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

A letter has been received from Senator McGrath:

Pursuant to standing order 75, I propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:

With the average family with a mortgage paying $1,500 a month more, paying 20 per cent more on energy bills, record high petrol prices and their real wages going backwards, Australians are facing a full-blown cost of living crisis and a litany of Albanese Labor Government broken promises.

Is the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm just going to read out, for those who are listening at home, what this matter of public importance is about:

With the average family with a mortgage paying $1,500 a month more, paying 20 per cent more on energy bills, record high petrol prices and their real wages going backwards, Australians are facing a full-blown cost of living crisis and a litany of Albanese Labor Government broken promises.

Isn't this interesting? We've got a government who have been in power for almost 18 months, and they've just wasted $450 million on a failed referendum, and they haven't been talking about cost of living or any of the other issues that impact upon how Australians live their lives. That is a tragedy. You can think about what that money could have been spent on in terms of helping Australians alleviate the cost-of-living crisis. More importantly, it goes to the political priorities of this government. They wanted to bring forward a referendum that would divide this country rather than focus on cost of living. What is interesting is that, since the weekend, the Prime Minister has discovered three words, and they are 'cost of living'—

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

'Crisis'. He's forgotten one.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'Crisis'—thank you, Senator Brockman. It's a cost-of-living crisis. It's almost like a focus group told him: 'By the way, Prime Minister, we're in a cost-of-living crisis. You should do something about it.' You know what that focus group was? It was the Australian people, on the weekend. They told him to focus on the issues that impact upon all Australians. Australian families, whether you live in Cairns, Cunnamulla, Brisbane—I'm a Queensland senator; all I care about is Queensland—or wherever you live in Queensland, you've got a Labor government who don't care about you. They care about chasing your vote, but they don't care about how you live your lives and they don't care about how tough your life is at the moment.

During the recent referendum, I spent a fair bit of time driving around Queensland, going into prepolls, talking to voters. In fact, I do that all the time, even when elections aren't on. The No. 1 issue in Queensland is cost of living, followed by the crime crisis, followed by the hospital ramping crisis, followed by the infrastructure crisis. Queenslanders have lost out. We've won reverse lotto. We've got a Labor state government and now we've got a Labor federal government, and both governments aren't helping Australian families and are continuing to break their promises.

What is interesting is the top 10—or is it the bottom 10?—things that are really hitting Queensland families. If you look at inflation since August last year, education is up 5½ per cent—that's No. 10. If you want to go on a holiday and rent a motel somewhere—you don't want to get on a Qantas flight because you can't afford those, thanks to the cartel—that has gone up 6.6 per cent. Manufactured food products, No. 8, went up 6.9 per cent. Rents have gone up 7.8 per cent. Insurance and financial services, No. 6 on my top-10 list, have gone up 8.8 per cent. Dairy and related products have gone up 10.1 per cent. But guess what? I bet the dairy farmers aren't getting the money that they need for their work. Then you've got No. 4. Bread and cereal products have gone up 10.4 per cent. In the last year, electricity has gone up at least 12.7 per cent.

What you're going to find is that, despite this government promising 97 times before the last election that they would reduce your bills by $275, you'll be lucky if your bills only go up by 12.7 per cent. You're looking at between 20 and 30 per cent. If you've got gas—and that hasn't been banned yet by the Labor Party—that's gone up 12.9 per cent. Heaven forbid, if you happen to be lucky enough to drive a car and own a car, how much fuel is costing at the moment. When you go there and you look at the price, you actually think the bowser has made a mistake and that someone needs to give it a kick or go in and speak to the attendant and say, 'I think there's a problem here.' Clearly, petrol cannot cost this much.

Australians and Queenslanders are living in this cost-of-living crisis, and we have a prime minister who does not understand. He talks the words, but he does not walk in the boots of working Queenslanders and working Australians.

Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I always welcome the opportunity to come in here and talk about what the Albanese government is doing to provide cost-of-living relief. I'm happy to read out the list; maybe some of those opposite can take this in. We've invested in: a 10-point plan to address cost-of-living pressures, including in energy bill relief, which is worth $23 billion—of course, Liberals and Nationals voted against that; cheaper medicines, which the Liberals and Nationals voted against as well; cheaper child care, which, again, the Liberals and Nationals voted against; increased rent assistance and a boost to income support payments—yes, the Liberals and Nationals were against that too; and building more affordable homes—here they are, the Liberals and Nationals, against that as well; fee-free TAFE places, which the deputy leader of the Liberals called 'wasteful spending'. That's right: Ms Ley, the shadow minister for skills and training says that helping people access skills and training is a waste of money.

The Leader of the Opposition has not even said the word TAFE in this building since 2004. There are now people old enough to vote who have lived their entire lives—18- and 19-year-olds—and have never heard Mr Dutton say the word 'TAFE'. That's how much he cares about helping Aussie workers to get the training they need to get a decent job and a decent life for their families.

But, for those watching along at home, it's also equally important that we talk about the what the opposition are doing. The Liberals and Nationals, as we all know, intentionally kept wages low for nine years of their government. We know this because they told us explicitly. Senator Cormann let it slip that low wages growth was a deliberate design feature of their economic plan. The Liberals and Nationals' plan has always been about low wages.

Given Senator McGrath's sudden discovery of cost-of-living issues, you might think, 'Hang on, we can help with cost-of-living pressures by getting wages moving.' If you earn more and if you have more money, you have more money to spend on things. It's pretty basic stuff. But it must be going over the heads of Liberals and Nationals. On the one hand, they are complaining about the cost of living, and, at the very same time, the Liberals and Nationals are opposing every single measure the government is taking to grow wages.

Let's look back at the 'secure jobs, better pay' act that the government passed at the end of last year. The opposition voted against it. In fact, not only did they vote against it; they warned that, if passed, it would end civilisation as we know it. Senator Cash said at the time:

We can now expect jobs will be lost … and large and small businesses will fold.

Of course, none of this has happened. That's just how much the Liberals and Nationals hate anything like giving working Australians a fair pay rise.

What did they oppose in that bill? The Liberals and Nationals opposed making it easier for employers and employees to reach agreements that would increase wages. The Liberals and Nationals opposed sunsetting zombie agreements that were putting some workers on pay well below the national minimum wage. They opposed putting limits on the used of fixed-term contracts. They opposed the right to request flexible work arrangements. They opposed banning pay secrecy clauses. They opposed making it illegal to put on jobs ads below the minimum wage. And, of course, they opposed the Albanese government's campaigning for increases to the minimum wage that would stop workers going backwards. How can they then come into this place and talk about the cost of living? Not only do they oppose cheaper energy bills, medicines, training, child care and housing; they even oppose increasing wages.

If you're wondering if maybe the Liberals and Nationals have turned over a new leaf, I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken. There is legislation before the Senate right now which will grow wages for working people across the country—and they oppose it. The Liberals and Nationals are opposed to closing Alan Joyce's labour hire loophole. They oppose the minimum wage for gig workers. They are opposed to long-term permanent casuals' right to get a permanent job. They are opposed to criminalising wage theft. They oppose, oppose, oppose. The Liberals and Nationals oppose it because they will always be for low pay. It's just in their DNA.

Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You know who is most affected by the cost-of-living crisis in Australia? It's the millions of Australians who are not just struggling to get by but are not getting by on income support. It's those millions of Australians who are at risk of homelessness, who can't afford food, for whom food has now become a discretionary item because they are living on poverty payments. They are living on the poverty payments of JobSeeker, student allowance and youth allowance. They are living on the disability support pension. They are living on the aged pension. They are the people who are most struggling to get by.

I want to share a story from Sarah, who is barely scraping by on JobSeeker:

… I am struggling to get by, even with the JobSeeker payment. I work 2 days a week, sometimes 1 day, but it feels like the moment I get paid anything from work my payments are severely cut. I was certainly earning more on Austudy, which shouldn't be the case. Those on JobSeeker are now also forced to report TWICE, once to WorkForce Australia and once on the Centrelink app. The two systems obviously aren't connected to each other and it is causing double the workload for people who are already struggling. I'm currently struggling to put petrol in my car, afford healthy meals/fresh produce and have just had to use my back up rent money to buy groceries. I don't have the kind of family supports that mean I can just ask my parents for money. My father is out of my life and my single mother has my younger sister to look after as well as three pets on an average wage.

Raising the rate of JobSeeker and other social security payments would mean that I would have more time to devote to my studies, less mental and physical ailments from not being able to look after myself properly. I can't afford the dentist, I can't afford therapy, and, if my GP decides to cut bulk billing, I won't be able to go to the doctor either. Considering going to the doctor literally saved my life from cancer, this is a terrifying thought.

Labor like to think of themselves as a progressive party, doing the work to help the everyday Australian, but we are being left to rot at the bottom of the priority list. The opinions of businesses and lobbyists are being put before our very real, life-altering needs. If they raised the rate of social security payments to at least the poverty line, they would have millions of grateful Australians ready to support them. We are a wealthy country and we should be capable of looking after our own.

Hear, hear, Sarah!

In terms of Labor's promises, the No. 1 promise Labor have broken is their promise that they weren't going to leave anybody behind. Millions of Australians who are struggling on income support are being left behind. We have to raise the rate to above the poverty line and cap rents, freeze rents and make life liveable for people who are surviving on poverty payments. (Time expired)

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those who are listening to this debate do not need to listen to the political rhetoric that is being spoken in this chamber. They simply need to look at the statistics. They simply need to look at their pay packets, their bills and how much it's costing them to fill their car at the petrol bowser. They don't have to listen to any of the political rhetoric.

What I heard on Saturday when I was out at Ipswich manning a polling booth for nine hours at a place called Churchill State School is that people are suffering under the cost-of-living crisis. A number of people came through that booth and said to me, 'I can't believe the government is spending this amount of money on this referendum process—hundreds of millions of dollars—when I am struggling to pay my bills.' Person after person after person raised that issue. That is why we saw the federal government, in the first question time of this week, pivot to talk about cost of living, because no doubt they got the same feedback at polling booths across the whole country.

The polling booth I was at was in the Ipswich City Council region, where my office is located. Those are suburbs of battlers. They're salt-of-the-earth people, but they're battlers. I visited the food bank in Ipswich. I visited various community support organisations. Everywhere I go I get the same message: that people are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

The people at the food bank run by Ipswich Assist told me that the demand is going through the roof and the people now coming to Ipswich Assist are working families, because they're having trouble meeting their mortgage payments and paying their bills. And why wouldn't they have trouble with those things when we know that an Australian family with an average Australian mortgage are paying $22,000 a year more than they were just a year ago. Just reflect on that: $22,000 more a year on mortgage payments. So they've got to meet all the other bills that they're trying to meet whilst also paying an additional $22,000 in mortgage payments, and they are holding on by their fingernails. They deserve better.

So Senator Sheldon can come into this place and deliver rhetoric. We can simply refer to the statistics, and this is what they're telling us. In the period from August 2022 to August 2023, the price of bread and cereal products, which are basic staples for average Australian families, has gone up by 10.4 per cent, prices for meat have gone up by 2.6 per cent, prices for dairy and related products have gone up by10.1 per cent, and prices for other food products have gone up by 6.9 per cent. Garments are also up. Rents, as we all know, have gone up by 7.8 per cent.

Electricity! This is in a context where the Prime Minister made a promise before the last federal election that the cost of electricity for an average Australian household would go down by $275 a year. That was the promise he made. Those listening to this debate will never hear those opposite mention that number $275, but this is the reality: in the 12 months from August 2022 to August 2023, the cost of electricity has gone up by 12.7 per cent. So not only did it not go down but it actually went up by 12.7 per cent. The cost of gas and other household fuels has gone up by 12.9 per cent. The cost of furniture has gone up by four per cent. The cost of transport has gone up by 7.4 per cent. The cost of automotive fuel has gone up by 13.9 per cent. The cost of holiday travel and accommodation—and everyone in this country deserves a holiday, to be able to get away with their family and enjoy a holiday in the great Australian country—has gone up by 6.6 per cent. The cost of insurance and financial services has gone up by 8.8 per cent. The people I talk to struggle to pay their car insurance. They're struggling to meet those bills. We are in a cost-of-living crisis, and the response of the Labor government is simply not good enough.

Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call Senator Roberts, I advise the chamber there has been a change of order and arrangements, and Senator Roberts has five minutes.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia I want to show how One Nation will fix the cost-of-living crisis. To fix the cost-of-living crisis there are only three things parliament must do: stop the flood of immigration into this country to fix the housing crisis; stop the chasing of the UN net-zero pipedream to fix energy bills; and stop the Reserve Bank printing money out of thin air to fix inflation. Every time we hear about the number of immigrants coming in, the number goes up. Just this week it was reported that Deutsche Bank predicts that a net immigration for the financial year will top 530,000. That does not include temporary workers. It does not include students, so the total is 1.2 million in one year. That is more than the entire population of Canberra arriving in one year; in fact, it is almost triple. Immigration is why we have a rental crisis. It is why we have a housing crisis. It is why many young people will never be able to buy a home. The big business donors to both Liberal and Labor benefit from big immigration. If we want a roof over every Australian head, we must stop this flood.

The next contributor to our problem is the UN's net-zero scam. The lie that wind and solar is the cheapest electricity is debunked using one fact. With the largest amount of wind, solar and batteries on Australia's power grid in our history, power bills have never been higher. Every country in the world that has tried to go down the path of wind and solar has had higher power bills—every country. Watch electricity bills drop when we abandon UN net zero, fire up the coal-fired power stations and let nuclear onto the playing field.

To fix inflation, just stop the Reserve Bank printing $500 billion, as they did during COVID—half a trillion dollars. That way the Reserve Bank doesn't have to try and send mortgage holders broke to fix the problem the Reserve Bank caused. Many of the solutions are simple. We just need more One Nation members because only we have the guts to call this rubbish out.

Liberal Senator McGrath mentioned in raising this MPI motion that mortgages are up an average of $1,500 a month. Let's rewind the tape and look at why that is happening. The Reserve Bank claims it needs to raise interest rates to fight inflation. Inflation is like an equation. When you have too much money chasing too few goods, prices go up. It is that simple. Throughout history, the idea has been that if the Reserve Bank raises interest rates enough, mortgage holders will not have money to spend, so prices will come down. That takes care of the too-much-money side of the equation. With interest rates higher, Australians will have less money to spend on goods, so inflation will come down.

Now, I am not kidding. This is what the Reserve Bank means when they say they are 'fighting inflation'. They are sending Australians broke to solve a problem that the Reserve Bank created with the Morrison government. What no-one likes to talk about is the Reserve Bank's part in creating the inflation problem. You will remember from our equation that too much money equals more inflation. During the pandemic the Reserve Bank printed roughly half a trillion dollars—$500 billion—out of thin air using what they call 'electronic ledger entries'—their words. Half a trillion dollars was conjured out of thin air and dropped from a helicopter to compensate for the Liberal government's economy-wrecking COVID restrictions that were not necessary. That $500 billion is new money and a major cause of the inflation problem Australia is still fighting, and who got the money? Largely, it was foreign-owned multinationals.

To summarise the inflation problem, the Reserve Bank printed hundreds of billions of dollars out of thin air. That led to huge inflation. Now the Reserve Bank is trying to send enough mortgage holders broke so they will stop spending to try and bring inflation down—another housing crisis. Lockdowns devastated our economy, our businesses. That cut the supply side, which meant fewer goods, which meant prices for those of goods raised—inflation. This is not a comedy skit; this is the strategy of the people who were and who are running the country, and they are in charge of our economy. Every single part of this happened under the direction and watch of the supposedly conservative Liberal-National coalition government. For the Liberals to come to this chamber and bemoan the inflation problem and mortgage repayments is politics at its worst. I said earlier in the week that, with this economy, the Liberal-National coalition government gave Labor one of the largest hospital passes in political history. In saying that, Labor now wants to turbocharge the destruction of our economy.

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

I rise to speak on this very important matter of public importance and to congratulate Senator McGrath for putting this matter before the Senate. As Senator Scarr so rightly pointed out, as I am sure many of us were standing on polling booths on 14 October, a few short days ago, we talked to many hundreds of Australians, and the single most raised issue on those polling booths was not actually the referendum question. People had already made up their minds on that. The single most talked about issue was cost of living and the pressures Australian families find themselves under.

The fact is—and there can be no denying this—that the government have been distracted for the last year. They have been distracted by Prime Minister Albanese's pet project. He had the pen on this referendum. He decided what the question was going to be. He put it to the Australian people and the Australian people comprehensively and correctly rejected that proposal. But, in distracting the government for the past six months, the government has been unable to tackle what is the real and most confronting issue that Australian families are having to deal with, and that is the cost-of-living crisis.

As I always have to do in these contributions, I have to correct some of the mistruths that have come from those opposite once again, particularly on wages. The fact is—and I will say this again to those listening out there; I must have said this about a dozen times in this place already—that real wages grew under the last coalition government. They are declining under this Labor government. Real wages are in fact plummeting at one of the fastest rates in living memory--plummeting.

I will go to another mistruth. In talking about industrial relations, Senator Sheldon talked about the fact that there had been no impact from Labor's disastrous industrial relations legislation. Let's look at what is happening in corporate insolvency for a moment. No impact on business? From the latest corporate insolvency data from ASIC, we see that, in the financial year 2023, there were 7,942 businesses entering administration. Let me say that again: 7,942 businesses in trouble, businesses entering administration. How does that compare to the year before? Senator Scarr, I know you would know. I bet none of those opposite could answer. It was 4,900. In 2022, there were 4,900 businesses in administration. In the 2023 financial year, there were 7,942. And Labor's IR legislation had no impact? Oh, I think it did. I think it has put business under even more pressure.

If we go back another year, there were only 2,000. I say 'only' but, obviously we would like to see no businesses struggling. So we have seen over this period of Labor government the number basically double in the 18 months of their administration, including the passage of the first tranche of IR legislation. We will see further pressure on those small businesses and medium-sized businesses if we see—and hopefully we don't see—the government gets its next tranche of IR legislation through. So we will see even more pressure on those businesses.

The cost of living doesn't just affect Australian households, though it is dramatic—and I am not downplaying the impact on Australian households of the cost-of-living crisis—but also affects business. It affects small- and medium-sized family businesses right across this nation. Discretionary spending goes down and those businesses suffer. The cost of their suppliers goes up in the inflationary environment and those businesses suffer. They want to keep their workers on. They want to give their workers a pay rise, absolutely, but the pressure those businesses are under at the moment is extreme. If the Labor government doesn't understand that, then heaven help Australian businesses.

Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time for this discussion has expired.