Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

This MPI is about the government's reckless agenda, which is driving up the cost of living for Australian families. It's not actually a question. It is a statement that the policies that this government has brought in since 2022 are hurting Australian families. When families are paying, on a $500,000 mortgage, $23,000 more since Labor have come into office, that hurts. That hurts families. We have more families who cannot even think about purchasing a home because the housing market can't give them a home at a price they can afford. The policies that this government has implemented are hurting Australian families.

When they go to the supermarket—I'm not going to say the names. When they go to any supermarket, the prices that they're paying for eggs and for bread and for milk and for all the ordinary daily needs of a family are through the roof. Sixteen per cent is the current figure. Then you add in the electricity costs. Electricity is something that people need. In our society, people need electricity. Costs are up 40 per cent—40 per cent! How is that reasonable?

For the government—from the Minister for Climate Change and Energy to the Treasurer and the Prime Minister—to go on with the hubris and the arrogance that we've listened to today, it shows that they are all, every one of them, singing from the same hymn sheet: 'Not our fault. Not our fault. Don't look at us. It was actually those 10 years of waste and deficit.' It's 'the dog ate my homework'. This government needs to take responsibility. They've been in government for four years. When are they going to take responsibility?

Australian families are hurting. Whether it's paying school fees, whether it's putting fuel into their cars, it doesn't matter which way they go. They can't afford to live. A cup of coffee in 2022 was $4. How much is it now? It's $6 for the average latte, and that's a small one.

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