Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

People are now poorer after four years of Labor. Life is harder, families are stressed and hard work doesn't seem to pay off any more. People don't feel like they can get ahead because the Aussie dream is dying under Labor. The truth is that our standard of living has dropped 10 per cent under this Labor government. Labor's home-grown inflation is dissolving the purchasing power of working Australians. Australians can buy less with every single dollar they earn. Fuel prices are up, electricity prices are up, gas prices are up, food prices are up, health premiums are up, mortgages are up and rents are up. And we know that real wages for working Australians are now 2.1 per cent lower than four years ago, and the Reserve Bank forecasts that it's going to get worse. I think that's crushing news for Australian families who are barely keeping their heads above water.

Why is this happening? Why can't the average person who works hard get ahead, buy a home and build a better life? Here's the bottom line: after four years of Labor, the government is growing faster than the private sector, but it's small business and not bureaucrats who build wealth and create jobs. After four years of Labor, 1.9 million people have been added to our population, and that's pressure on housing and services, driving inflation. After four years of Labor we are less productive and less competitive as a nation, and that's why the Australian people are now poorer.

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