Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Wong. Last week the Prime Minister posted a photo on social media imitating the iconic So Fresh music CD series with the title 'So helpful cost of living relief', accompanied by the words, 'New album just dropped.' In place of the top songs on the album cover, there were government policies, and, instead of artist pictures, there were picture bubbles featuring the faces of smiling Australians. Thankfully, the platform's automated fact-checking system now displays the warning to point out that many of these policies cited do not actually come into effect fully until much later. Minister, is the Prime Minister's post deliberately misleading Australians, and is this 'so helpful' claim completely tone deaf to those doing it so tough?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cadell, I would remind you that there is one side of this parliament who has been very focused on delivering to Australians who are struggling with the cost of living—that is, the Australian Labor Party. It is the Labor government. There has been one side of the parliament who has been focused on obstructing benefits to Australians to try to handle the cost of living—that is, the coalition. That is the reality. When we have brought in measures to try and help Australians with the cost of living, which is hitting Australian families and Australian pensioners—we understand that—we have been met with opposition from those opposite time and again.

If there were one area where you would really want to see that, of course, it would be in the area of wages. Those opposite had a deliberate design policy of low wages for 10 years, and, not only that, they voted no fewer than 48 times against new industrial relations laws, claiming that those laws would return Australia to the Dark Ages—I wonder who said that!—that they would close down the economy, that they would leave supermarket shelves bare, because people might have gotten a pay increase. Do you remember that? And they claimed that any increase in the minimum wage would wreck the economy.

Senator Cadell, you're a decent man. I'd say to you: maybe you can explain to your colleagues why decent wages are an important part of ensuring Australians can deal with the increased cost of living, and perhaps you should talk to some of your frontbench colleagues who come from this scorched-earth mentality that says that those workers should just make sure their wages stay low because that way the economy works better.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cadell, first supplementary?

Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We've heard all week about the devastating effects of the current cost-of-living crisis for all Australians. A survey conducted by the Council of Australian Life Insurers found that two-thirds of Australians are concerned that cost-of-living pressures will affect their ability to pay for cover and almost a quarter are considering cancelling their policies because of the cost-of-living pressures. Does the Prime Minister really believe that Australians honestly view the government's efforts to address the cost of living as 'so helpful' and that it should be treated as a joke?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What the Prime Minister believes is that the government should ensure that wages are moving again, and, after a decade under you, they are. What the Prime Minister is focused on is delivering the tax cuts which delivered a tax cut to every Australian. What the Prime Minister and his colleagues have been focused on is how we lower the cost of child care. What our government has been focused on is the ways in which we can assist Australians with the rising cost of living.

The difference between those of us on this side and those of us on that side is twofold. First, you opposed so many of the measures which have delivered and are delivering some contribution to cost-of-living pressures for Australians—for example, energy. But, on top of that, you have your senior financial spokespeople talking about the $300 billion-plus 'Labor spending', as they call it— (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cadell, second supplementary?

Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, this isn't the first example of your government misreading the mood on cost-of-living issues and attempting to mislead the public. Isn't the government's excessive boasting, along with its wilful misinterpretation of Reserve Bank statements, all an attempt to be so helpful to Labor's vote rather than to help struggling Australians?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are very aware of how hard Australians are finding meeting the cost of living; of course we understand that. We are out there in the community. We understand how hard this is for so many people. But you actually do something about that by putting in place policies which seek to increase wages, by delivering more tax cuts to more Australians, by delivering energy price relief, by delivering cheaper medicines and by delivering cheaper child care. None of these are things you would do. So you come in here and cry crocodile tears about the cost of living. You say how dreadful the cost of living is, but your policies would be to oppose the measures we are putting in place to assist people and to cut government spending and cut increases to wages and pensions. (Time expired)