Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to thank my friend Senator Dean Smith for bringing this matter of public importance before the Senate. At the core of this motion is what we have seen in the latest figures released by the RBA, which show just how much Australian families are struggling through this cost-of-living crisis. They are really struggling at the moment and they have been for quite some time. We have been talking about it on the side of the chamber for months and months. As we all know, gas is up 33 per cent; electricity is up 14 per cent. These aren't just numbers; this is the real impact to Australian families. The gas bill is up 33 per cent, the electricity bill is up 14 per cent, and that's after the taxpayer funded rebates have been added. Rents are up 16 per cent, health care is up 11 per cent, food is up 12 per cent and finance and insurance are up 17 per cent. This is the reality of life under Labor for so many Australian families. Everything is up, absolutely everything, and it is crushing the hopes and aspirations of Australians. The impact all of this is having on disposable income is extraordinary.

Since Labor have come into office, real disposable income per capita is down 8.7 per cent. If you had any doubt as to what that statistic actually means for everyday Australians, household savings are also down just over 10 percentage points. The reality is that these statistics confirm that Australians are struggling to keep their heads above water. I hear it time and time again throughout New South Wales, but particularly in Western Sydney, where I spend a lot of my time. Everyday Australians just can't keep up. They can't keep up with skyrocketing prices, they can't keep up with their mortgage repayments, they can't keep up with their rent and they can't keep up with the extraordinary blowout in their insurance prices. People are struggling financially and are juggling from week to week to try and make ends meet.

There can be no confusion or obfuscation as to our position globally. Compared to other economies, we are well and truly at the back of the pack. Our core inflation is higher than comparable countries including the US, the UK, Canada, Japan, the eurozone, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and New Zealand. This is not a problem that the world is at a loss on how to fix. Other countries had the same problems as we did but they have fixed them. Meanwhile, under this government Australians continue to pay more and to keep less of what they earn. This government inherited an economy that had low unemployment, strong economic growth and recovering government finances. They have completely and utterly wasted that.

We have now had six consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth per capita. Productivity is down 6.3 per cent under this government. But the question has to be: Why? Why are prices so high? Why is inflation so high? Why are interest rates so high? Why are savings being diminished? Why is disposable income so low? And why is productivity so low? Well, there is a simple answer to that—because of the policies and actions this government.

This government has spent over $300 billion more than was previously budgeted. They have flooded the economy with this money, this inflationary spending. So much for the promised $275 reduction in power bills that we heard so much about from this government before the election. It feels like ancient history but is probably more like a very poor and sad fiction. The reality is that this government is all talk about the economy, with broad statements, platitudes, and one summertime manifesto from the Treasurer, and nothing about what matters to Australians, nothing about what makes a difference to them. If they really cared about the impacts, they wouldn't continue to pursue this inflationary budget. This government's decisions are making life harder for all Australians. It is because of this government that interest rates in this country remain high; it is because of this government—and I repeat—that interest rates in this country remain high and Australians continue to struggle. That is why the cost-of-living crisis continues to remain a matter of public importance. (Time expired)