Ralph Babet (Victoria, United Australia Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Since the Albanese government came to power in 2022, our quality of life has taken an absolute battering. They promised us cheaper power bills, cheaper mortgages, transparency and accountability. How is that going for everyone? Transparency is being replaced with censorship, and accountability is being replaced with secrecy. We were told, I remember, that it wouldn't be easy under Prime Minister Albanese. They were right when they told us that, but did anyone really expect it to be this bad? Our quality of life is in a downward spiral compared to what it was before this government took office.

Let's check into a day in the life of Joe Citizen. Though Joe Citizen's blood pressure is perfectly fine, he still suffers chronic panic every time he goes to the supermarket. Joe pushes his trolley of groceries up to the check-out, only to find out that he needs to take a second job just to pay for his daily essentials. And he would take a second job and sacrifice his weekends and time with his family, because he's really that desperate.

Joe Citizen never imagined his energy bill would be so high, because he was promised a $275-a-year reduction. Instead, it's gone up and up and up, and then it went up some more. It's almost like every time the government subsidises another wind turbine, Joe Citizen is less able to afford lighting, heating, food or a treat for his kids. He is not sure anymore, but he believes Prime Minister Albanese and his government when they promise that, if they can just cover a few more hundred acres of prime agricultural land with solar panels, all his problems will be solved. The assurance by the government that, if it weren't for them, Joe Citizen's power bill would have gone up even more is cold comfort when the original promise was that his bill was going to come down.

Mortgages were supposed to be cheaper too, but Joe Citizen has watched in disbelief as rates have gone up, not once, not twice, but 13 times. He wonders how Australia came to this. He wonders: 'Are we still the lucky country? How did it change so dramatically in just a few years?'

'Go woke, go broke'—there is perhaps no phrase more accurate than this one. His savings have all but disappeared as he's tried to keep up with the increased payments, and he's now regularly on the phone to his bank, pleading for more time to make good.

What about our Treasurer, Treasurer Chalmers? Well, he's even less help. While Joe Citizen desperately needed mortgage relief, the Treasurer was busy blaming the Reserve Bank for Joe Citizen's woes, and the Reserve Bank was busy blaming the Treasurer for Joe Citizen's woes. The government that promised to be interested in the welfare of Joe Citizen is a lot more interested in its own welfare. Joe has become collateral damage as the government pursues its ideologically driven pet policies on immigration, net zero, censorship and big government. Whatever optimism that Joe Citizen had when Prime Minister Albanese came to office is now gone. It's been eroded by one broken promise after another. He no longer recognises his own country. In fact, he has to be welcomed to this place every darn week, and he is sick of it.

There is more chance of the Australian Greens embracing free-market capitalism or conservative, right-leaning values than there is of rate relief, lower taxes, a drop in power prices or affordable groceries. Unfortunately, that is Prime Minister Albanese's Australia. As for poor old Joe Citizen, he cannot wait for an election to be called, and you can be sure that, more than ever, he will be voting 1 UAP when the time comes. Joe Citizen—do you know what?—has had enough. Joe Citizen, you at home, vote 1 UAP.