Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Millions of people across Australia are worried about the rising cost of rent, mortgages and food. People are being ripped off, while big corporations are making massive profits. The price of essential goods and services that people rely on has risen on average 20 per cent in the last few years alone. No city, no town, no person has avoided this crunch, and that includes my home city of Perth. We are seeing house prices soar and people being forced to choose whether to pay rent or indeed to be able to put food on the table. Essential things like going to the GP are out of reach for so many people.

People in this place talk about inflation like it is some kind of academic exercise. But the impact of the decisions that politicians make in this place are very real, each and every day. In the middle of this housing crisis, the Liberal and Labor parties are working together to drive up prices and keep people in poverty. We've seen them give $167 billion in tax handouts to wealthy property investors and drive up the house prices around our states so that people do not have a chance to buy their first home.

This government has refused to raise the rate of JobSeeker to a rate that is actually liveable. They've refused to expand so many urgently needed medical services, and they've cut the 20 sessions available for psychology under Medicare. They've ripped billions out of the NDIS, and they've made it so much more difficult for people to see a GP.

My message to the people at home is: if you want change, you've got to vote for it. (Time expired)