Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A letter has been received from Senator Dean Smith:

Pursuant to standing order 75, I propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:

"Labor's wasteful spending, failed policies and wrong priorities have created a national cost of living crisis; with Australians' standards of living going backwards and interest rates higher for longer, the Government must develop a national solution to address this national crisis and stop making Australians pay the price."

Is consideration of the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

With the concurrence of the Senate, the clerks will set the clock in line with the informal arrangements made by the whips.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'Vote for hope' is what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers asked Australians to do in May 2022. Vote for hope! Two and a half years later, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Dr Jim Chalmers, the Treasurer, have some explaining to do. But they're not the only ones who have some explaining to do. Tracey Roberts, the Labor member for Pearce in Western Australia, Patrick Gorman, the Labor member for Perth in Western Australia, Tania Lawrence, the member for Hasluck in Western Australia, and Anne Aly, the Labor member for Cowan in Western Australia, all have some explaining to do, because Western Australians trusted Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister, and voted for Labor, and what did they get? They did not get hope; they got disappointment. Western Australians were asked to vote for hope, and Western Australians were delivered disappointment.

Labor continues to ignore the very real concerns that Western Australian voters and households have about the cost-of-living crisis that now besets every Western Australian household. They are living it. They are living the cost-of-living crisis, and the data reminds us all just how seriously difficult things have become in just 2½ years under Labor. Australians are now worse off after 2½ years of Labor than they were when Labor was elected, and the response to Australia's inflation challenge continues to suffer at the hands of Labor. The inflation challenge is worse as a result of Labor's first budget in October 2022, the inflation challenge in our country got worse with Labor's second budget, and then the inflation challenge got worse with Labor's fiscal outlook. Things get worse under Labor. 'Vote for hope' has turned into disappointment for many Australian households. In fact, when we compare ourselves against other countries in the OECD, Australian households have had the largest fall in disposable incomes of any nation in the OECD. Australia remains stuck in an 18-month per capita recession.

Labor chooses to ignore the pleas of Australian households and the concerns that are being raised by Australia's charities and not-for-profits. They continue to pretend that there's no cost-of-living crisis and life continues as it did prior to the election. Anthony Albanese promised people that he would change Australia for the better. That's what he said in Perth: that he would change Australia for the better. But, if we were to randomly ask Western Australians today whether they feel better off or worse off, the answer would be overwhelmingly that they feel worse off under Anthony Albanese. The data does not lie.

Anthony Albanese, as opposition leader, said to Western Australians—indeed, to the whole nation—in May 2022 that he would make mortgage rates cheaper. But mortgage rates have got higher and people are now living under the cumulative impact of rate increase, rate increase, rate increase. Every time the RBA meet and make a decision about interest rates in this country, they are making a decision on the performance of the government, and the RBA choose to give the government a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence. When the RBA choose to raise interest rates or keep interest rates on hold, as they have done, they are saying, 'We do not trust the economic management of Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers as Treasurer.' They are saying they do not trust the economic management of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Dr Jim Chalmers, and Australians know. Australians are waiting for their opportunity to say to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, 'You asked us to vote for hope; instead you gave us disappointment'. (Time expired)

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

The temptation here would be to respond to some of the bunkum that we have just heard over the last five minutes, but I would just refer you, Senator Dean Smith, to some of the detail in the report that came from the cost-of-living inquiry, which doesn't appear to provide a great deal of hope at all. It has some pretty wishy-washy recommendations and nothing in terms of any sort of vision from the coalition for people to look at. But there was plenty of evidence gathered through that inquiry to tell us that people did not believe what was being contended by the coalition—and by Senator Hume and now by Senator Smith in this chamber—that the cost-of-living crisis began in May 2022. That's a really convenient tag line for you guys that has absolutely no truth behind it. What a shame! But we don't really like to let truth get in the way of a good story, do we, over there on the coalition benches? It's really not where we're actually making our efforts. No.

What we heard from witnesses, one after the other, when asked the question, 'Did the cost-of-living crisis start in May 2022?' was, 'No'. I think the most comprehensive response we got was from the housing providers. The housing providers—and you can trawl through those transcripts over and over again—peak bodies and people in the housing sector were telling us that this was a crisis in housing that had been brewing for well over a decade, not in two years. We heard it as well from the community sector providers, we heard it from youth workers and we heard it across the board that this is just a political statement you are making that has no truth behind it. For that, you should be ashamed of yourselves. You're just trying to flog a bad story. You're just trying to hoodwink people. The proof is in the pudding. And if you read that report that Senator Hume put out last Friday, it's like a wet lettuce—the recommendations are just empty. I would say that this has been a glorious exercise of wasting everyone's time for two years on the cost-of-living inquiry to turn out precisely nothing other than a bunch of stuff that says, 'We don't like Labor'. Well, hell—we knew that.

Hon. Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

No, maybe not. But have a good look. Seriously, have a read, people, because it is really a very, very damp report.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I don't think you've read it.

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

I have. I have read it, cover to cover, and I have been at many of those hearings because I was on that inquiry, Senator Smith. I was on that inquiry and I listened into many I couldn't turn up to, and for the ones I couldn't, I read the transcripts. So, yes, I know exactly what was said there, and I know exactly—

And so should everyone else! I was not a spy; I was a member of the inquiry, so we might just leave that. But what you've done over there is consistently block, tried to block, voted no and pushed against all of the really good things that we've been doing here. You said no when we were increasing JobSeeker and the youth allowance. With single-parent payments, you gave a big no. When we looked at increasing housing supply, you gave a big no. Come on!

Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

But they all passed!

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

Yes, they did but with no help from you. Just to be clear, Senator O'Sullivan, you fought against all of those things. You didn't get them up. We did get those things up, but you fought against each and every one of those things. For that, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

We are making a fundamental difference to the cost of living for people on the ground. We know people are doing it tough, and our plan is showing success. Our plan is showing that we can do this. We have brought inflation down from the over six per cent that you had it at to under three per cent, and yet you stand there and say that we're boosting inflation. We are not. We are bringing it down, and that is a fact. It is fact you don't like. It is a fact that you keep perpetuating against out there, and it is just bunkum.

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

Thank you, Senator Grogan. Before I call you, Senator McKim, I will remind senators that interjections are always disorderly, that interjections across the chamber are particularly disorderly and that contributions should be directed through the chair.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Whether it's the cost of food and groceries, rents, mortgages, transport costs, energy costs, health care or insurance, people are getting smashed. It'll be cold comfort to the millions of Australians who are really struggling to make ends meet to learn that, while they are going through all that pain, the big corporations are raking in record profits. The share of our national economy that is going to profits has never been higher than it is today, and the share of the economy going to wages has never been lower than it is today. The corporations are making off like bandits, and they're doing it off the back of the community pain and the pain of millions of Australians.

The latest Australian Taxation Office corporate tax transparency report makes it clear that one-third of the top 100 earning corporations in this country pay no tax at all. If you want a word to describe a system where a teacher, a nurse, a carpenter, a cleaner or a plumber pay more tax than a third of the top 100 earning corporations in this country paid, look no further than the word 'broken'. This is a broken system, where teachers, nurses, carpenters, plumbers and cleaners are paying more tax than a third of the top 100 earning corporations in Australia are. That is a cooked system, and this is a direct result of successive Labor and Liberal governments refusing to stand up and fight the big corporations.

Well, there is some good news for people, because more and more people are learning that, if you vote Green and you put Greens into this place, we will come in here and fight for people. We will fight against the big corporations, and we have the backs of the millions of Australians who are getting smashed by a cost-of-living crisis. If we make corporations pay their fair share of tax, we can put dental into Medicare. We can ensure that people can see a GP for free. We can wipe student debt, and we can raise income support. We can freeze and cap rent increases. We can make price gouging by the big supermarkets illegal.

People know that it's harder and harder to tell the major parties apart. They know that, if they vote Green, we will come in here and we will fight for them. More and more people are understanding that, if they want change, they have to vote for it.

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

I want to start my contribution to this debate by paying tribute to the ABC, which I don't normally do. A couple of weeks ago on their Insiders program, they put up a chart that I think should be ingrained into the memory of all political leaders in this country. It is a shocking chart. It showed the difference in relative living standards between the United States and Australia over the past two years. The chart started in the first quarter of 2022, which was the last full quarter of the last coalition government, and extended through to the first quarter of this year. If you look at the real gross household disposable income per person between our two countries, that graph showed that in the United States the generally accepted figure of living standards had increased by almost four per cent—just over three per cent—over those two years. In Australia, on that measure—a well-accepted measure—living standards in the past two years in Australia have dropped a shocking eight per cent. It is the biggest drop in recorded history for Australia. It is the largest drop by far in the developed world since the end of COVID and there is almost zero discussion about this issue.

What I heard from the government senators in contributions before was: 'We will just throw more money at it—at assistance and what have you.' This is not the point. The point and reason for why our living standards are cratering relative to other countries, declining at a record pace, is because our economy is not functioning. Our productivity is falling and falling at a record rate as well. Our productivity has gone down over six per cent in the two years this government has been in office. That means we have all got a lot less money. If we are producing less for every hour we work, we get less. If we just had the historical average productivity rate for this government over two years, Australians' income levels on average would be $8,000 better off right now. That is the cost of the complete lack of focus from this government on an economic agenda. This week, that graph should be ingrained.

I mean, why are we going so backwards, with all the wealth and resources we have as a nation? We should be trying to answer that question. We should be coming up with solutions. There should be legislation to cut red tape, lower taxes, do something to unleash productivity in this country. Instead, the Prime Minister's only agenda right now is to ban social media for kids under 16. That is the agenda this fortnight going into Christmas. I think that is an issue. There is an issue with bullying and harassment on social media for young children but why is that the centrepiece of this government's bankrupt agenda when our living standards are going down by that much? Why don't they have an answer for the fact Australians feel like they are going backwards, that they are losing confidence that their children will have a better future than they have had? There are no solutions being offered by their political leaders.

Let's take a few examples from recent months of this government that has completely lost the plot when it comes to focusing on the economy. Just the other month, the environment minister blocked a $1 billion goldmine because of a mythical bee. This goldmine is a $1 billion investment during a gold price absolute boom—gold prices have never been higher. It could literally make gold for our country, make wealth and create a thousand jobs but the government blocked this because a fringe Aboriginal group—not the actual Land Council but a fringe Aboriginal group—decided there was a dreaming story they had that involved a mythical bee—not a real bee, a mythical bee. Where are we going as a country and where are our priorities when we can't get those types of jobs created, that kind of wealth going for our country and we make these ridiculous decisions that make the rest of the world laugh?

We also have an energy minister that is not being up-front with the cost of his transition. He glosses over it, saying, 'We are going to transition', yet every time power bills for Australians go up. We were promised a $275 cut in our power bills and they have gone up on average by over $500 since this government has been in power, and still they ignore all the evidence that is emerging around the world that relying heavily on intermittent, unreliable solar and wind power won't cut it. It just increases power prices, reduces reliability—but apart from that, it is bloody fantastic!

This is a government without an economic agenda, and the biggest issue facing the country is how can we reignite the latent potential of our nation with the world's largest coal, gas, uranium, sun and wind resources? We have the land and water; let's use them and make Australians wealthy again.

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

I love the ascending language about making the country great. I wonder what that might be echoing. We do have a great country, and we can be an even better country, but I'll tell you what: one thing that is not going to make this country great is if we see the sort of struggle that we know is real and happening in our community and we have a government in place that says, 'Let's cut spending. Let's just let those people who can't afford their medicines suffer.' We know that there's some heat in the electricity sector. People are having difficulty. Let's give them a bit of help by giving them support with their bills—or shall we do what the opposition has recommended, which is to absolutely oppose any support? They're saying they definitely don't want to give $315 billion to support people across this nation.

One of the things that they absolutely want to cut is cheaper medicines. The reality is that under Labor we are doing the right thing and genuinely helping people with the cost of living, instead of coming in here bleating and moaning with no solution. We are making it possible, for one year, for general patients to get medicines at just $31.60 and, for five years, for concessional patients to get them at $7.70. This is a big investment in helping people do something tremendously basic: get the medicines that they need for themselves or their family at a price that they can clearly see is going to remain the same to help them with their family budget.

This is a government that absolutely understands the real and practical challenges that people are experiencing. We, as a government, are determined to help our fellow Australians navigate through the time of difficulty and uncertainty. We've done it not just in those practical ways, in terms of helping people with medicine, but in giving a tax cut to every working Australian—not just some Australians, not just those who are on the highest wages, but every working Australian. They got a tax cut because Labor made it happen. Why did we do it? Because we want Australians to earn more, and we want Australians to keep more of what they earn.

Australians are earning more. Consistent wage rises have occurred for all award-wage-earning employees, and we've ensured that they've got stronger rights so that their wages can't be undercut. We're ensuring that they aren't being made to work longer for less. We have created the context to earn more and keep more of what you earn. It doesn't mean that, all of a sudden, it's easy for every Australian, but it does mean that we are putting in place the things that help people to manage the storm. We've seen inflation at 6.1 per cent. It's now down with a two in front of it. That only happens because of sound economic management. We know not only that the federal government needs to have support to do the right thing in terms of economic management, but that people need support.

On the weekend, like so many Australians, I had a few bills I needed to pay. When I opened the bills and had a look at what I had to do, I can tell you I was very grateful for the energy rebate to the tune of $300 a year for every single household and for the $325 to small businesses to help with the cost of living. People getting their bills are going to see that discount, that support, for them.

I've mentioned cheaper medicines. There's also student debt. We've taken really significant action to support young people who have acquired a debt as they've invested in themselves to be the best Australians they can be and to prepare themselves for the workforce for the future. With a re-elected Labor government, student debts will be cut by 20 per cent. Compare that with what those opposite are saying, which is that $315 billion has got to be cut. Be warned! It's very clear that the Liberal and National parties want to cut things like Medicare. They didn't support the changes to the pharmaceutical support for people, they didn't support helping anybody with electricity, they're holding up support for people who want to get housing, and they've got their own secret agenda of cuts. Every day they come in here and talk about this issue, be aware: there is no support for Australians from a Liberal-National coalition.

Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Home Ownership) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The central charge against this government is that it is a government for vested interests. What I mean by that is that it has worked so hard for its favourite fellow travellers that it has had no time to solve the central economic challenges which are facing Australians. You can look at that by virtue of an assessment of the failure to beat inflation compared to almost every other country which we would compare ourselves to. Or you could compare our record in government to the current government's record in relation to housing construction. Of course, if you look at any of the major opinion polls of Australians under the age of 40, people are going absolutely bananas about the housing strife. That is the same issue regardless of whether you are a renter or a person paying a mortgage.

The collapse in housing construction under this government has made the housing crisis so much worse, because if you constrain supply, then you make housing so much harder. In fact, under this government, we've gone from building 220,000 houses in 2018 to just 160,000 houses this year. That is the same number of houses we built back in 1989, when the population was just 17 million. There's been a disaster in housing. With trimmed mean inflation still sitting at 3.5 per cent, you'd have to say that interest rate relief is some time off yet. While they are cutting the official cash rate equivalent in other jurisdictions and getting on and building houses, we are stagnating here with stubbornly high interest rates and inflation and stubbornly low levels of housing construction. That is making the Labor Party's record here very painful for the Australian people.

I think it is one thing to go through the figures, but it is another to hear the government make their political points in question time and in these debates here in the Senate and the House. The thing that strikes me is the tin ear of the government. They almost are prepared to make the point that Australians have never had it better. It is this tin ear which I think is linked to this major problem I identified a few minutes ago. When the government only works through the laundry list of issues important to its favourite fellow travellers, it has no time to solve the major economic problems of the day—the problems facing families and small businesses. These are the issues on which the government ultimately will be judged.

In the last week, we've had an opportunity to traverse the government's obsession with governing for favourite vested interests. We've been able to call some of the major super funds and the regulator APRA to a Senate hearing, where we've heard that the government are very happy to allow the major shareholders of big super funds to receive dividends from the funds but not be on the hook when things go wrong. In other words, the government is happy for the CFMEU and all the other unions to take money out of super funds. It was millions and millions of dollars in the case of CBUS. It's been $5.8 million over the past three years during Mr Wayne Swan's tenure as the chair of CBUS. But things go wrong. In the case of CBUS, they were sued by the corporate cop ASIC for failing to pay death benefits and failing people in their hour of need when there is a family bereavement. The government is very happy for the super fund owners—the CFMEU in this case—to be absolved and to have no interest in paying the regulatory fines which are more than likely coming the way of the super funds. They're very happy for the unions to take the dividends from the super industry, but, when things go bad, they are off the hook.

This is a deliberate design feature. We know that Mr Chalmers and Mr Jones moved amendments to legislation in the last parliament to prevent these funds from being on the hook for major fines. I'm very pleased to add my weight to Senator Dean Smith's MPI. It demonstrates again that this government is a government for vested interests, always looking for the best way to protect and preserve the interests that are most important to them—not to the Australian people.

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

The time for the discussion has expired.