Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have an announcement to make: this government has lost control. After four years in office, Labor now owns this economy, and Australians are paying the price. Last week Australians copped the 14th interest rate rise under this government. That's 14 blows to family budgets, 14 blows to small business and 14 reminders that Labor has no answer to inflation. Inflation in Australia is now the highest in the developed world. While households are cutting back, this government keeps spending. This government pretends that Australians are not hurting, but we on this side of the House know that they absolutely are. They feel it at the checkout, they feel it in their mortgage and they feel it when they fill up their car.

In my electorate, John and Sharon, who run a family crane business, told me exactly what this looks like in the real world. For them, fuel climbed from around $1.63 a litre to $2.73 a litre between 28 February and 18 March, and they are bracing for it to go even higher. For a family business, that's not an inconvenience; it's a threat to viability. This is what happens when a government loses control of the economy, loses control of fuel security and loses touch with the people it is meant to serve. Australians are hurting, and this government has no plan.

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