Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

First and foremost, I want to point out the sheer hypocrisy. The opposition suddenly care about the cost of living now, when they're in opposition. But, in the nine years they were in power, what did we actually see to help everyday Australians? Absolutely nothing. We saw rorts of multiple forms, tax cuts for the rich and leg-ups for the multimillion-dollar companies that they support. I'm glad the opposition finally caught up to the fact that the major parties might actually have to start caring about people, but unfortunately for them it is too late. I hope that they remember, when they come into government again, if they don't have selective amnesia, that it is the everyday Australian that is currently struggling. I really hope that their having brought on this MPI means that this is a sustainable memory for them.

I've done a lot of travelling in the past month, especially in Western Australia. One thing that not just shocked but also appalled me was how prices were absolutely so high, particularly the more remote that I went. I'll give you an example. In Roebourne, for a litre of milk today, it costs $7. We wonder why we see an increase in preventable deaths in some of those communities. Prices are forcing people to consume not just what they can find but also what they can afford, which often doesn't add up to your basic healthy diet with fruit and vegetables. There is a lot of processed food, full of sugar, salt and God knows what else out in those communities. This is something that the people are being forced into because of the cost-of-living pressures. This is not the individuals' fault; people are simply doing the best they can to get by. When I talk to people on the ground, they are saying: 'Where do we turn for these solutions? No-one is offering any of those up.'

The issue is also with the corporations that are profiting off the cost-of-living crisis. The issue is the major parties uniting to keep people on income support and in poverty. The issue is with the lack of investment in our rural communities right across this country. Of course something needs to be done to help people in this cost-of-living crisis, but I am telling those folks out there watching: Don't be fooled that this MPI today brought on by the coalition means that they will be the ones that deliver the long-term solutions that are actually required to solve this.' They will not be the ones offering up the solutions. They didn't do it while they were in government and they're certainly not going to do it now.