Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Just when you think this Labor government cannot get any more incompetent or stuff up any other government programs, they manage to exceed our very low expectations. This third Albanese government budget, the third in two years, is no exception to that. In fact, having had a look at some of the detail now, in relation to my home state of Western Australia, it is another complete disaster for Western Australians. It is very clear, very sadly, that Western Australians will be even worse off under this government than they were two years ago when Labor came into government.

What is very clear is that Western Australians, like all Australians, will be paying the price for Labor's disastrous policies and their appallingly bad decisions. Their policies in this, their third budget, continue to be highly inflationary—disastrously and unnecessarily so. The cost of living for all Australians is up. Energy prices are up. Mortgages are up. Grocery prices are up. The list of expenses that are going up for family households continues to expand. Labor had the chance in this third budget to address the pain that Western Australian households were already feeling as a consequence of the last two budgets, but, sadly, they squibbed it and failed very basic economic tests, as the media today has picked up on, right across TV, newspapers and online articles. The verdict is very, very clear.

So why are they doing this—apart from clear incompetence? They're very clearly trying to manufacture an artificial interest rate cut before the end of this year, in a desperate attempt to save themselves at the next election. This is clearly an election budget. It will leave disastrous deficits for this and the next generation to fill, over coming years. In these challenging economic times, which partially have been engineered by those opposite, we need a budget that goes back to basics. Instead, Labor are spending over $315 billion extra, which—despite their attempts, for the election, to get a lower inflation and lower interest rate result—is clearly inflationary.

What does this mean for Australian householders who are already struggling? It means less spending opportunities for household budgets and, most likely, increased mortgage repayments.

In Western Australia, wherever I go, I am constantly hearing from people about the stress on their household budgets and their concerns about cost-of-living increases, including the 12 interest-rate rises since this mob have been in government. Now, after three Labor budgets, the average Australian household with a mortgage is over $35,000 a year worse off. Instead of making things better, they have only made things worse.

The budget last night confirmed the unprecedented increase in net migration. Remember, we've heard so often from those opposite: 'Yes, we're a bit sorry. We did open the floodgates a bit too fast. We didn't think about housing, but it is a bit of an issue,' but, when you look at the budget figures of last night, there's an increase in net migration: 1.67 million new migrants coming to our country over the next five years. That wouldn't be so bad if the government hadn't forgotten to work with state and territory governments to create enough housing for all of these new migrants so that Australians would be able to afford to buy a new house—if they could find one and get a mortgage—but also so Australians could rent. The questions that remain unanswered are: where are these new migrants going to live, and what will be the additional impacts on Australians' mortgages and ability to find a house or land to build on, after which they actually have to have a house built within three or four years? There is simply not enough rental stock available for people who are already here and then for the new 1.67 million migrants who they want to come to Australia. Labor has unashamedly fuelled this housing and rental crisis through migration when housing approvals are at an 11-year low. It just does not make sense.

In Western Australia, in fact, we have the second-lowest quarterly level of new housing starts since records began 40 years ago. I hear so many stories of desperate families visiting home opens while searching for rentals, only to be competing with large groups of people for the same very limited housing supply. Net migration will be increasing in Western Australia over the forward estimates while the 1.67 million people are coming to Australia, and they will be coming to Western Australia. Net migration is increasing in Western Australia more than in any other state. It is a complete disgrace that the state and federal governments have not stopped to think about this and take action that will work. According to REIWA, the demand for housing will continue to outstrip supply in Western Australia, because we now have the largest annual growth since 2009.

Another shocking discovery in last night's budget is the $1.4 billion in extra funding for the WA government's disastrous METRONET project. Those in Western Australia will remember how, seven years ago, Labor came into government saying they would build even more train lines in Western Australia. Seven years later, the original budget has gone from $4.8 billion to over $12.5 billion. Again, the state government that has rivers of gold has now had to be bailed out by the federal Labor government. And guess what? In seven years, there has not yet been a single train operating on a single train track. How incompetent is that? At a time when we need responsible economic management, the Albanese Labor government has yet again had to bail out the most incompetent state government in the history of Western Australia.

In the time remaining, I'd like to talk about another decision that is having absolutely disastrous consequences on Western Australians, and that is the Albanese Labor government's decision to ban live exports of sheep from Western Australia. It is very clear that this is a kneejerk reaction that was done with the encouragement and engagement of animal welfare organisations on the east coast, who have no regard whatsoever for the welfare of the sheep that will still be exported to our markets overseas. They also have no regard whatsoever to the thousands and thousands of not only farmers but local communities who rely on this industry.

I kid you not—get this—the brilliant Labor state government have said: 'Not a problem. We don't really like it, but we're not going to fight it. We're not going to stand up to the Albanese government. But we will encourage these sheep farmers to actually start selling and farming alternative protein.' That's grasshoppers, tofu and plant based meat. Can you imagine us going to the Middle East markets and saying, 'We're not going to sell you lamb anymore, but why don't you buy these crickets instead?' It is just insane. You know where they're going to go? Instead of buying from Western Australian farmers, who now have the highest animal welfare standards in the world, animals will be going to countries such as Sudan, South Africa and Ethiopia, where they do not have anywhere near the same animal welfare standards that we now have.

If the Greens and the Labor Party opposite and the animal activists who were working with them to get this ban actually cared about the welfare of sheep, they would be supporting the Australian industry. The mortality rate of Australian sheep before reaching their destination has gone from 0.53 per cent in 2018 to less than 0.17 per cent. We now have the best standards. I say to those opposite and the so-called animal welfare lobby: not only are you going to kill the jobs and the livelihoods of thousands of Western Australian families and farming communities but you are now going to condemn millions more sheep to death because they will come from countries that do not have the same animal welfare standards. It is inexplicable. Shame on you all.