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

The Senate will now consider the proposal from Senator McGrath:

The Labor Government's reckless and irresponsible economic management has resulted in the longest ever household recession since the 1970s, with Australian household incomes dropping as those in comparable nations have grown

Is 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.

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

For those listening at home, I'll read out the matter before the Senate: 'The Labor government's reckless and irresponsible economic management has resulted in the longest ever household recession since the 1970s, with Australian household incomes dropping as those in comparable nations have grown.' If you're scared about what's going on at the moment, you should be, because we have a Labor government who, quite frankly, have just switched off. We have a Prime Minister who has bought his retirement home. If you listened to question time, you would think that Queen Marie Antoinette had come back to life and replicated herself, and that replicas of her were sitting around the cabinet table. That's because every single minister echoes the sentiments of that long-dead Queen by saying, 'Let them eat cake,' because Australians have never had it so good as they have it under the Labor Party and Prime Minister Albanese. You have these cabinet ministers of the rank of Marie Antoinette saying, 'Let them eat cake with icing and cherries on top, because we've done it so good for them, us here in Canberra.'

If you think Canberra is a bubble, well, that's an understatement. There is no such think as a Canberra bubble; it's 'Canberraworld'. It's not a rubbish theme park or a bad TV series; it is a really gruesome reality show that is on your news every night, and you're paying for it through your taxes. You're paying for it because your quality of life has gone backwards since the Labor Party came to power. But the Labor Party think you've never had it so good and you should be grateful because you're paying more in tax, because there have been 12 interest rate rises, because your rent has gone up, insurance has gone up and power has gone up. This is a Labor Party that promised 97 times before the last election it would cut power bills by $275. We have a Labor government in Canberraworld that is not just out of touch but off this planet when it comes to understanding how tough Australians are doing it.

But it could be a lot worse, because we know the Labor Party only ever win elections because they do a preference deal with the racist, antisemitic Greens party. We just have to look at the policies of that racist, antisemitic party to see what Australia could be facing following the next election.

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

Order, Senator McGrath! Senator Barbara Pocock, on a point of order?

Barbara Pocock (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is an insult to our party. It's completely incorrect and it should be withdrawn.

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

Senator Pocock, I think that is a debating point. If it were made about a specific senator then I think there would be consideration of it being out of order, but my understanding is that if it is in relation to a political party it is within standing orders.

Barbara Pocock (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, I'm sitting here and I take it personally. I think it should be withdrawn.

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

Senator Pocock, as I've said, I think if the comment were made in relation to an individual senator there would be grounds under the standing orders to have the comment withdrawn, but, if it's against a political party, that is consistent with standing orders. I have to allow the comment.

Barbara Pocock (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the point of order: it is untruthful and it should be withdrawn because it is an untruthful statement.

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

Thank you, Senator Pocock. Again, I think that is verging on a debating point. Senator McGrath, I'll ask you to continue with the debate, but please be mindful of your comments.

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

I'm very mindful to make sure that my comments about political parties—in particular, the new nasty party, the Greens party, who are a racist, antisemitic party—are directed to the party and not to any individuals in that party. But you do have to look at some of the individuals in the party. Remember, you've got Senator McKim, who in this chamber said that everybody in the coalition should be put up against the wall and shot.

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

Order, Senator McGrath! Senator Allman-Payne, on a point of order?

Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm just being mindful that Senator McGrath is now straying into the territory of naming particular senators.

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

Senator Allman-Payne, Senator McGrath made a reference to another senator and was then continuing on with his remarks. I was listening very closely to his remarks but I don't think Senator McGrath had said anything that contravened the standing orders at that point. Senator McGrath, you have the call. I'm listening carefully, as always.

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

Thank you. For those who are listening: doesn't it show how touchy the Greens are, because it does go to the heart of the Greens political party and the fact they are a blot on the political landscape of the modern Australian democracy. Of course, we also have senators like Senator David Shoebridge, who only the slow of learning fail to take an instant dislike to when it comes to his conduct in this chamber and how he deals with fellow senators. We've also got Senator Faruqi, in terms of the manner in which she approaches development of land.

This is the party that the Labor Party are going to do a preference deal with. This is the party the Labor Party need so as to stay in power. The Labor Party are going to do a preference deal with an extreme political party who are on the far left of Australian politics but, more worryingly for Australians, are also on the far left of economic policy. If you're doing it tough now under the Labor Party, who, quite frankly, have trouble dealing with reality sometimes because everything is going so well under our semi-retired Prime Minister, just imagine how tough you're going to be doing it in a few months time because the Labor Party have had to do a preference deal with the Greens and, in the worst-case scenario, are in a minority government, with people like Adam Bandt, Nick McKim and those Rhodes scholar runners-up sitting around the cabinet table directing public policy.

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

Sorry, Senator McGrath. Senator Allman-Payne, on a point of order?

Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would just ask that Senator McGrath use people's correct titles when referring to them, please.

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

Thank you, Senator Allman-Payne, for the reminder. Senator McGrath, please use people's correct titles when referring to them.

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

It is fascinating how touchy the Greens are because they don't like the truth when it comes to their far left extremist ideology: the fact the Greens party is an anti-Queensland party and an anti-Australian party, and everybody should throw them out of office, because friends don't let friends vote for the Greens, and friends don't let their enemies preference the Greens.

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to talk about Labor's responsible economic management and what we have accomplished in just 2½ years, which those opposite couldn't do in 10.

Under Labor, real wages are moving again in this country with four consecutive quarters of growth. The minimum wage has gone up by over $7,000 a year. Early childhood educators and aged-care workers are being valued with historic 15 per cent pay rises, and over a million jobs have been created, with the majority being full time. We are building a stronger economy, and we are building a stronger workforce because, unlike those opposite, we know that working people are critical to our nation's prosperity.

Mr Dutton and the coalition disagree. That's why they kept wages low as a deliberate design feature of their economy. The Liberals love low wages. They love them. And they have opposed every single measure that we have put in place to get wages moving in this country. They do not stand up for Australian workers. They never have and they never will. Under our government, meaningful cost-of-living relief is rolling out to Australians. There is energy bill relief for every household, as well as cheaper medicines that have already saved Australians over half a billion dollars. Free TAFE and cheaper uni are giving people the opportunity to improve themselves and do better. There have been three million additional bulk-billed visits to the GP and tax cuts for every single Australian taxpayer—all 13.6 million of them. We on this side of the chamber under the Albanese Labor government believe that Australians should earn more and keep more of what they earn too.

But let's consider what Mr Dutton apparently believes in. He believes in saying no to cost-of-living relief. He believes in denying cost-of-living relief. Mr Dutton's 'noalition' is simply not interested in helping Australians with the challenges they face today. Mr Dutton's 'noalition' voted no to cheaper medicines. They voted no to our record investment in Medicare. In fact, the Albanese Labor government has invested more in bulk-billing in two years than the Liberals and Nationals did in their entire decade in office. And now they want to cut fee-free TAFE. Listen to what Sussan Ley, the deputy Liberal leader, said: 'A key principle and tenet of the Liberal Party is, if you don't pay for something, you don't value it.' She was talking about fee-free TAFE. What an insult to the half a million Australians who have taken up the opportunity of fee-free TAFE. These are people who are relying on this. These are people who are taking this opportunity up in droves. Half a million Australians absolutely value the opportunity that they've been given, and they are taking it up. They are doing courses like early childhood education and aged care. They are becoming fitters and turners. They're improving their electrician qualifications, and they absolutely respect and value the opportunity that they have been given.

After a decade of Liberal neglect, we inherited a trillion dollars of Liberal debt. There was not a lot to show for it in terms of investment in the kinds of services that Australians want and need from their government, just deficits from years of reckless spending and colour coded spreadsheets. Let's talk about surpluses for a moment. How many did the former Liberal government deliver? That's right: not a single one—not a single one in almost a decade. On this side of the chamber, under the Albanese Labor government, we have delivered not one but two back-to-back surpluses. Our responsible economic management is delivering. We are providing targeted cost-of-living relief in an environment where we know inflation is biting for Australians. That's why we are paying down debt. It's why we're paying less interest and it's why inflation has more than halved under our watch. When we took over, it had a six in front of it; now it has a two in front of it. We will always back Australian workers with higher wages. We will always pursue more jobs for Australians, and we will always fight for cost-of-living relief for Australians, while those opposite say no, no, no.

Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the motion before us today. I want to acknowledge the thousands of people in this country who've been forced by Labor and coalition governments to live on poverty payments. It is bitterly disappointing that, by refusing to raise the rate of income support, this government has thrown up its hands at improving the lives of the thousands of people who receive that support.

I want to share some comments that a constituent has shared with me. They say:

When the current prime minister took office, I had the hope that he would take steps to make the system kinder for people like me. After all, he did promise that nobody would be left behind, and that he empathized with and understood people with disabilities. His mum lived in public housing on the DSP with disabilities of her own. However, he, and other staff in his cabinet who deal with welfare services have treated me with the same contempt as the LNP. The Prime Minister has ignored me.

I've gone from being able to afford a somewhat decent shop for us a fortnight, to barely getting through my shopping list, to not getting through it at all before i'm over budget and having to pick and choose what we eat based on what I can afford. 10 years ago I could get a large variety of fresh vegetables boxed for $5. Now, we can only eat frozen vegetables once a week. I've had centrelink suggest that I ask my partner for 'pocket money' like I'm a child.

The stress of knowing that I am less than $10 away from being cut off the DSP yet again is so heavy that it's something else that's on my mind a lot, keeping me awake and in a state of feeling physically sick …

I want to thank that constituent for sharing that story with me and enabling me to share it here in the chamber. Thousands of people in this country are forced by this government to live on desperately inadequate payments, including JobSeeker and the disability support pension. The cost of inaction on this is human. It is being kicked out of your home. It is not being able to escape domestic violence. It is starving because you can't afford food. It is freezing in winter and boiling in summer. The government needs to raise the rate above the poverty line.

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

I'm very grateful to have an opportunity to speak to this matter of public importance from Senator McGrath. When we are sent to these jobs by the Australian people, they would expect that we would seriously consider and spend serious time on the economic strategy of the Commonwealth government and regularly evaluate that, which is exactly what this matter of public importance is designed to do.

I would say that the central charge against this government's economic approach has been that it is a government for vested interests only, and, because of that, it hasn't had time to solve the great economic problems of the day. The reason that Labor have failed on inflation and failed on housing, to name just two things, is that they have spent all their time working out how they can feather the nests of the people that they are personally close to and the people that help them in their campaigns organisationally in a policy sense but also in a financial sense. They have used the great resources of the Commonwealth government to support their favourite fellow travellers. I believe that is ultimately why the government has not been able to put in the time and effort needed to kill inflation—which has been killed in almost every comparable country—or to fix the Australian dream and to make sure that younger Australians, those millennials and gen Zs, can actually get access to a first home.

Of course the budget strategy has been a disaster. They removed the break that we had on tax increases, and they have thrown in the bin the attempts that we made in the last parliament to deal with bracket creep. The re-insertion of a tax bracket, in this parliament, is one of the most regressive changes that we've seen. Who would have thought that in this parliament we would have such a low level of ambition that we would restore a tax bracket which we just abolished in the parliament before?

One of the central revenue-raising measures of this government—it's already in the budget—is the superannuation tax, but that has now been left to die by Dr Chalmers, the great doctor. He says he can't get it through, so he's not going to pursue this tax increase.

This was a broken promise from Mr Albanese and Dr Chalmers, who promised that they would not increase taxes on superannuation but felt that they had to because, of course, their budget doesn't stack up. Yes, it is true the government has delivered two paper surpluses. But, as we read in today's papers, they have locked the nation into a structural deficit which means that, over the longer term, there will be deficits and red ink as far as the eye can see.

This has been an ugly period. We are living through the greatest per capita household recession since the 1970s. Australians are feeling it. They are finding it harder and harder to keep going, and the government has seemingly no solutions here other than crony capitalism. We see that with the Future Made in Australia agenda. We see that with the National Reconstruction Fund. Who knows what we're actually reconstructing from. It's not clear to me why we have a national reconstruction fund when we haven't had a world war, because the last time we talked about reconstruction was when we had World War II, which was the biggest conflict of the 20th century.

Now we have a $15 billion reconstruction fund that is stacked with union mates on its board. We have the Housing Australia Future Fund, which spends more on executive salaries and on corporate affairs than it does on actual housing, and then we have the billions and billions of dollars of crony capitalism, where Dr Chalmers gives away taxpayer funds to his mates. We have—and it's perhaps the mother of them all—the idea that Minister Husic fancies himself as a white-shoe-wearing venture capitalist. He's not a white-shoe-wearing real estate agent from Queensland but a venture capitalist from Silicon Valley. He's going to give a billion dollars of taxpayer funds to PsiQuantum, an American company, to build a quantum computer, which he just decided to do one random day.

This has been the biggest disaster since the 1970s in terms of having a government engaging in maladministration of the economy. The Australian people are feeling it every single day. We have to get the country back on track, and the only way to do that is to have a Liberal government.

Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We on this side actually support Middle Australia, and I'm going to start by talking about those fellow travellers that I think the previous speaker was referring to. Under the Liberals and the Nationals, annual real wages fell by 3.4 per cent and went backwards in the five quarters leading up to the election in 2022. Millions of Australians, those fellow travellers, were ambushed by the economic policies that the Liberal and the National parties took to the last election, which for 10 years led to record hopeless wage growth. People were seeing Middle Australia shrinking. Under this government, real wages grew by 0.7 per cent in the year to the June quarter 2024, which is the fourth consecutive quarter of annual real wage growth. Yes, millions of Middle Australians—all those fellow travellers, all those people the Australian Labor Party see as absolutely critical parts of the Australian community that we represent—have got real wages growth under this government, whilst wages declined under the previous government.

Then we've got to look at some of the views about these issues of wage growth and the fact that minimum wage is increasing. For example, Mr Joyce, the member for New England, told Channel 7 in March that Labor's move to increase the minimum wage was 'window dressing'. People are receiving thousands of dollars extra a year in income, and it's simply referred to as 'window dressing'.

The latest data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the national gender pay gap fell from 14.1 per cent in May 2022 to 11.5 per cent in August 2024. That's an 18.4 per cent decrease within one term of the record-low gender pay gap decrease. That's the decrease that we saw happen under this government. For all those fellow travellers, all those women who have received pay equity and who are getting closer to pay equity—and there's still further to go—that's not window dressing. They're not the fellow travellers that those opposite think are important. The Australian public, Middle Australia and all those women that have received the benefit of the policies put forward by this government are critical to making sure that we have a fairer country.

Of course, the government supported the Fair Work Commission's work value pay cases, funding aged-care workers to receive a 15 per cent wage increase in 2023. The Liberals and Nationals opposed this.

This week, we're looking to pass legislation to provide a 15 per cent rise for up to 200,000 workers in the early childhood education and care sector. Are they fellow travellers? They are for the Australian Labor Party, because that's hundreds and tens of thousands of women in a feminised industry that will now receive the pay justice that every Australian deserves. Of course, this government want to see more money in their pockets and more money in the pockets of families. The Liberals and Nationals voted against the bargaining legislation that made it possible to make sure that we had fairer return for those incomes that are paid, and they voted against limiting fees for parents to 4.4 per cent for the year to August 2025 for early education and care centres to make sure they're available to get that funding for those wage increases.

We on this side support aspiration. We support small business, and that's why we passed laws to set minimum standards for gig workers and, in the road transport industry, owner-drivers. You can't get more micro than that. Individual owner-operators, often supported by their families, received support to turn around and get minimum standards, and, of course, those opposite—the Liberal and National parties—and many of those on the crossbench voted against it. Mark Reynolds, an owner-driver and board member of the National Road Freighters Association, said:

Our industry is in a desperate race to the bottom … This legislation will play a vital role in establishing minimum standards for all and allowing the industry to become safe, viable and sustainable.

Minimum standards to make sure that we lift the standard of living in this country for small business and for hardworking Australians and making sure that families receive the benefit of what we've done in the important steps that we've made in the early childhood education sector—these are all critical steps in making sure that we have a fairer go.

I could go on to the many other things that those opposite want to repeal, with same-job same-pay, the right to disconnect and all those areas to make sure people work longer and harder for less. It's a joy to see them put this proposition before us in the MPI, because it gives us—

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

Thank you, Senator Sheldon. Senator Hanson.

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia is going backwards. National productivity is down. GDP per capita is falling. Our standard of living is down. Real spending by Australian households is down nine per cent. We have Australian families and Australian children going hungry and homeless. We've been in a per capita recession for six quarters in a row. We've been told that it's the longest household recession in the past 50 years. It's no wonder the Treasurer has never had a real job in his entire life and neither has the Prime Minister. They've never had to run a business. Their solution to our recession has been to hide it by bringing in millions of migrants to paper over the cracks and boost GDP. That's right—they're forcing Australian families onto the streets to hide their economic incompetence.

Economists are telling us that this recession, this harmful economic downturn, could continue for years to come. Instead of helping our economy, Labor continues to sabotage it. They helped their union boss mates hold the construction industry hostage. They have made our energy some of the most expensive in the world with their stupid pursuit of renewables. They blow tens of billions on this while the rest of the world turns to cheaper, more reliable energy or goes nuclear. They blew almost half a billion dollars on the spectacular failure that was the referendum on the Voice. Australia has become an economic basket case and an international laughing-stock under Anthony Albanese, and it's the Australian people who are suffering from his incompetence and his stupidity and Labor's net zero empathy for the community they are supposed to serve. Australia's future is in the voters' hands. Let's kick this worthless mob to the kerb.

Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week, during my visit to the Young Liberal Convention in Kiama, I had the opportunity to speak to various young people. The conversation should have been filled with optimism and excitement about their future. Instead, we spent over an hour and a half discussing the harsh reality of what it is like to be a young person in an economy like what we have today and the harsh reality that many young Australians have lost the hope of ever being able to own their own home.

Hence, I would like to thank Senator McGrath for voicing the frustrations of so many Australians, especially young Australians.

Amidst a cost-of-living crisis, which Labor has so poorly tackled, a larger problem has arisen. The Australian dream of owning your own home has been destroyed. Under this Albanese government living standards have fallen more than any other OECD country. The blow to Aussie households is now worse than almost all comparable developed nations. Not only is it virtually impossible to own your own home but once someone actually finally gets their foot in the door, they have to struggle to keep their home. So many people have had to do so over the last couple of years as they've faced a dozen interest rate rises.

Earlier this year, the RBA revealed that real disposable income has declined by 5.5 per cent since early 2022. The fall in disposable income has surpassed the past four major recessions, including the 1970s inflation crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Australians can no longer afford to sustain themselves, with rising costs for essentials like food, energy and housing making it increasingly difficult to make ends meet week after week. The government's failure to address these issues has left families and individuals feeling financially squeezed and uncertain about their future. Labor's response has been nothing but out of touch. Minister Gallagher says that record business failures are proportionate and that it's okay. Let's not forget that earlier this year the Treasurer also suggested that Australians should have more children. How can families and young people be expected to take on the responsibility of raising children when they are already struggling to meet their own basic needs due to the cost of living in this country under this government?

What we have continually heard from Labor is a never-ending barrage of unrealistic and detached responses to a crisis that requires immediate thoughtful action to improve affordability, to improve job security and to improve overall economic stability for all Australians. Moreover, the intergenerational bargain has been broken for young people. For most of it, the bargain has been generous and hopeful, with the belief that each generation would leave the world better for the next. Almost all Australians picture themselves owning a home, just like their parents and grandparents did—who enjoyed this foundational piece of the Australian dream. But this promise can no longer be kept. Young Australians today find themselves locked out of the housing market, forced into a perpetual rental cycle due to this ongoing economic crisis. Amongst the gen Z non-homeowners, 93 per cent say they would like to own their own home. They haven't said that they would like to live in a build-to-rent.

They've said that they would like to own their own home, yet the financial reality they face makes this dream increasingly difficult to achieve. The drastic decline in living standards, driven by the rising cost of living, has placed homeownership out of reach for them. Labor ignore their economic record and instead hide behind figures driven by migration and iron ore prices to make it look like they have a plan. The reality is that the current cost-of-living crisis has led to the steepest decline in living standards since 1959. With inflation pushing up prices and wages stagnating, young people are more focused on simply staying afloat financially, covering their basic daily expenses and perhaps managing rising HECS debt, than saving for a home. This has created a generation where the promise of advancement and homeownership is becoming a distant memory. Ultimately the Labor government's irresponsible economic management has pretty much destroyed the Australian dream and forced many Australians into stressful economic hardship and sadly many young Australians into the belief that they don't have a hope of reaching the dreams that they aspire to in owning their own home.

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

Order! The time for the discussion has expired.