Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

People who are worried about the cost of existing—the cost of just simply staying alive these days—need to know that they're not alone. Across Australia, millions of people are feeling a massive squeeze, whether it's rent payments or mortgage payments, whether it's transport costs, whether it's power bills, or whether it's just simply putting food on the table.

The truth is: we're all being ripped off by big corporations who are making obscene profits while they pay next to nothing in tax. Remember: one in three of the top 100 earning corporations in Australia pay absolutely no tax whatsoever.

And where are the establishment parties—the Labor Party, the Liberal Party and the Nationals? They are actually too busy taking millions in political donations, from those very same corporate giants, to stand up for the millions of Australians who are getting smashed at the moment. And let's be real about this. If the establishment parties, the Labor and Liberal parties, were going to fix this, they would have done it by now.

The Greens don't take those donations, because we are here to fight for people, not for corporate profits. We want to tackle these greedy corporations head-on and use their obscene profits to fund the things that will actually help Australians to make ends meet. We're talking about putting in place a freeze on rent increases. We're talking about stopping the banks from ripping people off on their mortgage repayments. We're talking about making it illegal for the supermarket corporations to price gouge. We're talking about busting up the supermarket duopoly so that food and groceries become cheaper in Australia. But here's the thing: change will not happen on its own; change will only happen if Australians vote for it. If you think things are going okay at the moment, by all means, keep voting for the Labor or Liberal parties, but heed this warning: you can't keep voting for the same old parties and expect a different result. If you want change, you have to vote for it. Change is on the way, and it is available to us in Australia. Support for the old parties is collapsing; support for the Greens is rising, and we are here to look after people, not corporate interests.