Simon Kennedy (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to speak on this motion, because cost of living is an issue dominating household budgets right across my electorate of Cook. Just recently I received an email from Carol, a volunteer with St Vincent de Paul, and I'd like to quote some of this email: 'In the ever-increasing cost-of-living times, it's become extremely obvious the number of people in your electorate around Caringbah who are in need of help has increased dramatically. We have noted that these people are much younger. We receive requests for food assistance, with one lady pleading she has nothing left for school lunches. We've also been asked to supply beds for people sleeping on the floor with only one blanket. We've supplied washing machines, refrigerators, and we've been asked by a very distressed lady for financial help as she could not afford to bury her father. Financial assistance with utility bills is for another. The increased number of calls is placing all volunteers from Caringbah under pressure to fit these visits in their daily lives. Many of these people appear to be living under the poverty line. It was brought to my attention that, during COVID, there was an increase in income support payments, and I think something like that is needed. These people we assist cannot live without dignity, without a hand from Vinnies or the charities. The government has a responsibility to adequately support those who are unable to support themselves. I can only see the desperate calls for help increasing, especially with the cost of fuel.'

This is the lived reality, and we're not talking about an area that's below the poverty line or impoverished; we're talking about my local electorate of Cook, which does better than most of the electorates around the country. So, if this is how people in the heart of metropolitan Sydney, with high house prices and good employment prospects, are living, I shudder to think of the number of families across this nation doing it tough. That's mums and dads having tough conversations about whether they can pay grocery or energy bills. It's about packing school lunches, paying for fuel, the pressure that puts on relationships and the conflict that creates in families. That is the lived reality.

What has the government's role been in this? Well, since the Albanese government took office, we've had 14 interest rate rises. Yes, rates were at an all-time low coming out of COVID, but what we have seen from this government is increased government spending—the highest it's been in 40 years. It's actually at a record for 40 years. What we see with increased government spending is that there's too much demand in the economy, which is made up of government spending and private spending. When that government spending is too high, the Reserve Bank tries to drive down spending by increasing interest rates. That's led Australia to have the highest inflation of any advanced economy in the world.

It's at this time, when we are suffering from the highest inflation in the world, that we've had an oil shock globally. Had we been in the US, in Asia, in the UK or anywhere in Europe, we would have been much more sheltered from this oil shock, with lower inflation. But instead Australian households are getting smashed. They're looking to pick up the pieces. They're struggling to put together lunches. You heard it here: in Cook, people are struggling to provide their kids with lunch. This government's responsibility was to shelter Australians when we had an international shock. Instead, they've been left flailing in the wind, exposed to these international shocks by an irresponsible Treasurer.

More than 760,000 Australians aged 65 and over are now in the workforce—the highest number on record. Many of these people are working because they have no alternative. Rising costs are forcing people to delay their retirement or return to work simply to maintain financial stability. After a lifetime of contribution, Australians should be able to retire and live with dignity. I met a pensioner the other day at a listening post and I had to introduce them to Wesley Mission to pay their electricity bill. This pensioner was unable to run their fridge or their air conditioning, or turn the lights on, because the pension was not enough. This was a lovely immigrant man who had worked for his entire life.

What is missing is a clear path to bring these pressures under control. Australians want to see inflation reduced in a sustainable way, with disciplined fiscal settings. This is what we ask for from the Treasurer: not excuses but real action to lower the cost of living.

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