Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

The last six months have been interesting and embarrassing at times, but I really do think that today we've seen a new low bar set. It is just extraordinary to hear question time answers and other contributions made by those now in government where they are almost in denial of a cost-of-living crisis. The Assistant Treasurer has now declared that the RBA is going to stop raising interest rates, so the crisis is over—no need to look here! There's constant blaming, whining, carry-on, looking back to the past and passing the buck as Australians feel the pinch more and more every single day.

I think it is really time for those opposite to grow up and understand they're in government, and that that means actually making decisions that are going to be better for Australians, not worse. Obviously that memo got missed, because every single Australian, since the Albanese government has come to power, is now worse off. Stage 3 of the tax cuts that were legislated are almost at 'Voldemort status'—like the $275, 'the number that shall not be named'. They're not quite at Voldemort status but they are getting very, very close. We were told 97 times that power bills were going to go down by $275, but we know that they're going to go up, and they're probably going to go up by more than $275. So the stage 3 tax cuts are going to be required. All those tradies who are going to see, on an income of $80,000, almost $2,000 back in their pocket each year are going to need it, because their mortgages have gone up eight times since this Labor government came to power. You can compare that to the last Liberal government, when there was one increase.

We now have interest rates and a cash rate at the highest they've been in 10 years, but we're not seeing this government pull any policy levers that are moving towards reducing inflation. Every step they take, every move they make, they are making a bad situation worse—