Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I've spoken to people who share that concern who are very learned as well. Even when I'm trying to say this in a very considered way, people can't see that some people might have that real concern. That's where we are. We're certainly divided here. Families are divided over this. Friendships have been broken over this. This is a very sad place that the Prime Minister has put us in.

I will go now to the issue that is of major consequence to the families in Australia, the major issue that people talk to me about. In the past, if I went to people and said, 'What has been your major issue?' it was usually not health, education or anything else—it was always local roads actually, in any survey I did. But about four or five months ago, for the first time, it changed, and the major concern for families and people in Australia now is cost of living. The Leader of the Opposition got up earlier and spoke about power prices, so I won't repeat that, but I will reiterate that the now Prime Minister said before the election that it was the most modelled policy that an opposition had ever done in the history of Federation. So it was the most modelled one, and he hasn't mentioned it since the election.

We've spoken about power prices, but we know that there are also increasing interest rates—10 or 11 interest rate increases by the RBA—grocery prices and the whole supply chain being fuelled by the truckie tax that this government has put on and other things. Now we're seeing some industrial relations legislation being brought in too. I can tell you right now what that will mean. The unions are back in town. The factions don't always agree, but what we can all agree on is: they've all been funded and they're all here because of a union. The unions are back in town. What is that going to mean for cost of living?

Government members interjecting—

That gets them going. They're a bit sensitive about that one. What does that mean? That means, with the new industrial relations legislation, the one thing you can bet on is that the cost of living for Australian families is going up, thank you to the union members over there.

The last one I want to mention is the whole infrastructure debacle by the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. When they were in opposition, they'd say we were pork-barrellers, giving money where it was not warranted. Now they're in government they say we didn't do anything. There is not quite a connection there. But the minister's handling of infrastructure and the Qatar decision by this government, and its damage to the tourism industry and exporters, is atrocious handling by a very incompetent government.

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