Annette Hurley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Scullion, the Minister representing the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Is the minister aware that, since the 2004 election, working families now spend 36 per cent more on child care, 18 per cent more on bread, 29 per cent more on fresh fruit and vegetables, 15 per cent more on health care and 28 per cent more on petrol? On top of these cost-of-living increases, aren’t homeowners with a $300,000 mortgage now $457 a month worse off, thanks to nine interest rate rises in a row? How can families plan their budgets when the cost of living just keeps going up? Given that the cost of living for families just keeps going up, can the minister indicate if he supports the Prime Minister’s view that working families have never been better off?