Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Labor promised to be the party that left no-one behind, and they promised to be the party that governed for all Australians and the party of homeownership, and they even went so far as to say they would build a stronger, fairer and more resilient Australia. But, over the last four years, Labor have only proven that they are party of broken promises and broken dreams when it comes to the lives and livelihoods of Australian people.

You'll recall, in 2022, the Prime Minister said, on no less than 97 occasions, that your power bills would go down by $275 by 2025. Well, we're past that. Here we are with the average household bill increase of 35 per cent since the last time the Prime Minister made that extraordinary promise in front of the cameras. Let's be real here, when prices go up, everything goes up, because, the higher the input to businesses and producers—something that the Prime Minister and the Treasurer have never done; they've never been in business and never produced anything—the higher the cost at the checkout for every Australian. Because of this government's ridiculous net-zero-only fantasy and rejection of our own natural resources, every family is paying more for basic needs.

Labor tried to hide these energy price increases for a while and artificially curb inflation by offering a $75-a-quarter rebate on your bill. We know what happens then. We know that you, as the taxpayer, are paying for your own rebate. While some say it was achieved in the short term, in reality the underlying inflation was still too high, and the artificial curbing couldn't last. We've seen, over the last 12 months, that inflation in Australia now is higher than any other advanced economy around the world. This is another promise broken spectacularly by the Prime Minister, leaving households forced between choosing heating and eating.

Labor also promised to build 1.2 million new homes by mid-2029, and, as of this month, projections suggest a shortfall of 350, 000 homes. Interestingly, the only promise where Labor has exceeded expectation is in the record projections of two million immigrants to come into this country by the end of their second term. This high-spending, high-taxing government is hoping that bringing in more bums on seats will fatten up their coffers, but the influx has only put more pressure on infrastructure, health care, aged care and housing and has continued to reduce our standard of living.

Now to the latest broken promise—one on which our Prime Minister glibly retorted to a journalist 'for the 50th time' that he would not be making changes either to the negative gearing or capital gains tax. And now we see sweeping changes to both of them. This prime minister has no credibility. I don't know how he stands at the dispatch box and talks to the Australian people about what is in the budget, because I believe that all Australians out there are thinking, and are saying to me: 'We don't know whether he's telling the truth or whether he will change his position.' A broken promise is a broken promise. He needs to stand up and apologise for being untruthful to the Australian people.

Australians deserve a government that acknowledges the pressures of today whilst building and safeguarding for the future; a government that rewards ingenuity and aspiration while remaining grounded in reality; a government that understands that Aussies need a hand up, not a hand out; and a government that recognises and taps into the wealth that we hold in our own resources here in Australia and that puts the real needs of Australians above all else.

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