Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister representing the Treasurer (Senator Gallagher) to a question on notice asked by Senator Hume today relating to the cost of living.

We continue to see from this government a selective memory, where they forget the things they said and promised to the Australian people before the last election. They promised the Australian people a reduction of $275 a year in their electricity bills. They didn't promise that once; they promised that 97 times before the last election. Yet they forget about that. They talk about interest bill relief to selected Australians, but they promised every Australian a reduction of $275 a year in their energy bills, and they conveniently forget that when they're answering questions now. They don't want to know about that. They don't want to know about the fact that this is a government of broken promises.

They promised Australians higher real wages. They promised that to all Australians on multiple occasions. Yet under this government real wages are going backwards. That's not what the Australian people were promised before the election. The government neglect to note the fact that under the nine years of coalition government real wages actually increased; real wages went up under the coalition government. In the 15 months of the new Labor government they are going backwards. The government promised Australians lower inflation. How's that going? Another broken promise from this government: they promised a lower cost of living. In fact, I remember the phrase from I think the then shadow Treasurer, now Treasurer, 'Everything's going up except your wages.' Well, it's going backwards at a faster rate now than it was prior to the last election.

Another broken promise from this government: they promised lower housing costs. They said they were going to reduce the housing costs of Australians. Well, someone on a $750,000 mortgage is now paying $24,000 per year more for their housing. And if you look at a more modest circumstance, like in my home state of Tasmania, where the average mortgage is about $460,000, you're still paying $14,000 to $15,000 more than you were when the government came to office 15 months ago. It is a government of broken promises. And when you look at the overall situation in relation to where we sit in the context of the OECD, with all these promises that we would be better off, we're actually going backwards faster than almost any other developed economy. And the government do what they have been doing for so long: deflect, blame somebody else, try to blame the now opposition. Yet they now own this problem. They have had two budgets. They've got one more budget before the next election. Yet they're still not prepared to take responsibility for their decisions and for their actions.

They talk about increasing productivity, yet what are they doing in respect of the labour market? Legislating in support of more disruption of the labour market by the union movement. They put it in tricky language. They put it in the context of trying to get wages moving again. But, as we've already discussed, real wages are going backwards under this government, whereas they went forward under the last government.

They try and blame international pressures. Interestingly, before the last election, the Treasurer said Australians couldn't give a stuff about what effect global factors had on the cost-of-living crisis, so what he said before the election is completely the opposite of what he's saying after the election. He wouldn't accept the excuse of global factors prior to the election, but he's happy to run with it now.

This government continues to break its promises to the Australian people. It promised higher real wages but is delivering lower real wages. It promised lower electricity prices but is delivering higher electricity prices. It's about time this government took responsibility for its own actions and kept its promises.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm delighted to respond to the assertions of my fellow Tasmanian senator from the other side, because we as a government have acknowledged and do acknowledge that people are doing it tough. There is a cost-of-living crisis that is affecting the mums and dads around this country. But we have set out to do all that we can to relieve the pressure of inflation. We know, of course, that interest rates are governed by the Reserve Bank of Australia, which is an independent body, as those on that side very well know. We do understand that families are paying more for things that we need in our homes. But we also acknowledge that what's happening internationally—the war in Ukraine and what's happening in the Middle East—is putting pressure on global supplies of oil and other commodities, which is increasing prices.

It's one thing to come in and criticise the government. It's something very different when you have the opportunity to support measures that are actually going to give real cost-of-living relief to Australians out there. Those opposite have voted against most of the $23 billion that we've invested over the last two budgets to bring relief to the Australian people. They have not supported the electricity bill relief that we put through this chamber, so now they get up and want to talk about a commitment and about the $275. They are very quick to talk about that, but they are not quick to acknowledge the fact that they voted against electricity bill relief. They also voted against cheaper child care.

We have increased rental assistance. We've lowered the price of medicines. And what did they do? They voted against it. We have taken that next step which their government in 2018 had the opportunity to take: to introduce 60-day scripts. They folded to the pharmaceutical lobbyists, because they didn't have what it took to make that change. We have done that, and what does that do? That brings down the cost of medicine even further for those people. It also relieves the pressure on our GPs because you don't have to go to your GP as often to get your script filled.

What have they done when it comes to ensuring that we are building more affordable homes and social housing in this country with the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund? What did they do with that legislation when it came into this place and the other chamber? They voted against it. These are real cost-of-living measures that benefit Australian families, and what did they do? They voted against them. They talk about wages, when it was those people, in government, who said they had a policy to keep wages low. That's what they did. That was their policy when they were in government, but now they say: 'Oh, no! Wages have gone down. What about your union mates?' Do you think that people listening to this buy any of that? No, they don't, because they know that it's in your DNA to attack unions. It's in your DNA not to give a damn about Australians doing it tough and needing social and affordable housing. That's what they know.

When you wanted to bring in measures to save money, you introduced robodebt. That's what you did. You threatened vulnerable Australians with jail. That's what you did. You drove people to the nth degree with their mental health, with a system that you oversaw that failed. Not only that; you were forewarned that what you were doing was illegal. That's what the Liberal-National government is remembered for, and, if you think the Australian people are going to forget about what you did with robodebt, think again. They know that with an Albanese Labor government they get a government that actually relates to them, cares about what's happening to them and understands the cost-of-living pressures that they're under now, and we're taking $23 billion worth of action.

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

Thank you, Senator Polley. Senator Rennick.

Gerard Rennick (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the economic catastrophe that's unfolding here in Australia. Just in reply to Senator Polley's comments: if she thinks the Australian people are going to forget the pain that Prime Minister Albanese has inflicted upon the Australian people because of the unnecessary immigration rate of over half a million people a year, she is kidding herself. You are driving hardworking Australians into poverty. You should be ashamed of yourself. The Australian Labor Party is kicking the worker in the guts, and that is not good enough. I'd like to describe it as a clown show. Watching the Prime Minister carry on reminds me of Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun. There's that famous meme where everything's exploding in the background. In this case, there's the Prime Minister going: 'Nothing to see here. We'll give you a little bit of an electricity rebate. But here's the thing: it's coming out of your other pocket through higher taxes. We're going to give you a little bit of a subsidy here. But guess what: it comes out of your other pocket in the form of higher taxes.'

Of course, that is the game that Labor play. They play a game of charades. They're constantly moving the cups around on the table, but there's nothing inside them. They have nothing but hot air. What the Labor Party are doing is really more like the Colosseum. Anthony Albanese, like an old Roman emperor, is putting his thumb down, and, as the Christians were thrown to the lions, Australian working families are being thrown on the mercy of international markets, because the Labor Party will not protect its people. 'Protect' is a word I like to use, and I use it on this side of the Senate. I call myself a protectionist. The Liberal Party were the original party of that, before the free traders came in, and I like to remind my own party of that from time to time. We are here to protect the working-class people.

I note Senator Birmingham is having a bit of a chuckle, but go and read Robert Menzies' 'Forgotten People' speech. In the last paragraph he says that we should not go back to the old and selfish notions of laissez-faire. There are only two types of outcomes in a market in this world: you're either making money or you're losing money. Our role as representatives of the Australian people is to make sure that Australian people can put bread on the table. They have to make a living. That is why we will stand here today and we will push back against higher energy prices, higher interest rates and higher rents. The Labor Party love to go, 'We're entirely independent from the RBA; there's nothing we can do about it.' I call that out to be complete misinformation. At the end of the day, there is something you can do about it, and that is lower immigration.

We had immigration after World War II and we had immigration after World War I. We've always had immigration. But the difference this time is that half the population coming in are going to university and wasting time on getting a degree instead of getting out there and doing things like after World War I, when they built Lake Eildon and Lake Hume, or after World War II, when they built the Snowy Hydro. They are not doing that. We are not building infrastructure. We are not building infrastructure, and that is the problem with the Labor Party of today.

They have abandoned the working class, and we can see that because, for the first 18 months of their government, all ever did was talk about the Voice. That wasn't going to make a difference to any Aboriginals out there in the regional communities and it wasn't going to make a difference to hardworking Australians. And, believe you me, hardworking Australians voted unanimously to push back against the ideological virtue-signalling. What they want are real solutions and real outcomes in this country, and the Labor Party do not have any solutions.

Last week we saw the Prime Minister jetting off to Tuvalu—a country whose coral reefs are growing. So much for climate change! I should note that last week, as well, the news came out that the Great Barrier Reef in my home state is also growing, to record highs. What Prime Minister Albanese is doing is issuing visas to and bringing in the people of Tuvalu on an unrestricted basis, and just adding to the problem that we have here in Australia. We are not solving the cost-of-living problem.

Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor is firmly focused on the cost-of-living issues facing Australians. We were focused on them before our election and we have been every single day since. Even with things like the referendum campaign, conflicts in the Middle East—

Opposition Senator:

An opposition senator interjecting

Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Was that just a little under the hand—anyway, it's very distracting. We've maintained our focus, as I will seek to maintain my focus now, on the bread-and-butter issues affecting Australians.

Cost-of-living pressures are hurting many households. Primarily, there are those who are now experiencing high interest rates, where their housing costs have gone up considerably, and we are doing everything we can to make things easier. As we move towards next year's budget, we will reflect on how to do that again, if not sooner. We have rolled out—or are in the process of doing so—billions of dollars in targeted cost-of-living relief. This relief is designed to ease the pressures on Australians for everyday essentials. For example, people I know go, 'How can I afford to go to the doctor if my mortgage repayments have gone up?' That is why we have introduced bulk-billing incentives which are already seeing rates of bulk-billing lift.

We have a clear plan that covers a whole variety of different areas—in fact, 10 key areas—where we will invest $23 billion of support targeted to where it's needed most.

Those opposite might have pooh-poohed our electricity rebates, saying that they are meaningless. In fact, our electricity rebates have saved households a substantial amount of money, making their electricity bills much lower than they otherwise would have been. Up to $500 has been provided to around five million households. That has taken the sting out of power bill increases.

We have also made child care cheaper for 1.2 million households, saving around $1,700 a year, for example, for a family on an income of $120,000 with one child in child care. Now, one of the key issues here was that people, especially women, were choosing not to participate in the workforce because of the tax efficiency of going to work versus what they had to pay in outgoing childcare fees. That means that this cost-of-living relief, facilitating and enabling women to participate in the workforce, provides a particular benefit, not just by reducing the fees attached to child care but also by lifting a family's household income overall to cope with everyday living expenses, which we know have been on the rise. Recipients on the maximum rate of Commonwealth rent assistance last month received the biggest bump in their payment in 30 years. We've also lifted the rate for those on the working-age payment by $40 a fortnight. That's in addition to the regular indexation and greater support provided to parents.

Australians have already saved $180 million on 16 million prescriptions after the maximum co-payment was reduced from $42.50 down to $30. When you're experiencing other household income pressures, the last thing we want is to see Australian households unable to afford medication that their doctors have prescribed them. Countless times, over and over again, under the last government, we would see witnesses before Senate committees say, 'I cannot afford my medication.' Fixing this issue is something that we have prioritised. I could go on and on, but my time has run out. (Time expired)

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

I'll just alert the chamber that I will give Senator Brockman the call for three minutes and then put the question, and then, in accordance with the whips' advice, I'll give the call to One Nation for two minutes.

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

Thank you, Deputy President. I'd love the call for longer than that, but I'll take my three minutes. We just have such a disconnect between the words that come out of the mouths of those opposite, the answers to questions in question time and the trite trotting-out of the list of 'achievements', when every Australian family with a mortgage knows their repayments have not gone up by just a few thousand dollars a year; they've gone up by between $15,000 and $25,000 a year. Add on top of that the electricity price rises. Add on top of that the fuel price rises. Add on top of that the grocery price rises. Add on top of that, for a small business with a mortgage or an overdraft to run their business, the interest rate hikes that they have seen under this government. The cost of living has exploded. That is why we and many commentators talk about a cost-of-living crisis.

When the Labor Party trots out their rather pathetic excuses for action in this area, action to try and put downward pressure on inflation, every Australian family listening in knows that those are just weak words from a weak Labor government with no clue. They can't even mention the words they used to talk about in opposition. The term '$275' disappeared from their lexicon.

Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

$275! I'll say it! $275 in savings!

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

The word 'real' disappeared from their lexicon. They used to talk about 'real wages' but they can't say 'real wages' anymore, can they, Senator Pratt? They cannot say 'real wages', because real wages have plummeted under this Labor government. Real wages have declined at one of the fastest rates in Australian history under this government. Families are worse off, and that is fundamental. In fact, the ABC has done a fact check on something Treasurer Chalmers said a few weeks ago about the fact that workers are better off. Guess what the fact check came up with? I will point out that this is from the ABC; it's not exactly a right-wing media organisation. The fact check said that the Treasurer was misleading the Australian people as to what the Labor government were doing about wages. Well, surprise, surprise! They can't even mention real wages anymore, because real wages are plummeting in the face of the pressure put on families by the interest rate hikes that this government has overseen. Shame!

Question agreed to.