Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

we are a united team. We must notify the House, with a heavy heart, that the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index was unchanged at 78.5 in March, holding near historic lows. What did the spokesperson say? They said:

This marks the second consecutive month of extremely weak consumer sentiment. Index reads below 80 are rare, back-to-back reads even rarer. Indeed, both the COVID shock and the Global Financial Crisis saw only one month of sentiment at these levels. Runs of sub-80 reads have only been seen during the late 1980s/early 1990s recession and in the 'banana republic' period of concern in 1986 …

Is there a common factor between those times and these times? Indeed, there is: a Labor government. Yet, we see no economic plan from this government to deal with these matters, just an ever-expanding and ingeniously creative list of content excuses from the Treasurer, the commentator in chief.

But this is no laughing matter for Australians. The member for McPherson raised last week the case of her constituent Jason from Robina, a 35-year-old father of two who has had to take on a second job and cancel his children's swimming lessons as his mortgage repayments are expected to almost double as he comes off a fixed rate loan.

But it's not just interest rates where Australian families are feeling the pain. It is also power bills, which are a direct consequence of the extraordinary mismanagement from this government. Australians were told that their power bills would be going down by $275, yet we have just seen the recent default market offers. They show in state after state that, in fact, power prices are going up. In Victoria, half a million Victorian families and businesses will see their electricity bills rise from July. Yearly household bills will rise by about $400. Yearly small-business bills will jump from $5,600 to over $7,300 a year. For South-East Queenslanders energy bills are going up by $383. In New South Wales they are going up by $564. In South Australia they are going up by $485.

And what does this incompetent government do? It has a set of policies which are putting at real risk the continued supply of gas. The Australian Energy Market Operator is warning of the very real risk that the gas will run out in Victoria during winter, literally leaving Victorians in the cold. We were all called back here in December. There was an urgent recall. Labor members were recalled from holidays around the world back to parliament, back to Canberra, in December. 'We are going to fix it,' we were told. But do you know what? We are three months on and not one dollar of the promised relief has in fact flowed. You could not more clearly expose what has happened as a naked political stunt.

What are Australians experiencing while this government dithers? Caruso's Italian restaurant in the Sutherland shire in Sydney was forced to close its doors permanently. According to owners Rocky and Kerrin Pitarelli, rising electricity costs was one of the main reasons. Peter Spillane, an elderly gentleman on a fixed income in the member for Herbert's electorate, said he is having to choose between cooking his dinner and turning on his air-conditioning because of spiralling increases in power prices. Ross and Cynthia are age pensioners in South West Rocks in the electorate of the member for Cowper who were told by their provider that their new power bill will go up by more than 40 per cent to $474 per quarter. Kieran, who runs Hutch & Co cafe in Lilydale, a small business in the electorate of Casey, is bracing for the cafe's power bill to increase this year by $,2438. That's one hardworking small-business person of hundreds of thousands around Australians who are facing this extraordinary increase in costs thanks to the incompetence of the present government.

We know that the impacts of this are running right through Australian society. The cost-of-living inquiry being carried out in the other place has revealed that, according to Coles, Aldi and IGA, Australians are changing the way they shop. They are moving from normal brands to home brands, they're buying less beef and they're moving from fresh food to canned food. Lifeline, the well-respected charity, is seeing record levels of activity from people seeking help and support. Anglicare Australia and emergency relief providers across Australia have all recorded an increase in demand for services ranging from 10 per cent to 50 per cent compared to the start of 2022. More people are having to seek emergency relief to pay rent and to keep a roof over their heads. What about Beyond Blue? A recent sample collected by this respected mental health organisation found for 37 per cent of respondents cost-of-living pressures have negatively impacted on their mental health either 'quite a bit' or an 'extreme amount'. A survey conducted by the Salvation Army showed that more than half of respondents were struggling to pay for one of their essential utilities.

The fact is that things are grim for millions of Australians. They are grim because of the mismanagement from this lot opposite. The claim that it has been a 'pretty good 10 months' shows nothing other than that we have a Prime Minister who is absolutely out of touch with what Australians are facing.

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