Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Every day the coalition comes into the House and raises the issue of the cost of living in their matter of public importance, led by the member for Bradfield. I say to members of the coalition: your tactics are simply not working, and they're not working because Australians know what's behind the cost-of-living problems that they all face and which we on this side of the House very well understand. They know that the coalition government that was last in this place wasted nearly a decade in government with no energy policy, no climate change strategy, no skills training policy, no housing policy. It left the NDIS in a mess, Centrelink in a mess, the immigration system in a mess, the health system in a mess, the Department of Veterans' Affairs in a mess. It wasted tens of billions of dollars on COVID support payments to businesses that were actually making an increased profit, and, ultimately, it left the country in $1 trillion of debt, literally trebling the net debt that it inherited when it came to office.

Not surprisingly, in the recent Essential poll when Australians were asked who they trust to deal with climate change the answer was Labor. Who do they trust to deal with the cost of living? It was Labor. Who do they trust to deal with reducing government debt? It was Labor. And who do they trust to manage rising interest rates, the very issues that those opposite want to talk about every day? It was Labor. The reality is that the Australian people have lost confidence in the coalition, and the Australian people understand very well what is behind and what is driving the cost-of-living increases that they face each and every day. And the member for Fraser so clearly articulated all that in his own contribution to this debate.

Small business is the engine room of our economy, and it employs some five million people, as has been stated time and again. Small business, in fact, would have benefited when we capped the price of coal and gas, because energy costs are one of the most important cost areas for small business. And yet, what did the coalition do? They opposed the very move to try and cap those costs. The most important thing that we can do for small business in this country is to put more money in the pockets of ordinary Australian households, because those people will spend their money directly on small business provided services. That's exactly what this government has attempted to do since coming to office. Indeed, we have increased the payments for JobSeeker, Austudy, Abstudy, parenting payment, youth allowance and youth disability support pension. We've increased child care, and we've reduced TAFE costs by having more fee-free TAFE places. All of that puts more money in the pockets of people, who will then spend it with their local small businesses and, in turn, support them.

The truth is that this government has also directly targeted energy costs by supporting energy payments for some five million eligible households and one million small-business people. We've tripled the bulk-billing incentive, again putting more money in the pockets of families, which in turn allows them to spend with small businesses. We've expanded the paid parental leave, and we've introduced a new pensioner work bonus payment, allowing older Australians to keep more of the money that they earn—as well as all of the other payments I referred to earlier.

The coalition might have some credibility if they actually came into this place and said, 'Look, we can see what you're doing, but here's an alternative to what you're doing that would actually make a difference, perhaps a better difference.' But we hear nothing. The truth of the matter is that, just as they had no policies when they were in government, they have no policies now that they are in opposition. Until they come into this place and tell the Australian people what they would do above and beyond what this government is doing, they will have no credibility. The reality is that the Albanese Labor government understands the problems of the people out there in Australia, and we are responding with measures that will make a true difference to their ability to support their families.

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