Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Hansard source

Sorry, Deputy Speaker. I say this to the Prime Minister: Prime Minister, you told the Australian people 50 times that you would honour your word, and you didn't do it. So it's time that you said sorry, Prime Minister. It's time that you said sorry.

The second thing we haven't heard is any government MP admit that living standards have collapsed under this government. They've collapsed. That's a fact, and maybe we could get an apology for that. Guess how big the collapse has been. It's been the biggest collapse in living standards in the world. No other country has had a collapse in living standards like we've had here in Australia.

You'll hear these long lists of everything that the government has done, but the fact is none of it has addressed the two biggest failings of this government. And those are that it can't tell the truth to the Australian people and that living standards are falling beyond belief.

I've been out and about in my electorate talking to people about the budget. Well, I should rephrase that: I've been listening to what people have to say about the budget, whether it be small business, whether it be farmers, whether it be families, whether it be pensioners, whether it be people in aged-care residences. I've got to say the overwhelming response has been 'there is nothing in this budget to help me; there is nothing in this budget to address my cost-of-living concerns'. There is nothing in this budget to address what is happening to living standards in this nation.

It's worth asking why that is the fact. There are two reasons. The first reason is that spending is out of control, and what happens when spending is out of control? It pushes up interest rates. The government won't do the hard yards, so the Reserve Bank has to. That is one of the reasons why living standards continue to plummet—because the government can't get its own house in order; it can't get its spending under control. That is what is pushing up interest rates. And the sad fact is we're likely to see more interest rate rises, not less, over the coming months.

And the second reason is that the Albanese Labor government is addicted to taxing. It can't see an idea that it doesn't want to tax. Seriously—I never thought that I would be in this chamber pointing out the fact that we now have death duties coming in in this country.

A government member interjecting

No, it is, because you've had to rule it out. You've had to rule it out and say, 'Oh, well, maybe we're going to change our mind. Maybe we won't. Maybe we are,' but the fact of the matter is here we are talking about death duties.

A government member interjecting

You cannot believe it. And of course you get a reaction from those opposite. 'Oh, no, seriously—you can trust us. We're honest. You know you can believe what we say, because we go to the Australian people and we say 50 times we're not going to do this.' Seriously—you've got no credibility now when it comes to being honest. The fact of the matter is we've now got to the stage where you're trying to sneak in death duties. It's an absolute disgrace.

Living standards are plummeting, the cost of living in this country is going through the roof and you've got no ideas to fix it.

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