Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

There is a crisis that everyday Australians are feeling right now. There's a crisis happening at the supermarket check-out, at the petrol pump and at the kitchen table, where the monthly bills stack up. To understand what Labor are doing to our economy, think of it as a balloon. Every time the government announce a new program, every time they borrow more money and every time they refuse to rein in their budget, Dr Jim Chalmers is blowing more hot air into this economic balloon. But here is the reality: if you keep pumping air into a balloon, eventually it pops. When this balloon finally bursts, it is not just going to blow up in Labor's face; it is going to hurt everyday Australians who are already stretched to their absolute limits. Labor's reckless spending is out of control. The Treasurer's own budget papers show that he has added $50 billion in new discretionary spending in this financial year alone. Government spending is at its highest level outside of a recession in nearly 40 years. Because of all this hot air, Labor's debt is racing towards a staggering $1 trillion. That's $1,000 billion. Just to pay the interest on that debt, Australians are shelling out $50,000 every single minute. That is money that adds demand and keeps pressure on prices.

Last week, an article written by the greatest Australian treasurer, Peter Costello, stated that the long-term fiscal focus established by the 1998 Charter of Budget Honesty, which was designed to protect future generations from unsustainable policy, is now gone. Costello contends that, while Australia was in a strong debt-free position two decades ago, the nation's sovereign economic capital has since been severely run down—a wasted 20 years. From its position of zero net debt 20 years ago, the Australian government has come to carry a net debt of nearly $20,000 per citizen.

But the better way to think of that—because not all people pay taxes—is this: if you combine the net debt of the South Australian state Labor government and the federal Labor government, over the South Australian workforce that's over $100,000 per worker. That debt will be paid off by their children and their grandchildren. Since 2007, tax per person has risen by approximately $16,000 in constant dollars. Yet the government continues to signal that further tax increases may be necessary. Government spending per person has grown by 32 per cent since 2007, double the rate of tax growth. Australia's best and longest serving treasurer is worth listening to, Dr Jim Chalmers, and you should take some notes.

This never-ending cost-of-living crisis is homegrown. Domestic inflation is running hot at 4.9 per cent, and, because of this, our living standards have plummeted. In fact, under Labor, Australia has suffered the biggest fall in household disposable income in the entire developed world. For the first time in Australian history, Aussie kids will be worse off than their parents. That should be a national shame.

Our inflation is now worse than any major advanced economy—higher than the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, France and Japan. When inflation stays high, interest rates stay high. The average Australian with a mortgage is now paying around $21,000 a year more in interest than they were under the previous coalition government. After nearly four years of Labor, everyday Australians are paying more for absolutely everything: energy, 40 per cent; food, 16 per cent; rent, 22 per cent; insurance, 39 per cent. Labor claimed they would fix child care, yet out-of-pocket costs are up 11 per cent. Energy—the net zero ideology is failing. With temporary energy expiring, the truth is out. Electricity prices have jumped 32 per cent this year alone, and now, suddenly, Labor is whispering about spending cuts. Do we really trust Labor to cut spending after years of zero restraint? I certainly do not. I'll tell you what I would cut—the $15 billion of corrupt money given to the construction sector and CFMEU rorts, or the 10 per cent of identified corruption in the $50 billion a year we spend on the NDIS.

As Liberals we stand for lower inflation, lower interest rates, lower taxes and lower spending. We must cut red tape to help businesses grow. As such, we have called on Labor to form a joint taskforce on spending restraint. If the Prime Minister is serious about our economy, he will back this proposal. We are running out of time and we must stop inflating the economy before it bursts.

See this speech in context