Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I know that, for many members opposite, there is a lot going on in their minds at the moment . There is a Special Minister of State regretting that TV confession, a new Prime Minister trying to figure out how he is going to get over this disastrous captain's pick and, of course, other members contemplating crossing the floor to try to work out which party they should belong to, as the member for Throsby pointed out. But we on this side of the House know what we are up to. Our focus here is on how families this Christmas are going to be faring given the sorts of hits they have continuously had from this government this year. We know very well that this might be the last Christmas before this government tries to slap a 15 per cent GST on pretty much everything.

If you are a family that enjoys fresh seafood for your Christmas lunch and you are going to get that fish from down at the co-op, there is going to be an extra 15 per cent on that. If you like fresh berries, cream and passionfruit on your pavlova, you will be paying 15 per cent GST on all of that too. How about those cherries, apricots and magnificent mangoes that we all enjoy as Christmastime? Well, you will have another 15 per cent slapped on that too. But it does not stop there, of course. For families who are already struggling to keep their heads above water, there is the electricity bill, the gas bill, the grocery bill and all the other bills that will be going up and up. It will cost more to visit a doctor, go to the hospital and get school uniforms for the kids.

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