Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts) Bill 2024. Before the last election, Labor made several promises to the Australian people. They promised that life would be cheaper under Labor and that Australians will be better off. Instead, Australians are battling the highest inflation in decades and a cost of living crisis. Australians were told that they would enjoy cheaper mortgages. Instead, we've seen 12 interest rate rises since Labor took office. A family with a mortgage of $750,000 now has to fork out over $24,000 extra per year in repayments. This is not sustainable. Australians were told over and over that they would benefit from a $275 reduction in their power bills, but we all know that the opposite has occurred.

Sadly, some Australians are deciding between meals on the table for their families and turning on their heater or, indeed, their air conditioner at the moment. Voters were told there would be no changes to super, yet we know what's coming in the next couple of weeks: Labor's plan to introduce several changes. This will undoubtably capture those self-funded retirees and farmers within my electorate of Durack. And then we get to the stage 3 tax cuts. Labor didn't commit to the legislated cuts at just the 2022 election but also the 2019 election. On over 100 occasions, they promised to deliver the stage 3 cuts. It's worth repeating here what the Prime Minister said about this promise. He said:

People have a right to believe … that when a politician makes a commitment before an election, they keep it …

He proudly declared, 'My word is my bond.' What a joke. Well, I asked the House, 'When you break promise after promise on the cost of living, mortgages, energy, super, tax and trust, what sort of bond is that?' I say it's a very slimy one.

I agree with those opposite that the government has developed a record that it can take to the next election. The problem for those opposite is that this is a comprehensive record of failure and broken promises. It's certainly not a record to be proud of. You have to ask yourself: why would the Australian people have any faith in this government or believe a word that this Prime Minister says? Understandably, they will be wondering what promise this government is going to make next. I would like to speak on behalf of the 1.8 million taxpayers who are worse off because of this latest broken promise. You see, this is effectively a tax increase for those forgotten 1.8 million Australians on what they were otherwise going to receive. We've heard from members across the chamber and from commentators in the media that these Australians don't deserve to receive the legislated stage 3 tax cuts—remember, it is law—and that's because, you see, these people are very rich. That's why they don't deserve it. Why should we allow them to keep more of their own money? The reality is that most of these people are not rich at all. I can tell you that, in my electorate of Durack, there are a lot of people who will be disadvantaged by this broken promise and who will be paying more tax than what was promised. They will pay more tax than what was in the law of this land. For instance, many of those in the Pilbara and the Kimberley who are hardworking people in the mining and resources sector might be earning more than $150,000 a year, but, let me tell you, they are not living a life of luxury. They are not rich people. It is incredibly expensive to live in towns like Broome, Karratha and Port Hedland, and they too are suffering from this current cost-of-living crisis. They too have to deal with higher mortgages, higher rent, higher food prices and higher fuel prices. And, because they're in the north, of course they're also dealing with higher insurance premiums.

Many would have understood that these tax cuts were coming. They would have understood that this was the law of the land, so therefore they could rely upon the fact that they were going to get these tax cuts from 1 July. They would have taken notice of the Prime Minister promising them, on many occasions, that he would not deal with the existing law. They would no doubt have started to take account of the fact that they were going to, after that first pay packet in the next financial year, have more money in their pocket, as we promised them. They were starting to account for the fact that they might be able to perhaps afford a little luxury or even just be satisfied that they could pay the mortgage from now on.

I believe we were right to legislate, together with those sitting opposite, to get rid of that 37 per cent tax bracket, as it meant you weren't punishing people for working that extra shift or for working FIFO, which many people who work in my electorate do—away from their family, making sacrifices to get ahead and help their family to get ahead. For many, they are helping to create the wealth of this nation—helping to pay for the lifestyle of the Australians who live in the city. These are the people that I represent, and they are very angry. Also, it's not just the 1.8 million Australians who will be worse off; due to the inevitable bracket creep, this number will increase to four million Australians by the end of the medium term. This bracket creep will account for a $28 billion tax grab by this big-spending government—more money in their reserves, definitely not more money in the hands of Australians.

But what's really rich is for those opposite to pretend that they're serious about tackling the cost of living. They have been responsible for not addressing the root cause of inflation—namely, their bad policy. Their energy, immigration and big-spending policies have all contributed to higher prices and higher inflation. They've left all the heavy lifting to the RBA, and we know that this has led to more interest rate rises and more pain for hardworking Australian mortgage holders. They have failed, since coming to office, to provide any real support. On their watch, in just 18 months food has risen by nine per cent, housing has gone up by more than 12 per cent—that's if you can get it, by the way—electricity has gone up by more than 23 per cent and gas has gone up by some 29 per cent. On this government's watch, the purchasing power of an Australian earning a salary of $85,000 has fallen by more than $7,600. Every dollar they earn is worth less under the Albanese government.

So I say to the Prime Minister and the Treasurer: don't pretend you can draft a piece of legislation and just slap the words 'cost of living' into the title and proclaim that you are making a real difference to the lives of the Australians that we desperately need to support. Don't pretend that an extra 15 bucks a week is going to make everything okay, because I know it's not going to. You may be able to rest easy at night, but I surely cannot. We all know that these tax changes are just a means to try and shift the focus from their dreadful record.

This government has had the wrong priorities from day one. It has done nothing to address the cost of living and has made Australia weaker. But I think Australians have woken up to the failures of this government. Those opposite understood the direction the polling was heading in, and they've tried to turn this around—just in time for the Dunkley by-election. How convenient, I say! Australians won't forget their failure to address the cost of living and can't be bought off.

I'm proud to say that the Liberal Party has always been the party of lower taxes. We unashamedly believe that Australians should keep more of their hard-earned money, whether they're earning $30,000 or $170,000. We don't just talk about it; we believe it, and we have delivered it time and time again.

In government, we delivered the stage 1 and stage 2 tax cuts, which were targeted towards low- and middle-income owners. We also installed the low- and middle-income tax offset that delivered real relief for Australian families and has been sorely missed under this government. The introduction of the stage 3 tax cuts was to complete the package. We had stage 1, stage 2, stage 3; that was how it was to work.

Now, while I do have issues with this legislation, it does seek to reduce the tax threshold for incomes between $18,200 to $45,000 from 19 cents in the dollar to 16 cents. Because of our commitment to lower, simpler and fairer taxes, we will not oppose this reduction or stand in the way of this bills package. I acknowledge that there will be many in Durack who will benefit from this. However, it is also because of this commitment that we remain determined to deliver a tax package that is in keeping with the original stage 3 tax reforms. The tax package that we take to the next election has to include lower taxes and ensure people keep more of their money, because we are really ambitious for Australian people. We want them to keep more of their money. We will fight bracket creep and enshrine aspiration in the tax system. I think that's what we all want. We want people who are earning $40,000 to aspire to earning $50,000 or $60,000 or $70,000, knowing that they will be able to keep more of that hard-earned money in their pocket.

Our package will be fully costed and will guarantee the essential services that Australians rely on while supporting a strong and growing economy. We will also commit to a plan that reduces the cost of living, which will not only support taxpayers but also benefit pensioners and those below the income tax threshold who don't benefit from this current policy. Let me make this point clear: Australians will be able to trust us to follow through on these commitments. They can trust us because when we promise lower taxes, we mean it.

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