Fatima Payman (WA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia's economy is in trouble, and working people are the ones paying the price. Rents have never been higher, every trip to the grocery store feels like daylight robbery and, while Aussie families struggle to keep up with soaring mortgage repayments, the big banks—like Senator Rennick said—are raking in billions from the very interest rate hikes that are crushing households.

Let's cut through the noise. These aren't just numbers on a spreadsheet. These are parents, who are already budgeting down to the last dollar, skipping meals to keep a roof over their heads; young couples, who worked hard to buy their first home, watching their Australian dream turn into a financial nightmare as their mortgage repayments go up by hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month; and retirees dusting off resumes and forced back into work because their savings aren't keeping up. For most Australians, this isn't just economic theory; it's reality. Yet what we get from the two major parties is a blame game.

Labor points the finger at the Liberals for a decade of economic mismanagement, and the Liberals fire back about reckless spending. But here's the truth: both sides have spent years dodging the hard work of fixing this mess. We know the RBA only has one blunt instrument to address inflation, and it won't hold up as the sole firefighter in this crisis. We need real solutions, like strengthened renters' rights, so landlords can't hike rents at will. We need to invest in affordable housing, instead of leaving it to profit-hungry developers and tackle corporate price gouging so families aren't paying through the nose for essentials. Let's get one thing straight. Tackling inflation should not mean punishing households, because right now the only thing trickling down is stress, and Australians have had enough.