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

Australian families are at breaking point. From the kitchen tables of my electorate to the check-out counters across the country, the story is the same. Australians are working harder than ever, yet they are falling further behind. Under this Labor government, we have seen the biggest falls in living standards in the entire developed world. But, instead of taking responsibility, what do we hear from the Prime Minister and the Treasurer? The latest trick is to point fingers overseas. They want you to believe that your mortgage is up and your grocery bill is skyrocketing because of the Middle East crisis. Let's be crystal clear. The inflation we are experiencing right now is not a product of the Middle East—that's coming. The cost-of-living crisis was not imported. It was manufactured right here in Canberra. The government keeps looking for a global excuse, but the data tells a different story.

Inflation in Australia is now higher than in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and Japan. Are we to believe the Middle East crisis only affects Australia? Of course not. The difference isn't what's happening in the world; it's what's happening in this budget. This inflation right now is homegrown. It is the direct result of a prime minister addicted to spending and a treasurer who continues to put debt petrol on the inflation fire.

Think of the economy like a local market. If the government floods that market with billions of dollars of new money while the amount of goods stays the same, prices go up. It is simple maths. When the government spends recklessly, it competes with every Australian family for every resource, driving prices higher. Government spending is now at a 40-year high outside of a recession. Labor's debt is ticking towards a staggering $1 trillion. To put that into perspective, Australians are now paying more than $50,000 every single minute just to service the interest on Labor's debt. That's $50,000 a minute that isn't going to hospitals, schools or tax relief, and it's not even paying down the principal. The way that I like to relate this to individuals is from a workforce point of view. In South Australia, if you collect the Labor state debt and the Labor federal debt and put it together, the average South Australian worker now owes their governments more than $100,000.

Because this government refuses to stop spending, the Reserve Bank has been forced to do the heavy lifting. We have seen 14 interest rate rises under Labor. These aren't just numbers on a page; they represent an extra $27,000 a year for the average mortgage holder. That is the Labor tax on every Australian family with a home loan. The RBA governor hasn't ruled out a recession because of how this government has mismanaged the economy. While families are cutting back on meat, cancelling holidays and struggling with school costs, this government refuses to live within its means. We are forced to tighten our belts—so should the government. Look at the wreckage of their policies. Insurance is up 39 per cent; energy is up more than 40 per cent, up 32 per cent in this year alone; rent is up 22 per cent; and food is up 16 per cent.

Let's talk about energy. Minister Chris Bowen's wind- and solar- only approach ideology is steamrolling common sense. We see electricity prices up 32 per cent in this year. We see a fuel supply chain in shambles. One day, the government says, 'There is plenty of supply'; the next day, there is a national crisis. They blame Australians for buying too much petrol rather than ensuring the supply chain works. When my colleague Angus Taylor was the energy minister, he didn't make excuses. He got on the phone, worked with suppliers, and ensured fuel reached the families and farmers who needed it. He understood that he needed a backbone to run an economy, not just a printing press. We have offered a bipartisan taskforce to control spending. We have called for a revitalised Charter of Budget Honesty. The response from the Prime Minister: silence, nothing, tumbleweeds. The conflict in the Middle East didn't drive up childcare costs by 11 per cent; the Middle East didn't cause $1 trillion in debt—Labor did.

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