Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by ministers to questions without notices asked by Opposition senators today.

This week confirmed what Australians already know and fear from their weekly visits to the shops, and that is that Australians have yet to record a real wage increase since the election of the Labor government. Their real wages are down. They have gone backwards by a long way. In fact, real wages are back to levels that we haven't seen since 2011. We're back to 2011. Real wages for Australians were last at this level more than 10 years ago, because the inflation rate under this term of the Labor government has been sitting far above what has been returned to Australians in wage increases. So that's why everyone is struggling.

Senator Murray, here in the chamber, laughs at that. Obviously, he doesn't understand what Australians are facing. He doesn't understand that Australians can't afford their groceries right now. He doesn't understand that Australians are struggling to pay their mortgage, and perhaps that explains the tin-eared response from this government to the legitimate issues facing Australian families. This government continues to put its head in the sand and think that there is no problem.

Last week, we saw the Reserve Bank of Australia warn that the spending levels of governments are stopping them from cutting interest rates and helping Australian families to pay their mortgages. In fact, in their Statement on monetary policy, they explicitly said that the spending of federal and state governments is preventing them from changing or reducing interest rates. It was followed up by a press conference from the Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock where she repeated those issues. In response, we had these delusionary statements from the Treasurer, saying that there is not a problem, that federal spending growth has not contributed to the challenge of the Reserve Bank and has not contributed to inflation—which is clearly at odds with the statements of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, the person in charge of tackling inflation in this country.

It is very easy to check the facts. We have here a government that continue to say that they actually slashed spending growth in their first two budgets—which is what the finance minister has been saying lately. Yet Commonwealth government spending in their last budget, delivered a few months ago, was in fact $64 billion higher than when they came to government. That is hardly slashing spending. Some of that growth will be because unemployment is higher than expected and inflation is higher than expected and some government spending, like pensions, is linked to that. But there is a table you can go to in the budget which separates those issues out. It gets you the real answers about what this government has done to either detract from or contribute to spending pressures and therefore the inflationary pressures facing Australians.

The table shows that, in their first full budget, in 2023-24, in net terms the government's policy decisions—so not the automatic changes that occur because of inflation and other issues—had added over $20 billion of spending to the annual budget. In her answer, the finance minister spoke about their savings, saying, 'Oh, we've made savings.' The same table, on page 93 of this year's budget, shows that net, after their savings, they actually added an extra $24 billion of spending in this year's budget. So in two budgets, in just two years, there was $44 billion of extra spending in net terms, even after you factor in the government savings. That is a lot of money. In fact, it is the biggest increase in government spending for policy decisions since the days of Kevin Rudd if you take out the COVID years. Obviously, with COVID, there was massive spending in response to lockdowns et cetera. This is the greatest level of government spending, outside of COVID, since Kevin Rudd faced the global financial crisis.

The government has done that at a time of raging inflation here and around the world. Now the only thing getting made in Australia anymore is the government's inflation. It is made here from their budgets and their spending, and that is what is contributing to the pressures on Australians. Government ministers may laugh at the statistics that show that the standard living of Australians has fallen by more than a decade in just two years. We are back to a standard of living that people last experienced in 2011. That is the record of this government, and they are doing nothing about it.

Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those opposites seem to have become really concerned with spending recently. The numbers show that they had no such concern in their last year of government. As the minister pointed out in question time, spending growth then was 4.1 per cent, compared to Labor's, which is 1.7 per cent. On the savings front, there was a big fat zero from those opposite compared to savings of $77 billion in interest payments from the Labor government. We've seen annual real wage growth at 0.3 per cent to the June quarter. That is the third consecutive quarter of growth that we have seen from the figures released today.

What did we find when we came to government in 2022? Annual real wage growth was going backwards by 3.4 per cent under the coalition. Under Labor, we have delivered growth. In fact, we have seen annual nominal wages growth go up by at least four per cent in four consecutive quarters. In stark contrast, in nine years of the coalition government, there was not one single quarter when annual nominal wages grew above four per cent—not one in nine years. So compare the pair. Under Labor, people are working more, they are earning more and they are keeping more of what they earn, which is in stark contrast to those opposite, who worked so hard to ensure that the wages of people stagnated—under an intentional policy decision. You were in government for nine years. You took some very direct, intentional actions, and you cannot now sit there and deny it. You cannot sit there and now say that you care about people's wages. The way you're going on and on about the cost of living—when it was not something you ever paid any attention to in nine long years of government.

And then there were the car parks. In question time, we heard about infrastructure spending. There are not a lot of car parks from us over here, but we have taken significant action to improve the transparency and accountability of public spending because of what we saw you guys do, because of what we inherited when we came to government and because of the rorts and fiasco we saw under your lack of leadership. What has happened under the Albanese Labor government since we came in, in 2022, is that the minister has taken significant actions to improve accountability and transparency for public spending. The minister has embedded new assurances and protections in the federation funding agreement.

The FFA outlines the states' and territories' responsibility to ensure the value for the spending of public money, improving productivity in construction. The new FFA is designed to ensure that both levels of government are accountable, that we share the accountability and that we improve the transparency. We share the responsibility for fiscal discipline and for planning so that projects are going to be completed in a timely manner and in an accountable manner with those public funds. Let's not forget these are public funds.

Effective priority setting, risk management, accountability and transparency—these are the things that we are driving. We are driving these reforms to ensure that is what we are getting in our public funding, and all the muck and bother that we listen to in this chamber at the more artistic times of the day, particularly in question time, is a little bit of a fiasco. Where are the facts? Line up the numbers; line up the facts. We can compare, very simply, the record of the Liberal government over nine years to the record of the Albanese Labor government. More accountability, more transparency, more actions to assist people on the ground who are doing it tough—that's what we are standing for. That is what we have always done. You cannot recreate history just because you're now in opposition.

Dave Sharma (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What we've heard from those opposite today is an exercise in delusion, the description of an alternative reality and messages that the Australian taxpayer and householder have never had it so good. Let's look at what Australians are dealing with. There has been no growth in real GDP per capita for five quarters now, and the Reserve Bank has just said that it doesn't expect there to be growth in real GDP per capita for the next quarter. We've seen real net disposable income per person decline by 8½ per cent in the past 18 months. We see core quarterly inflation at 3.9 per cent and increasing. We've seen 12 consecutive rises in the overnight cash rate, in the interest rates that Australians pay on their mortgages, with no relief in sight and the Reserve Bank warning, just last week, that they were close to raising interest rates and that there were no likely cuts until next year. And we've seen labour productivity down five per cent in the last two years. We've seen out-of-control government spending, with real spending by government growing by 4.5 per cent this year. It is forecast to grow by 3.6 per cent next year.

Those opposite might remember that paragon of fiscal virtue, the former treasurer Wayne Swan. He had a fiscal rule that growth in government spending should not exceed two per cent in real terms year on year. This government has broken that speed limit on two consecutive occasions now. If those opposite are wondering why Australians are feeling worse off and why Australians are frustrated by this government's economic management, they need to look at those statistics. Australians are paying more for life's essentials because inflation is out of control. They're paying more in taxes because of bracket creep. They're paying more for their mortgage because of higher interest rates. And their real incomes are not rising because there is no productivity growth and no agenda. Those opposite can crow about nominal wage rises, but the truth is that if those wage rises are only covering inflation—if they don't take into account the fact of bracket creep, if they don't into account the fact of rising interest rates—then of course Australians, in net terms, are going to be feeling worse off. That's why this figure of real GDP per capita, or real net disposable income per person, is so important.

The decline that we've seen here in Australia of household net disposable income is unparalleled anywhere in the OECD. Other advanced economies have seen inflation come under control. Countries like the UK and Canada have begun to cut interest rates. The Federal Reserve has indicated its next likely move in interest rates is down while the Reserve Bank is indicating that things are heading in the opposite direction in Australia. Those countries have seen real net disposable household income increase in the past 18 months because they've gained control of inflation, because bracket creep is no longer eating into worker salaries, because people are paying less for life's essentials and because the governments have pulled in the fiscal reins and made sure that fiscal policy is pulling in the same direction as monetary policy.

Last week, after the Governor of the Reserve Bank issued a warning that the growth in government spending was contributing to a more difficult inflationary outlook and was making the Reserve Bank's likelihood of reducing interest rates more distant, we had the unedifying spectacle of the Prime Minister and the Treasurer saying that the Reserve Bank governor in fact didn't say these things. Well, it is quite clear in the transcript. It's quite clear in the minutes from the last Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee meeting that the growth in government spending is having an impact on inflation in the Australian economy, and that the Reserve Bank is having to keep interest rates higher for longer because fiscal policy is not moving in the same direction. You just need to look at the growth in government spending: 4.5 per cent growth in real spending this year; 3.6 per cent in real spending forecast for next year. All up, $315 billion in additional government spending since this government came to office, and you can see why. Inflation is out of control and is why Australians cannot expect relief anytime soon.

Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In question time, there was a question to the government on the allocation of funding to the states with respect to the government's funding for road upgrades and infrastructure projects. It was interesting to listen to the contribution and the questions that were put to the government earlier today around that.

The one thing this government takes very seriously is the road safety of each and every Australian. I know at the last election, and quite a few elections beforehand, that the Labor Party has a very proud history of working with many communities and many organisations, including the Transport Workers Union, in making sure that road safety is a key priority for a federal government. And the government has so far delivered on its election commitments of setting up a road safety remuneration tribunal—something that those opposite, when they were last in government, decided to withdraw and abolish as part of their deals here in the Senate with the crossbench. It's interesting that between 2012 and 2016 the former Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, which set the pay and conditions for road transport drivers in the road transport industry, also saw a reduction of road incidents across the nation. The tribunal was established and began operation back in July 2012, only to be abolished by the Turnbull government in April 2016.

The infrastructure side of things is also a very important point, and we should look at the commitment that this government has made to increasing and improving road safety around the country. In my home state of Victoria, $120 million in joint funding has been committed to improve roads, footpaths and cycleways. In partnership with the Victorian government, the Road Safety Program will improve safety at 24 sites, including 15 projects in regional areas and nine projects in urban and metropolitan areas. This includes $4.7 million for the Regional School Safety package and pedestrian and cyclist treatments and over $2.2 million for the Regional Speed Package for static traffic controls and signage.

Federal Labor has also substantially increased the Black Spot Program funding, which is progressively increasing, since 1 July, from $110 million to $150 million every single year. We've also committed $33.3 million in funding to improve 56 known crash sites under the 2024-25 Black Spot Program. The Black Spot Program funds a range of safety measures at locations where serious crashes have occurred or are at risk of occurring. Additionally, the Roads to Recovery Program funding has also risen to $650 million this year, up from $500 million last year, and will continue to rise to $1 billion by 2027-28 per year onwards.

This is just another example of where the federal Labor government has put more money into road safety and into infrastructure projects across the nation, unlike what was claimed by those opposite that we are cutting funding and somehow trying to loop in the CFMEU and other union activity on these projects. But the reality is that this government has put money where its mouth is. We have said that we would improve road safety and we are doing that.

The Black Spot Program, something that we are very proud of, is funding more safety improvements in my duty electorate of Gippsland. We've put money into Sale. There's $1.224 million to install single-lane roundabouts and pedestrian cycling facilities. In Traralgon, there's $408,000 to install raised crossings and speed cushions on approaches and at Traralgon Creek Shared Path and Moore Street in Traralgon. In Morwell, there's $371,000 to install kerbside edge lines and lighting upgrades, and, in Riverslea, there is $204,000 to install safety barriers and kerb alignment signs at selected kerbs.

These are another example of where the Albanese Labor government is taking road safety very seriously. We are putting money into infrastructure projects right across the country, and I'm very proud that we are investing in the great state of Victoria to make sure that we are improving and working with our state counterparts and local councils for road safety projects around this country.

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

Sometimes I wonder what planet these Labor ministers are on when I sit here and listen to their answers, and today was another case in point where the waffling and the wittering from the government frontbenchers should prove to all Australians that the government that sits in Canberra is a government that is not in tune with the cost-of-living crisis that is hitting Australians every day of the week.

This point came home with a particular answer. Senator O'Sullivan asked the Minister representing the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government a question about the CFMEU and the impact of that corrupt union—that lawless union—on infrastructure projects across Australia. One part of the question that Senator O'Sullivan asked of the minister was:

Australians are being forced to drive on unsafe and potholed roads which have missed out on funding because of project cost blowouts.

And projects have blown out in cost because of the impact of the CFMEU. If you drive on a road in Australia at the moment and it's full of potholes, part of the reason is the impact of the CFMEU.

Only last week, I drove out to Roma to meet with the Maranoa Regional Council, and I was very fortunate to also participate in what I think was National Scone Day with the CWA in Roma and also the CWA in Jackson. I caught up with the entire council and also the state member, Ann Leahy. The roads from South East Queensland to South West Queensland are basically held together by potholes, and part of the reason for that is the CFMEU. But, lo and behold, the minister said words to the effect of, 'These potholes are because of the war in Ukraine.' How about that? Apparently, President Putin is responsible for every pothole in Australia. So, if you hit a pothole, it is because of President Putin and the war in Ukraine; it has nothing to do with the lawlessness, the thuggery and the general nastiness of the CFMEU and how they have impacted projects across Australia.

This goes back to the waffling and the wittering that we see from Labor frontbenchers. They don't drive on the roads in Australia. We have a Deputy Prime Minister who is very, very good at jumping on government jets with his golf clubs and flying all around Australia. Of course, we are not allowed to get the information about these flights. Senator Wong, we would love to know the details of these flights. But, since Labor have come into power, the details of these jet flights are being kept secret. This just shows how out of touch Labor are. They won't tell you where they are flying but they also won't drive on the roads that are being held together by these potholes. This shows that they just don't get it.

We have a weak Prime Minister who promised 97 times before the last election that he would cut electricity bills by $275. I will bet you a day's production of Bundaberg rum that there is no way a minister in this chamber will ever say $275 in the context of cutting power bills—because everyone's power bills have gone up. I say to people sitting on their tractors or to the people at home listening to the radio or watching this on TV because nothing else is on: just think about your power bills and ask yourselves whether they have gone up or gone down. I will bet you another day's production of Bundaberg rum that your power bills have gone up under this Labor government. But it is not just your power bills; it is the cost of food and the cost of insurance, for example. Everything in Australia has gone up. Why has it gone up? It is not because of a war in Europe; it is because of the additional money that this Labor government is pumping into the economy. It is the $315 billion of additional spending that is driving up the cost of everything. So, if your wallet is hurting or your purse is hurting, it is because you have a Labor government in Canberra being led by a weak Prime Minister who has a cabinet table full of woeful, wittering and waffling ministers.

Question agreed to.