Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I, too, rise to speak to this motion before us today. Since the Labor government came to power in 2022, rents have gone up by 31 per cent and the average mortgage payment has increased by $1,677 a month. The ruthless Reserve Bank rate hikes, as my colleague Senator McKim said earlier, are smashing millions of renters, mortgage holders, young people and families across the country. Despite this, we've heard the governor of the RBA spell out that they don't expect the RBA will cut rates in the near term.

'The RBA is smashing the economy.' The governor of the RBA even conceded that these rate hikes are pushing people so close to the brink that some are facing the brutal reality of having to sell their homes. Goodness knows where they're going to find one to rent when they sell it, or a rental that they can afford. Through all of this pain, as my colleague Senator McKim has pointed out, the key thing to remember is that Labor and the Treasurer have a specific power in the legislation to overrule the RBA and bring interest rates down. But every day, Labor, like they do on so many things, make an active decision not to. Not only are they making an active decision not to, they are actually trying to secretly get rid of their own power to overrule the RBA and their rate hikes for good. Why are they doing this? Well, the Treasurer is trying to get rid of the power to overrule the RBA because that way the Labor government can just wipe their hands clean of the job of actually governing and dealing with the issues that they're causing. They want to wipe their hands clean of the job of actually caring about people in this country.

Just as the Treasurer is wiping his hands clean of the rate hikes smashing millions of people across this country, Labor are also wiping their hands clean of the millions of people who are living in poverty. The cost-of-living crisis is destroying people on income support. Today, ACOSS reported that more than 70 per cent of Centrelink recipients are cutting back on meals, medications and seeing friends due to cost. They're not worrying, as Senator Canavan said, about whether they can go on a holiday or buy a new car; they're worrying about whether they can eat or take their medication. Seventy-one per cent are cutting back on meat, fresh fruit and vegetables; 74 per cent are having difficulty affording the medicine or medical care they need. Someone in the ACOSS report said they're taking only half of their prescribed diabetes medication.

Labor could introduce a super profits tax to take the pressure off inflation, but they're too busy protecting their corporate mates to do that. So for those on income support, skipping meals or skipping medication, the message from Labor is clear: tough luck. 'We're not going to leave anyone behind,' they said. Well, tell that to someone who's on income support.

Instead of letting the RBA turbocharge this cost-of-living crisis, Labor should be fighting inflation and corporate profiteering by supporting the Greens' super profits tax policy; freezing rents, which are a big cause of inflation; putting dental into Medicare; raising the rate; maybe tackle supermarket price gouging—that's driving up inflation. Senator Ayers said that inflation is having the toughest impact on low-income households. Well, people on income support are in the lowest income households in the country. When are you going to help them? You also said that rent caps don't work. They have them in the ACT. I don't see slums forming anywhere around here.

I think Labor just thinks it's all too hard. Senator Ayres said he wasn't going to spend too much time on the Greens. Well, he spent quite a lot of time attacking what we're putting forward. Maybe, instead of attacking us, you could go to the people of Australia and actually do the job of tackling inflation, tackling the cost-of-living crisis and helping people out of poverty. (Time expired)