Fatima Payman (WA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

() (): At the start of the year, the price of a passport increased upwards of $400. We already had the world's most expensive passport, but the government wanted to make sure no-one catches up to us. We've got some other fine records under our belt as well. We've suffered the worst fall in disposable income in the world. Our universities last year reported some of their worst positions in the history of the world's university rankings. Don't worry! Five of our cities are in the world's top 20 most expensive cities to live in. While other countries begin to lower interest rates, Australia continues to struggle with inflation. A survey in December found that 48 per cent of respondents felt their expenses had gotten out of control, while almost a third had borrowed money from family and friends to meet their mortgage repayments. While all this is going on, the government's attention is focused on banning kids from social media and on giving themselves millions of dollars in election funding. When they do act on important issues like the housing crisis, it is through unambitious programs of subsidised demand, rather than through addressing the root causes of these problems through reforming negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount to incentivise new supply. The legislative restraint the government have exercised has earned them no kudos in the electorate. A poll in July found that 73 per cent of voters could not name a single government policy that had benefited them financially—not one. While the government loses billions of dollars in revenue by not reforming negative gearing or the capital gains tax discount, it throws billions more into the AUKUS money pit for the submarines we will never see. To use a now retired phrase of the Treasurer's, this is a government of 'wasted opportunities and warped priorities'. (Time expired)