manage the economy. After talking to himself in the mirror about his inability to support our cost-of-living relief, he's also reminiscing about the nine long years of poor economic management underneath the coalition. We know what the coalition is like in the driver's seat and what it looks like. When the Leader of the Opposition was health minister, he cut $50 billion from public hospitals. That's $50 billion. He cut funding from Medicare. He tried to end bulk-billing and made medicines more expensive. The coalition has made this person their leader because cutting is in their DNA. We know their record and what they have planned for Australia if they can manage to wrestle the driving wheel from us and take us back down the road they love—the road to nowhere.

I'm proud of our economic record and the cost-of-living relief that we have delivered. Australians are earning more and keeping more of what they earn under Labor. We are rebuilding our country. We have our plan to keep building and keep easing the cost-of-living pressures. We'll provide another $150 for energy bill relief. We'll further reduce medicine prices, and Australians will pay no more than $25 per script under the PBS. We'll wipe 20 per cent off HECS debts. For all the young Australians with a HECS debt listening to this, we're going to wipe 20 per cent off it. Those opposite will get back to cutting. Those are the options for Australians—do we keep building, or do we keep cutting? Cuts aren't going to make it easier to see a doctor. They aren't going to make it easier to go to university or TAFE. Cuts aren't going to bring down energy prices. Cuts aren't going to make it easier to raise a family, get ahead or even buy a house. But still cuts are all those opposite have to offer.

The member for Fairfax talks a big game, but let's get real on this. If the coalition had been in charge for the past three years, Australians would be thousands and thousands of dollars worse off under what the coalition would have delivered. Remember, they held our wages back. Remember the bills in Medicare. Remember, they tried to cut Medicare. They want to go backwards. We want to go forwards. That's what we'll continue to do as the Australian Labor Party.

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This was the budget that wasn't going to be delivered. We all know that the Prime Minister and the Treasurer weren't planning to deliver this budget for a pretty straightforward reason—it was going to show a deficit, and it was going to show deficits as far as the eye could see. It was going to destroy that image that the Treasurer has tried to craft around his so-called responsible economic management. The reason that we're going to see deficits moving forward is that the good luck of the Treasurer has run out. It's an important part.

I'll give credit to that well-known and respected economist, Chris Richardson. The table of truth—I see the member for Parramatta smiling. I think he knows where we're going here with this one. There was $252 billion in parameter variations in the budgets that this government has delivered. Parameter variations are important in a budget, because they're the upgrades and the downgrades that the government has no control over at all. The reason this Treasurer has delivered two surpluses in the budget papers themselves is because of these parameter variations. He has had nothing to do with it. He hasn't made the tough decisions for the Australian people. In fact, his decisions have made it worse for the Australian people.

The reality is there is not one Australian that is doing better today than in May of 2022, when the Prime Minister promised he would solve the cost-of-living crisis for the Australian people. The Prime Minister promised, on 97 occasions, that he would reduce power bills by $275 in 2025. Well, here we sit in 2025, and power bills for the Australian people are up by over $1,000, food is up 13.3 percent, housing is up 14.5 per cent, rents are up over 18 per cent and gas is up 34.2 per cent. This Prime Minister has no solutions to the challenges the Australian people face. At best, he can treat the symptoms with a temporary measure that he's continuing to extend but that will eventually run out. They're not treating the causes of the challenges that we face. When we look at energy prices—as I said, gas is up 34.2 per cent—to bring prices down sustainably, to help households, to help community groups and to help businesses continue to thrive, you need to put more gas into the system. More gas will increase supply, keep demand at the same level, or, if it goes up, it can bring those prices down.

Looking to grocery bills, food is up 13.3 per cent. This government has done nothing to address the challenges of grocery prices. There are many factors, including energy, that drive up prices, but, when Woolworths and Coles control 67 per cent of the market, action needs to be taken to put pressure on them. This government has refused to take action. Their so-called mandatory code has not even come into effect and will make no difference on the ground. It's turning a voluntary code that wasn't working into a mandatory code that still won't work, and that's why the coalition has proposed divestiture laws.

Divestiture laws are the policy. I thank those opposite for the interjection. Divestiture laws that sit as a private members bill in this house, which could be passed today, would put immediate pressure on Woolworths and Coles. If they do not act ethically, if they do not act in the best interests of consumers and if they do not act in the best interest of suppliers, food manufacturers and farmers, their stores could be sold and their market share could be broken with appropriate guardrails in place to ensure employment and to ensure that towns have the services they need. Losing their market share is the only thing that will scare Woolworths and Coles executives.

I spent over a decade working for food suppliers that supplied Woolworths and Coles. I saw firsthand the predatory behaviour that they undertook, using their market power to pressure suppliers, small businesses and farmers. These laws will make them act in an ethical way, and, if they don't, they will lose their market share. Those opposite don't want to support that policy that will make a tangible difference for the Australian people and for Australian farmers and which will bring prices down in a sustainable and structural way in the long term. It's all about political spin for this Prime Minister and this Treasurer, and it's the Australian people that pay the price.

Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I know people in my electorate of Gilmore are doing it tough, which is why the Albanese government is taking practical steps to help ease the cost of living. I'm really looking forward to Treasurer Jim Chalmers' budget speech tonight when he will build upon our plan to provide more meaningful and sensible cost-of-living assistance. This week we have announced an additional $150 in energy bill relief for households and small business, ensuring Australians can keep more of what they earn. That's on top of the $300 energy rebate that people across the country have already received.

Health care has always been a top priority in my electorate, which is why I'm thrilled that the Albanese Labor government will make cheaper medicines even cheaper with a script to cost Australians no more than $25 under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Gilmore residents have already benefitted from Labor's cheaper medicines, saving almost $10 million on the cost of their scripts during our time in government. Under a re-elected Labor government, they will save even further, with a more than 20 per cent cut in the maximum cost of PBS medicines to save Australians $200 million each year. It's been more than two decades since Australians paid no more than $25 for a PBS medicine. In stark contrast, when the Liberal leader was the health minister, he tried to jack up the cost of medicines, he tried to end bulk-billing and he wanted to slash funding for Medicare. In opposition, the Liberals have voted to block cheaper medicines six times.

With an older population, accessible and affordable health services play a critical role in my electorate. South Coast pensioners and concession cardholders will have more money in their wallets because, for the next five years, they won't pay more than $7.70 for a PBS script. Since the Batemans Bay Medicare Urgent Care Clinic opened in December 2023, we've seen more than 12½ thousand patients walk through the doors, all bulk-billed.

I'm thrilled that, under a re-elected Albanese Labor government, the Batemans Bay urgent care clinic will open from 6 am until midnight, and a new federally funded clinic will open its doors in Nowra. The recently opened walk-in Medicare mental health clinics at Nowra and Moruya are also providing free access to mental health support for people in our community when they need it most. And we are expanding the bulk-billing incentive program so more people across Gilmore can see their GP for free. These are tangible ways we're helping Australians with the cost of living.

I'm pleased to see individuals, families, students and seniors across my electorate already benefiting from a range of measures we have introduced to ease financial stress while placing downward pressure on inflation. From 1 July, 64,000 taxpayers in Gilmore received an average tax cut of $1,405. That's money going straight back into the pockets of hardworking locals. Gilmore pensioners and seniors are saving in many other ways, with an increase in rent assistance, the 12-month freeze on deeming rates plus a wage increase for aged-care workers and more home-care packages.

We know the cost of living is biting families. That's why we've given everyone a tax cut and provided wage increases for our lowest-paid workers. The 10 per cent increase in rent assistance means an average increase of $19 per fortnight for over 8,000 people in Gilmore. We're helping people save at the checkout too, with the CHOICE supermarket price monitoring making supermarkets more competitive and allowing consumers to make price comparisons. These are real, practical savings and effective cost-of-living measures.

Students are receiving a leg-up, with $3 billion wiped from HECS and apprentice loans across the country, including for 13,286 locals in Gilmore. We'll wipe 20 per cent off student debt too. Let's not forget our plan to keep TAFE free and to keep our Commonwealth prac payments for nurses, teachers and social workers, meaning they can now earn money while they learn.

People of all ages and from all walks of life are already reaping the benefits of this government's responsible cost-of-living measures. That wouldn't be the case if the Liberals had their way, because those opposite have opposed our cost-of-living measures time and time again. They opposed our tax cuts for every taxpayer. They've opposed our Medicare urgent care clinics. They've opposed free TAFE, cheaper medicines and cheaper child care. And they've opposed our $300 energy bill relief. Australians would have been much worse off over the last couple of years if Peter Dutton had had his way. They will be worse off still if he wins the election.