Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure today to rise and speak in support of this motion moved by the member for Casey, because the state of Australia's financial management deserves to be highlighted.

We, as a nation, are on the brink of the highest national debt in our history—$1.2 trillion. The Treasurer likes to remind us all of how much of an overachiever he is. As I've said in this place before, I know that one day he'd like to be on the mugs and the tea towels out there in the parliamentary shop, but this is one record that nobody has asked the Treasurer to break, and that is that he will preside over the highest level of debt that our nation has ever seen. While he preens, it's Australians who pay—$50,000 every minute on interest. That's $72 million in just one day. It's $26 billion every year. And what could that wasted interest have funded instead? It's not abstract; it's real, tangible money. It could be paying for vital road and rail projects, Medicare, schools, pensioners or perhaps putting money back in the pockets of hardworking Australians through some tax relief. That's the opportunity cost of a Labor government.

Under Labor, Australia has suffered an historic collapse in living standards. And despite what my friend opposite said earlier, mortgages are up around $1,800 per month since Labor took office. Markets expect that interest rates are going to remain around 3.25 per cent for the long haul. Those higher interest rates, those higher mortgage repayments, are now baked in. The pain is being felt. Electricity prices are up 39 per cent. Housing—rents are up 21 per cent. Food, health and education costs are all up. Local families in my electorate of Fadden feel like they're working harder but that they're not getting ahead. For many this isn't a cost-of-living crisis anymore; it's a cost-of-survival crisis.

I want to highlight one particular sector where we are seeing the poor economic management of this Labor government hitting Australian families in the hip pocket, and that's child care. A young couple with two children in child care who live on Hope Island in my electorate talked to me about the cost rises that they've suffered under this Labor government. At the start of 2024, the daily rate they were paying for child care was $153. Now, it's up to $190.20. That is up by $37.20. That $190 a day represents a 24.3 per cent increase in their childcare fees. Yet, when we went to the last election, the headlines that Labor put on corflutes said 'Cheaper child care'. It's just not right. They say one thing, but their delivery is doing something else.

We heard my friend the member for Casey talking about our beloved Treasurer, who only a matter of weeks ago got absolutely rolled, embarrassingly, by the Prime Minister. You see, the situation that our national accounts face is such that they are so desperate to bring in more income that they were prepared to tax unrealised gains on superannuation. That's not tax reform; that is a tax raid on hardworking Australians' retirement savings. This is not about the backflip—although that, itself, was pretty entertaining to watch. What this is about is the fundamental approach that Labor will take in trying to chase after more of your money, because when they can't manage their budget they will come after yours.

What we've seen with this higher interest rate environment is that Australians are struggling to borrow money. They are struggling to pay these high mortgages. They are struggling to buy homes. How do we solve this? There needs to be some accountability, some fiscal guardrails, and the Treasurer needs to stop spending money on the Australian credit card and expecting Australians to pay.

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