Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Minister for Trade and Tourism (Senator Farrell) and the Minister for Finance (Senator Gallagher) to questions without notice asked today.

An opposition senator: And not answered.

And not answered. It's almost like Voldemort—the 'number that cannot be named': $275. Remember that amount that was going to come off everyone's energy bill and those cost-of-living pressures that were going to be 'easy street' for all Australians under the Albanese government? We did warn them. We did warn Australians that it won't be easy under Albanese. Well, let me tell you, it's getter tougher and tougher every day. It's tougher today with another 0.25 basis point rise in interest rates. Remember when you told us that there was going to be a reduction in interest rates under Labor? Instead, they're going in the other direction, putting more and more stress on everyday Australians and their families.

Remember it was mentioned 97 times that $275 was going to be saved from energy bills? We now know—and it's being acknowledged through gritted teeth—that energy bills are going to continue to rise this year, by over 50 per cent in some instances. And what are those opposite looking to do? Now they're in government they actually don't know what to do, because they are pulling switches and rolling out policies that are making a bad situation worse. A bad situation is constantly being made worse by those opposite and their inability to make a policy decision that will actually benefit Australians and reduce cost-of-living pressures on family household budgets. Instead, those opposite are so fixated on policies that are actually creating more and more problems for Australian households.

We know that a raft of projects in our resources sector are being shelved. The market intervention that is being done by those opposite has ensured that investment in the resources sector is going elsewhere. And now they want to talk about a safety mechanism. We know what's going to happen there. We're going to see more and more pressures on everyday Australians and their household budgets as the cost of everything goes up. But what they don't understand is that, as they put these pressures onto Australian businesses, they will then have to pass those on to Australian consumers, adding to the inflationary pressure. For those of you that need an 'Economics 101' book, just let me know; I'll pop up to the library for you and send it over. When you've got these inflationary pressures being added to, and then you start charging a carbon tax—because we know you're completely wedded to that—let me tell you what's going to happen to a whole lot of industries and what's already happening in a number of industries as they look at the government and know they have no clue about what they're doing but are going to impose more and more costs onto business. Investment is going elsewhere. Companies, and manufacturers in particular, are starting to go offshore. So, under your guise of, 'This is better for emissions,' and, 'We're going to lower emissions,' all you're doing is sending them overseas to countries who have less regulation. You're killing off Australian jobs, all the while putting increased inflationary pressures on Australian families, who are currently struggling under the weight of mortgages, 800,000 of which are about to move onto the new variable rate, which is going to see so much pressure go onto these households.

But don't worry; we'll just listen to Mr Albanese talk about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, or we'll spend, or waste, an afternoon reading 6,000 words from Mr Chalmers, the Treasurer, who is looking to take Australia back to a form of socialism that is just unbelievable. I thought he was in the Labor right. I didn't know you guys let them in when they were full-blown communists. But here we are, reading something in the Monthlybecause let's speak to Northcote and Newtown, those who read the Monthly, as I think Joe Hildebrand referred to this morning—which was a faux intellectual episode, rather than being focused on how to help Australian families. The Treasurer spent his summer penning an essay for the Monthly, which is, quite frankly, an absolute waste of an academic exercise and has just proven that 'Chalmernomics' is going to take this country backwards and destroy manufacturing. We know that you want more government intervention, but this is now getting to the point of the ridiculous. This is absolutely unbelievable—6,000 words. It's a pity he didn't write 6,000 words on what he was going to do to help everyday Australians.

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the opposition senators for their questions because their questions enable me to talk about the approach that the Albanese government is taking on addressing the No. 1 challenge that Australians face today. That, of course, is the inflation challenge, which is our top priority. If I get time, Senator Cash's question will also enable me to talk a little bit about the Albanese government's approach to First Nations issues and particularly to the question of family violence, which is a question that is of huge significance to us as a government and one for which we have already put considerable plans in place, including legislating for 10 days paid domestic family violence leave, which has already started and will benefit millions of Australians.

On the questions raised about inflation and the cost of living: these are the questions that we came into government to address. These are the questions that we are working to solve for the Australian people because our guiding principle as a government, as you all know in this place, is that we want to ensure that no-one is left behind and that no-one is held back. We know that Australians are doing it tough right now with the rising cost of living. There are a number of things that we can do and that we are doing to put practical solutions in place to help Australians with the challenges that they're facing.

We need to strengthen Medicare and we need to make medicines cheaper. That is exactly what we have done by cutting the maximum co-payment under the PBS by up to $12.50. I'm proud to say that that has already started this year, and an average person who's relying on PBS medications could save hundreds of dollars a year because we have taken this cost-of-living measure.

We're delivering cheaper child care to 1.26 million families. Of course, under the watch of the previous government, childcare prices, which are such a huge impost on the family budget, rose by 41 per cent. We are committed to delivering cheaper child care, and that will start in July. We're very proud to be able to bring down that cost for Australian families while also providing quality early childhood education.

We're building more affordable housing and we'll have legislation come to this place. We hope the opposition will agree with it, given the concerns that they've raised about the cost-of-living crisis that Australians face today. We will build more affordable housing, we will increase supply and we will do that in a way that brings people together to make sure that we have solutions for Australian people.

The opposition raised questions about energy prices. It is quite an extraordinary thing for them to come into this place and talk to us about the challenges of bringing down power bills. That is a challenge that we take absolutely seriously, but it is a challenge that is borne by Australian households because of a decade of absolute denial and delay from those opposite when it comes to the energy transition. The legacy of those opposite is an energy disaster that has really left the country ill-prepared for the challenges that we face today. Does anybody remember how many different energy policies the opposition had when they were in government? Was it 22, Senator O'Neill?

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Twenty-two's the magic number.

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it was 22.

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Twenty-three was going to be the one!

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They couldn't land one of them. All they did was let capacity exit the energy system. They didn't invest in renewable energy, because they don't believe in it. They didn't invest in new transmission, because they didn't want renewables in the grid. They failed to set a net zero target. They knew energy prices would go up in July, and they lied to the Australian people about that by omission. So we won't be taking advice from you about energy prices.

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to take note of these two very important issues: the cost of living and the impact of the repeal of the cashless debit card on my home state of WA. Sadly, what we see—and we've just seen it again—is that this is a government that, at every opportunity, puts symbolism over substance. We saw it last year when parliament was recalled in an emergency session to pass emergency legislation on gas prices and flow-on impacts to state regimes regarding coal. We've seen a complete failure of that policy because the government only cares about symbolism.

That's also what we saw with the cashless debit card. We saw an unseemly hasty repeal of the cashless debit card with nothing to put in its place. What has been the impact on the communities in my home state of WA? We saw, as was shown by the question from Senator Cash to Minister Farrell, the huge negative impact of this decision of the government to scrap the cashless debit card on communities like Laverton.

Laverton is a community that's probably not at the forefront of most people's minds. It's a long way off the beaten track, as it were. I know Patrick Hill well, and he has spoken. I know how much he loves his community. I know how much he has put into his community. He has advocated on behalf of the Outback Way. He's advocated for his community, so it can get ahead and thrive, and to get people who are at risk of social harm back into that community. Now we are seeing all that hard work over the last few years thrown away with nothing to replace it.

The Desert Inn Hotel was forced to close the doors on its liquor store on Thursday because of the public unrest, and it introduced a one-item-per-customer rule on Friday. This is subsequent to the repeal of the cashless debit card, which was making a very real difference in that local community. Patrick Hill, the president of the shire, said: 'They're drinking bottles of spirits. That brings violence.' He said: 'The kids are not getting fed. The women get bashed up. It's just going back to the way it was.'

The cashless debit card made a real impact on that community. It wasn't a silver bullet. I got up and said this when in government, and I say it again in opposition. Nobody on this side pretended it was a silver bullet, but it enabled some people to take greater control of their lives. It enabled some people to break the cycle of dependency and violence that had been present in those communities. This government, when it came into power, scrapped it with nothing to put in its place.

We've seen the problems in Alice Springs as well. We're also seeing problems in places like Carnarvon in my home state of WA. After the Prime Minister visited Alice Springs and then came to Western Australia, the people of Carnarvon were desperate to have him come to Carnarvon to see the problems they face in their local community. Of course, their pleas were ignored. We have a situation where local communities just aren't being listened to. They're not being listened to because this government is just obsessed by the symbolism of the changes it makes and not the practical outcomes on the ground, not the substance of what the changes it makes mean to people's lives. Sadly, for a small community like Laverton, which is off the beaten track and which is not in the forefront of most people's minds—except occasionally by those around a boardroom table when talking about a new mineral deposit that's been discovered out that way—in the paper we see reported some of the social dysfunction that is currently running rife in that community. It's a very sad day for that community.

Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I really enjoy hearing a sense of urgency from the other side, which they never acted on in the 10 years that they were actually in government, when they could have done something about some of the challenges that are experienced by First Nations communities, especially in remote and regional areas in our country. I'm really interested to know where Senator Brockman and Senator Cash were in 2017 when there was $245 million cut from Indigenous housing, despite chronic overcrowding in your home state, which, standing over there right now, you're claiming to care so much about.

Don't even get me started on the almost $1 billion of cuts that happened on the former government's watch when they first came to power. And they have got the cheek, sitting over on the other side of the chamber now, to try to lecture us about what we are doing in First Nations communities. Can you imagine what that $1 billion worth of investment could have done in First Nations communities if it was sustained until today? Can you imagine what that $1 billion might have done? Instead, you chose to cut it. So it's a bit rich for you to sit over there and lecture us about the work that's happening in First Nations communities.

It's particularly rich to hear it as someone who has worked on the front line with lots of Aboriginal children and families, in out-of-home care, in child protection, doing the clinical work in the room with families. Looking in the eyes of families, I've seen the impact of the challenges that you talk about. So I absolutely understand how critically important it is that we get these things right.

But one of the things that we know weren't right was the cashless debit card. I find it interesting that you can talk about the difficulties experienced since the abolishing of the CDC, but nobody can actually find any evidence that it was working in the first place. It's really incredible. This was in briefs to your minister, who apparently said—it's interesting; what did she say?—'How disappointing it was that there was no evidence that it worked.' She wrote that on her briefs. But you wasted more than $170 million on that anyway, even though it didn't work. There was more than a billion dollars of cuts, and money was spent on things that don't actually work. But, sure, blame us for everything—and we've been in power for eight months.

What we do know represents the very best opportunity for change is supporting a voice to parliament, because the very communities that you claim to care about will have a direct voice into this place. What a difference that might make to the communities that you, sitting over there, claim to care about. We know, and I've certainly seen from the work that I've done, what can happen to the lives of Aboriginal children, families and people when they are given a seat at the table and when they are part of the decisions and the conversations that affect their lives.

I've worked in Aboriginal organisations in Victoria. I've spoken with many workers on the ground and CEOs of Aboriginal organisations who can give me many examples of where they have been put in the driver's seat and have gotten real outcomes for their families on the ground. The Voice is an opportunity to amplify that across the country, across the nation. Why would you not want to do that, when you sit over there and pretend to care about First Nations communities? Why would you not support a voice to parliament? Your voice for the last decade certainly hasn't worked for them. Aside from the real and practical changes that it would deliver for First Nations people on the ground, it is also an incredible opportunity to unify our country. It talks to the special place that First Nations people should and do have in our nation's history.

Alex Antic (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I listened to the previous contributions and all the way through question time, and I'm reminded of the suggestion that it's very simple to say that everything that's happening now is the result of what happened five years ago, one year ago, 10 years ago. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is much more stark for the government. I looked up the definition of the term 'buyer's remorse' and, if you will indulge me for a moment, I can tell you that buyer's remorse is defined as a feeling of regret or anxiety after making a purchase. It is also known as buyer's regret or buyer's disappointment. It stems from the feeling that the purchaser's decision was the wrong one either because it was the wrong one or there was a better one to be made.

The Australian people are in the early stages of buyer's remorse with this government. This is the kind of buyer's remorse that you'd get if you went onto Apple Music and downloaded a Vengaboys album. You would listen to it, and you would feel buyer's remorse, which I can assure you is real. I'm telling you right now it is real, and thank you to Senator Waters for that chuckle. I note it, and I hope that Hansard picked it up! The reality is that this is a cost-of-living crisis, and Australian people are not interested in the diversionary tactics of this government. These tactics include things like the Voice, the constant attempts by the Prime Minister to simply turn up at a sporting event and appear to be relatable by downing free beers and the PM flying off to Kyiv in order to mingle with the global glitterati, the bloke in the green T-shirt that's gracing our TV screens at every possible opportunity—I'm talking about President Zelenskyy.

This bread-and-circuses approach to politics is simply not cutting it with the Australian people. They're not that silly, and this afternoon we've seen yet another 25 basis points increase to the cash rate announced by the RBA, which brings these increases to nine in a row. We now have the highest interest rate in this country for 10 years, which is no laughing matter. No amount of diversion, no amount of trying to divide Australians with initiatives like the Voice, and, as Senator Brockman rightly pointed out, no initiatives like removing the cashless debit, which has had a counter effect, is going to cover up the fact that Australians aren't buying what the government is selling. In fact, we are seeing a government that is actively going back on promises. There was a promise to cut the $3.2 billion in spending on consultants, yet the government is already $1.2 billion down the tube after just nine months.

The spending bill is real, and the cost-of-living issue is real. It's the issue that Australians are focused on, and yet we have a Treasurer who graced us with 6,000 words of intolerable diatribe. I started reading it, and it was like a murder mystery, an Agatha Christie novel. I'll give you the spoiler alert: who done it? It was the Treasurer with the chequebook in the finance department. This position has not come as a result of the government of Christmas past. This position has come about because of decisions that have been made by this government today. The Treasurer, Jim 'you will own nothing and be happy' Chalmers, wants to tell us otherwise, but this is the case. These aren't uniquely Australian economic challenges, and we haven't spoken about high inflation. We're seeing the highest inflation we've seen in decades, and this year about 800,000 Australian mortgage holders are going to switch from fixed-term to variable-term interest rates. With today's news that those interest rates are going up, we are looking at repayments of something in the order of $1,800 extra per month for many mortgage holders.

Let's not beat around the bush and try to blame this on things done by the Fraser government the 1980s, say. These things are happening as a result of policy levers that are being pulled by this government, and don't take just my word for it. In the past week, the Australian Industry Group, Business Council of Australia and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry pre-budget submissions have all echoed the coalition opposition's calls since the October budget to restore fiscal guard rails, to rein in spending and to drive productivity reforms to support businesses, invest and grow our economy.

Question agreed to.