Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the member for Flynn's private members motion on the cost of living. In my electorate of Longman, everyday Australians are suffering terrible cost-of-living pressures. Inflation is tipped to hit eight per cent, a 30-year high. This is in stark contrast from when the coalition were last in government. Under the coalition we enjoyed some of the lowest interest rates, highest household savings and lowest credit card debt in recent history. The now Prime Minister promised before the election, 'Australians will be better off under a Labor government I lead.' If higher interest rates, electricity and gas prices and fuel prices are all signs of Australians being better off, then the Prime Minister has kept the promise. This is not how we measure being better off, and in fact Australian families will be $2,000 worse off by Christmas. Merry Christmas, Australia.

It is with some bemusement and dismay that I see Labor are talking about abolishing the stage 3 tax cuts brought in by the coalition when in government. This tremendous policy achieves what we all desire—that is, ensuring workers' real wages increase by allowing them to keep more of what they earn. But this policy also ensures no additional financial burden is placed on businesses, many of whom are now doing it tough. As I've stated many times, we'd all love workers to earn as much as possible. But consideration must be given to the whole picture, and the fact is whenever wages rise, these wage increases are passed on to consumers, the very people that received the wage rise. So I put the question to you: if a worker's gross pay goes up by $40 a week—of which they lose, say, $10 in tax—but due to other workers getting the same increases, which are passed on, their weekly expenses go up by $50, is this a good thing? I would suggest not. That is why tax cuts are the best form of wage increase, because they give workers more of their net, take-home pay without increasing the price of goods, so they are simply better off.

Why would Labor even consider removing these tax cuts? Their lefty mates in Greens say this is tax relief for the rich or the high earners. That's not good enough. Let's look at the rich getting out a take-home pay increase in this measure, shall we? A hairdresser earning $60,000 a year will take home an extra $400 a year, a teacher earning $70,000 a year will take home an extra more than $620 every year, an executive assistant earning $80,000 a year will take home around an extra $900 every year and a diesel mechanic earning $100,000 a year will take an extra more than $1,370 per year. These are not the rich; these are the everyday Australians the coalition has always fought for and will continue to fight for. We will never bow to the Greens and their agenda, unlike the Labor Party.

Of course, not content to get rid of tax cuts for the average Aussie, to add extra pressure on Australians we have the energy affordability crisis. This is a twofold hit, as businesses like RGS in my electorate of Longman, who manufacture and distribute garden equipment like mowers and chainsaws and their associated parts, have been slugged with an additional $43,000 per annum electricity charge. This means that prices for these items at the check-out will increase to cover these higher costs, adding even more cost-of-living pressures. This is a straight-out election promise broken, as the Prime Minister promised 97 times before the election that his government would cut prices by $275—no exceptions, no statements of 'depending on this or that'; just an unconditional promise. Instead, their own budget stated that electricity prices would rise by 56 per cent over the next two years and gas 44 per cent—so much for a cut.

Mortgage pressures hurt both property owners and renters in our communities. Interest rates have skyrocketed since Labor achieved government, and a family with a mortgage of $500,000 is already paying $800 per month over what they were under the coalition. Again, this Prime Minister said that his government had a plan for cheaper mortgages. There were no conditions, no exceptions—just a promise which, again, has been broken. To try and alleviate the financial mess of this budget, Labor have reverted to their default position of increasing taxes, with $142 billion of extra taxes announced in the recent budget and, I'm sure, more to come. This of course will also add more cost-of-living pressures for everyday Australians.

Australians want and deserve a government that will keep its word and not continuously blame previous governments and outside factors. A strong leader takes responsibility for the cards they are dealt and gets on with the job. This government does none of this. Yes, they are truly living up to the Labor mantra: when Labor can't manage money, they come after yours. Prepare to buckle down, Australia. The worst from this lot is yet to come.

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