David Fawcett (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by ministers to questions asked by coalition senators.

When I contract constituents in my home state of South Australia via phone canvassing or in meetings, the issues raised with me at No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 are the cost-of-living crisis—concerns about inflation, the impact on household budgets of things like power prices, the concerns from small business about the impact of power prices and the rising costs of insurance, and the impact on industry, particularly those energy intensive industries, from the raising cost of prices.

In my home state of South Australia, despite all of the rhetoric from this government about their transition to cheaper renewables, South Australia pays the highest price for electricity in Australia at 45.5c per kilowatt hour, which is amongst the most expensive in the world. With these pressures on businesses who employ Australians and these pressures on households, people need a government, a prime minister, a leader, who takes the issues seriously and who they can trust.

The response was vicious to say the least when this Prime Minister tweeted an ill-thought-through copy of a pop album cover to try and promote what he believes is good news from the government, and people say, 'You are a joke.' They also wonder who they can trust when they see the Prime Minister standing in front of a press conference saying that the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia didn't say the things that she very clearly did say about the inflationary impacts of government spending. When the Prime Minister contradicts not only the words but the policies of the independent Reserve Bank of Australia and its governor, he calls into question some of the underpinnings of Australia's economic system and the integrity of one of our key public officials. It is no wonder that in the press, in news articles in days following, we saw comments like, 'Denial and blame shifting was the name of Albanese's game.' It is only because of the role of the parliament in holding the Prime Minister to account that he has now backtracked on those claims.

Australians, whether they are moms and dads at home or people running a small business employing other Australians or large firms seeking to manufacture things here in Australia, they cannot trust Prime Minister Albanese and his policies or his words. We see that, particularly in the area of the cost of living and the cost of electricity in the energy policy. I have risen in this place previously to explain why the words in and policies of both Mr Bowen and Prime Minister Albanese are at odds with global experts like the International Energy Agency and the OECD as to the impact of seeking to achieve net zero by 2050 based on a renewables-dominated energy system. Despite the words mouthed by Mr Bowen and Mr Albanese, evidence from overseas both in engineering and economic analysis borne out by the lived experience of other nations shows that the pathway this government has Australia on is making a bad situation worse.

The OECD analysis highlights that where we are at the moment with rising power prices is just the start of a trajectory which will be unaffordable for advanced economies if the transition is based on renewables only, which is the current plan of the government. Independent experts here in Australia have highlighted that the true cost of the Albanese approach will be in the trillions of dollars rather than the billions of dollars which the coalition is proposing with the change to our energy systems to include baseload power from clean, modern nuclear reactors.

The lived experiences of nations overseas including, for example, the province of Ontario, is that, with the majority of their power nuclear, they are paying 13c per kilowatt hour compared to South Australia's 45c.

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

[inaudible] reflection of South Australians we are. What is the collective noun for a South Australian?

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

An 'excellence'.

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

Senator Fawcett, I appreciate your commentary about the things you hear from South Australians. I also hear from South Australians that the cost of living is a significant issue, and I think we all know that. We're seeing very tough conditions out there. But our primary concern in the government is tackling inflation, because that has an impact across the board. We are looking to deliver strong wages and sustainable wage growth for workers, and we're doing that in a range of ways systemically over the last two years, working towards improving the wages, improving the job prospects and helping people move ahead.

The gender pay gap is something we've been really focused on, and we've made some great headway in that area. Only last week, we announced a 15 per cent increase in the pay of our early childhood educators. They are a critical bunch of people who do a spectacular job. For years and years, they have been pushing for a pay rise, but nothing has been forthcoming. So we're delighted to see that come forward at this point in time, because if we are going to deal with our economy going forwards, we need to be able to support women going back to the workforce. Women still take up the vast majority of responsibilities in terms of staying home with small children.

These measures are making a difference. These measures are absolutely going to make a difference to a person's place in the economy and to how people survive. But there is a whole range of other people that we need to be looking to support, and this government—not you guys, not ever you guys—have advocated for the low-paid workers to the Fair Work Commission. We've managed to achieve some increases in those pay rates—52 per cent in 2022, 8.6 per cent in 2033 and 3.75 per cent in 2024. When we're talking about cost-of-living pressures and about people being able to keep a roof over their head and put food on their table, then one of the critical aspects of that is the wage that they are able to earn.

As for those opposite, it was 48 times that you voted against industrial relations reform. You have never cared about people on low and middle incomes. The top end? Absolutely. They are right up your alley, but they are not the people who are struggling at this point in time. The people who are really struggling are those people who rely on the minimum wage. It's those people who are working in lower paid jobs. That's where we have been focusing to try and ensure that those people can indeed keep a roof over their head and food on the table and have prospects and opportunities to earn more money, to keep more of what they earn and to see a future where they can see jobs not just for themselves—good, well-paid jobs—but for their children and their grandchildren.

Our future that we have plotted out for Australia gives that—growth in jobs and growth in industries. A Future Made in Australia would secure for us a very positive future for the people who are working today, the people who will be working tomorrow and the children of those future generations. It's looking forward, protecting the whole community and moving all of the levers, everything from our fee-free TAFE to lowering medicines and ensuring that Medicare is there for everyone and is all about the health care that you need, not about how much money you have in your pocket. It's looking at the entire economy. Shifting our society to a more future focused, supportive environment is what is going to make a difference. I think that when we talk about the issues on the ground for people, we need to be helping them see the future. We need to be supporting them in the things that they desperately need to make ends meet and to see the future and to see the hope and the prosperity for the direction that the Albanese Labor government has put in place.

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

Senator Grogan, I can't help you with a collective noun for South Australians. I can think of a few for Labor governments, but I can't mention them in this place.

This was a very telling question time. We saw a complete failure once again from this government to take seriously what Senator Fawcett did so clearly enunciate as the issue—the only issue that we hear about day in and day out—which is the cost-of-living crisis. What did we see from those opposite in terms of their own questions—their Dorothy Dixers? We saw them talk about a 'Future Made in Australia', a slogan with absolutely nothing behind it. We saw them talk about the Olympics. It reminds you a bit of bread and circuses, doesn't it? Bread and circuses—that's what this government does. It doesn't do actual policy. It doesn't do any of the heavy lifting required in the economy to take pressure off struggling Australian families. It does bread and circuses.

When asked about the cost of living, they rolled out the same trite answer they have been rolling out for, I think, over a year now. If we went back to question time a year ago, we'd hear about cheaper child care and lower costs of medicines. The Australian people don't buy it. They don't buy that this government has done a thing to try to improve their standard of living, to try and take the pressure off them in this cost-of-living crisis, because you know what? With a few hundred dollars in terms of energy bill relief, people's energy bills have gone up by thousands of dollars—thousands of dollars. I have talked to individual small businesses whose energy bills have gone up by $10,000 a quarter.

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

How much help did you give them? How much are you going to give them?

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

Senator O'Neill, how much do you think—through you, Mr Deputy President—your assistance helped a small business whose energy bills have gone up $10,000 in a quarter or a family whose mortgage repayments have gone up since you came to power, Senator O'Neill, by $15,000 a year? Their price of groceries has gone up 12 per cent. Their price of electricity has gone up 22 per cent. We have gone, in my home state of Western Australia, under a state Labor government and a federal Labor government, from having the cheapest electricity pretty much in the world or one of the cheapest electricity prices in the world to one of the most expensive. Extraordinary. As Senator Fawcett so eloquently outlined, the cost of electricity in South Australia has gone up extraordinarily, even though, according to those opposite, under their policy of renewables only, they should have the cheapest electricity in the world. Guess what? It's not.

And people are understanding this. The Australian people aren't mugs. They aren't stupid. The Australian people aren't being bought off by the bread-and-circuses act from this government. They know real economic management is about making sure you do everything you can to put downward pressure on interest rates. Inflation, inflation—downward pressure on inflation. Inflation and interest rates are economy destroyers. They are standard-of-living destroyers. That is why under this government, contrary to their rhetoric on wages, we've actually seen real wages falling—under this government—as the cost of living and the prices of groceries, of petrol, of electricity and of mortgage repayments skyrocket. And every Australian family knows that. Every Australian small business knows that. We've got record business closures. We've got record numbers of businesses going into administration. We've got a record number of small businesses whose owners cannot take money out of the business. They're still paying their staff, but they cannot take money out of the business because of the economic management of this Labor government, because of the burden of interest rate rises on their business and the destructive and corrosive effects of inflation.

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

The cost of living? I really, really would like to think that those opposite who ask questions and make contributions, like we've just heard from Liberal-National Party senators, really did care, because that's the impression that they're trying to create. I think the people all across Australia listening to this broadcast and the people up here in the gallery are onto them. They're onto the lunacy and the pretence that is embedded in what we've seen from those asking questions today.

When things go wrong, Australians need a government that's going to care about them. You can have all the words: 'I see your pain,' 'It's terrible you're suffering,' 'I get it.' But that's only part one. Part two is you actually have to do something about that. You can't just wave at it and walk on by; you actually have to respond. That is why the Labor Party is responding in a financially responsible way, but still a significant way, to help millions of Australians while we get through this tough time.

Inflation is a very big problem, and it's a problem all around the world, and it's still higher than we'd like, but it's on its way down and it's less than half of what it was when Labor came into government. While we've been trying to manage that in an economically responsible way, the Labor government has delivered the first back-to-back surpluses in almost 20 years. There's always this balance that's really important to see what's happening to the Australian people, to share in that journey of success and challenge and to respond in real ways that are responsible both fiscally and in terms of helping people with what they're challenged by.

When it comes to energy: I've got an energy bill that comes in, and I'm feeling it. Everybody is feeling it. But for this lot over here, who are bleating and moaning and saying they understand, the minute they had a chance to do something about it they voted against any relief on energy bills for Australians. There are the words—'We care about it'—but the minute something is on the table to help Australians they vote against it. We've got Senator Hume, who sits in this chamber, out telling everybody: 'Oh, the government's overspending with $3.5 billion. They shouldn't be putting that money in.' That means she doesn't want any help to go to the Australian people. That $3.5 billion we have announced to help Australians right now in this financial year with the cost of energy is something they are bleating and moaning about. They do not want the government to spend that money. Senator Hume is on the record as saying, 'Instead of showing restraint in their fiscal policy.' 'Restraint in their fiscal policy' means, 'Do not give Australians the help that they need.' That is what they really mean when they say that.

There are 10 million households around Australia that are getting more than the flapping of gums and expressions of care; they're going to get a $300 rebate on their energy bills. There are a million small businesses that have been waiting a real long time to get any help from the Liberal-National coalition. Even if they are just a sole trader, that's a million Australians in business—and if they've got two, or if they've got three or more, we can multiply that out pretty easily. We are helping small businesses through this challenging time with an energy rebate. But Jane Hume says, 'Don't spend that money.' They say, 'Oh, we care, but do not spend the money that will give any relief.'

We're seeing the same thing with rent assistance; they don't want us to spend $1.9 billion. They say, 'Do something, but don't help Australians.' On cheaper medicines, we are spending $469 million to help Australians who are general patients and who have no more than $31.60 to pay. If you're on a concessional payment, we've locked it at $7.70 for five years—so if you need to get medicines you know you can budget for that and manage that. That is responsible government in the Labor tradition. It cares for people, delivers a surplus, puts pressure on inflation and doesn't leave you hanging with a whole lot of words but actually puts money in your pocket to help.

Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Islamic Republic of Iran regime and the terrorist groups they arm and fund make absolutely no secret of their desire to eradicate Israel and to spread dangerous and violent antisemitism around the world. That is the very behaviour which we have been warned by our security and intelligence agencies that we must be on alert for. It is absolutely unacceptable to have a foreign official openly espousing such dangerous antisemitic hatred in the Australian community, and it is extremely disturbing that the Iranian ambassador has been doing so since October 2023, and the only response has been to have DFAT officials ask him not to do it.

At Senate estimates on 26 October 2023, I first raised the embassy's activity on social media with DFAT and the minister. I asked, 'Is DFAT aware that the Iranian embassy in Australia has been posting alarming anti-Israel and pro-Hamas content to their social media page?' The answer from DFAT was that they haven't been monitoring the Iranian embassy social media, but they said, 'Officials have regular discussions with the Iranian ambassador to make it very clear what our position is in relation to the Gaza conflict, including in relation to what Iran does and how Iran should stay out of it.'

In February this year, I again raised the ambassador's disturbing social media activity with the department and with the minister. The department, again, wasn't aware of the social media posts, but on notice responded and said,

Australia does not tolerate, under any circumstances, attempts by foreign regimes to disrupt peaceful protests, or to try to push violence or suppress specific views from being expressed.

That was February 2024.

In 20 June 2024, I again raised the regime's social media activity and promotion of violence with the department. This time, in the context of the embassy's social accounts posting a letter to university students praising anti-Israel protests and labelling students as having formed a branch of the resistance front. I asked if DFAT agreed that the IRI regime is purposefully attempting to provoke pro-Hamas protests in the West to sow discord and potentially create violence in our communities. The response from DFAT officials was 'I don't think that's our assessment to make', and they deflected the questions to Home Affairs.

Now, how is it, after raising these issues so many times with the government, that the response is still to have a mid-level official meet with the ambassador? As I've said, the IRI regime has shown time and time again that it has no qualms about provoking and carrying out violence, and they've got away with this and increased their power and influence, because, rather than taking firm action in response to the promotion of violence and terrorism, the West sends the message, often via anonymous briefings to the media, that we can't take action because we're worried about how the IRI regime will react.

While it is not in the power of Australia to control the actions of this regime in the Middle East, it is in our power to send a clear message that, if you're a guest in Australia who repeatedly promotes violent antisemitism, then you have no right to be in this country any longer.

Question agreed to.