Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move the amendment circulated in my name:

(1) Clause 1, page 1 (lines 5 and 6), omit "Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts) Act 2024", substitute "Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts but Not Actually Dealing with the Cost of Living) Act 2024".

We've heard both the Prime Minister and the Treasurer wax lyrical about the Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts) Bill 2024, and certainly in the Treasurer's contribution just now he waxed lyrical about the cost of living. Well, my amendment goes to changing the wording of the title to 'Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts but Not Actually Dealing with the Cost of Living)', because what we're actually seeing in this legislation is nothing that's dealing with the cost of living. When we look at the cost of living over the past 18 months—with the price of food up by over nine per cent, housing by over 12 per cent, electricity up, insurance up, gas up—all those things do not include the 12 interest rate increases and the costs of people's mortgages. We are seeing nothing in this bill with the cost of living; $15 a week is not going to scratch the surface when people are at a minimum of $150 a week worse off. And if you take into account their mortgage cost, they're closer to $600 a week worse off.

Looking at some of those people in my electorate that the Treasurer and other members opposite have referenced in their contributions during the substantive debate, these ordinary hardworking Australians: a truck driver in the electorate of Forde on an average wage will get a tax cut of $804, but his cost of living has gone up by a minimum of $8,000 a year, plus the interest on his mortgage of $20,000-odd a year. So he's at least $600 a week worse off—for a $15-a-week benefit that those opposite are crowing about.

Let's have a look at an electrician in the electorate of Forde. They're $8,000 a year worse off in real terms—

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