Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

This is typical of this government: self-congratulations while most Australians are struggling to make ends meet. There are plenty of families in Australia who I know that have gone onto repayment plans with their electricity provider because they simply can't afford to pay the bill on a quarterly basis anymore because of the skyrocketing electricity prices that they face. It's winter and there are plenty of pensioners in my electorate who can't afford to turn the heater on this winter because they simply can't afford the increase in energy prices.

But this lot here want to come into this chamber and congratulate themselves through this motion. Why have electricity prices been increasing? Because this government are worried more about themselves and their internal bickering than the interests of Australian families, small businesses and pensioners. Those opposite have been in government for five years. The pyramids were built in less time than this mob have been in government, yet they can't decide on an energy policy. They're still bickering over whether or not they'll agree to the National Energy Guarantee. The latest round—I think we're up to about round 14 now—is going to take place tomorrow morning, when the Prime Minister will be pitted against the likes of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and former leader of the National Party Barnaby Joyce. We'll await the outcome and the rest of Australia will continue to deal with their increasing electricity prices while this lot argue amongst themselves about the division and about their policies.

They dismantled the policies of the previous government, which were ensuring that we made a smooth transition to a cleaner energy future and that we kept a lid on energy prices. Remember when they said that energy prices would go down by $550 when they were elected? Energy prices have actually done the opposite and gone up. Those opposite still don't have a policy to deal with this issue, yet they want to come into this chamber and congratulate themselves through this motion. Families are dealing with cost-of-living pressures associated with private health insurance, with increasing childcare costs and with the cuts that this government has introduced to funding for schools and hospitals, and yet those opposite come to Canberra to congratulate themselves. It proves just how out of touch they are.

The cost of living is increasing. Australians' incomes haven't kept pace with the cost of living and inflation over the last decade. Real incomes in Australia are falling, and Australian families and workers are suffering. The wage price index is stuck stubbornly at around 1.9 per cent to two per cent and the cost of living for households over the last 12 months has risen by 2.3 per cent, to June 2018, yet they're cutting penalty rates. They're supporting cuts to penalty rates for working on weekends for some of the lowest paid workers. So we've got the cost of living increasing, real wages decreasing and cuts to penalty rates being cheered on by the Turnbull government, and those opposite come in here and congratulate themselves.

This motion doesn't once mention the real incomes of Australian workers. It doesn't mention the living standards of Australian workers. Does it mention the battle of Australian workers and their families with electricity prices and other household costs? No. It's all about them. The motion doesn't mention their tax cuts to big business, either. At the same time that families are struggling with cost-of-living pressures and trying to make ends meet, this motion talks about giving tax cuts to big business in this country. That includes the big Australian banks. Haven't they done a wonderful job by the Australian people over the last decade! Haven't they been out there in the interests of Australian workers and their families! It says everything about how out of touch those in this government really are that they come here to Canberra, to the ivory tower, and congratulate themselves on their policies to cut taxes for corporations yet make no mention of the living standards of Australians and the cost-of-living pressure that the average Australian worker and their family are facing. It proves just how out of touch they are.

They spruik these corporate tax cuts. The evidence from the United States, where these corporate tax cuts have gone through, is that workers got not one dime of the benefits of those corporate tax cuts. They all went into profits and the pockets of shareholders and executives in America. American workers did not receive a cent. At the same time, the budget deficit in the United States has blown out. It is forecast to blow out to over a trillion dollars, or five per cent of GDP. We don't want to go down that track here in Australia. If this government were interested and in touch, they'd be talking about the interests of Australian workers and families.

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