Alison Penfold (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

After nearly four years of Labor, the cold, stark reality is that Australians are paying more for everything. It doesn't matter what the Treasurer wants to believe or what he wants to spruik. He cannot hide the truth, because Australians are living it.

Australia is the only developed country where interest rates are rising. Why is that? Because of Labor's out-of-control spending. While the Treasurer is desperate to shift the blame, attributing his own fiscal failures to foreign wars and other global pressures, there is no doubt that this 'Jimflation' crisis is homegrown, with ABS data revealing that inflation is being driven by government policy. Under this government, spending is growing 13 times faster than what the coalition budgeted for and has reached its highest level outside a recession in 40 years. This is not sensible governing; this is reckless maladministration. Frankly, the Treasurer's attitude, his blame shifting, his aloofness towards the situation, is an absolute affront to Australians. It's a kick in the guts. Does he not realise that he's the sole individual in charge? He has the power to change this.

After all of the essential bills are paid and a small grocery shop is done—and I mean small, because just two bags is over $100—hardworking Australians have very little of their own money left. In my electorate, a constituent from Nabiac shared that, on Christmas Eve, they bought just 36 items at a cost of $199.61. Add to this the car insurance, which comes in at $277.51 a month for just two cars—that doesn't include registration or green slip, by the way—plus home and contents insurance, which comes in at $278.83 per month; private health insurance for a family of four at $498 a month; and council rates, water access and sewerage connection at $3,481.10 a year. Very little is left over. This is one of the poorest electorates in the country, where the pay cheques are neither large nor flexible enough to accommodate cost increases without sacrifice.

The average mortgage holder was already paying around $21,000 more per year in interest than they were under the coalition. That burden rises again due to the latest rate hike. For most young Australians, the great Australian dream of homeownership has become exactly that—just a dream. This too, has been exacerbated by Labor and its migration policy. They brought in a million migrants in their first two years—70 per cent higher than in any previous two-year period. Someone is arriving to live in Australia every 52 seconds. Based on Labor's own population statement, a further 1.8 million people will arrive over the next five years, with no plan for where they will live.

Another driver of Labor's economic crisis is their reckless pursuit of a renewables-only energy policy. Australians need affordable base-load power, not expensive, taxpayer subsidised, intermittent and unreliable energy—affordable power coupled with responsible action on climate. But, under Labor's renewables-only fiasco, factories are closing, business investment is stalling, and emissions have not moved. The government promised a $275 cut to power. Instead, Australians are paying around $1,300 more. In my own electorate, manufacturer Jamestrong Packaging have seen their energy bills increase by 65 per cent, insurance by 76 per cent and rates and taxes by 75 per cent.

The cost of Labor is now showing up everywhere, in higher taxes, more debt and a budget so stretched that the government is spending $50,000 every minute on interest payments alone. Whilst the Prime Minister enjoys a day at the tennis, with the travel no doubt being billed to the taxpayer, Australians are working just to get by. They can't afford to go to the tennis. They can't afford to go out for dinner or take their kids to the movies. I've got people in my electorate who are still not back in their homes after the floods of May last year. This is not living. This is a grinding existence created by this government, a government that have completely and utterly insulated themselves from the economic hardship they are inflicting upon Australians.

Australian taxpayers work hard for their money. It's absolutely galling for them to see it being spent so recklessly, so indiscriminately, by politicians that have never had a real job, that have never had to go without just to get by. This is not your money; it's the Australian taxpayers'. Start spending it accordingly—considerately, frugally, carefully. The 'Lucky Country' is now experiencing the largest decline in living standards in the developed world. Under this government, with this treasurer making the big financial calls, Australia increasingly does not feel like the lucky country.

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