Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability) Share this | Hansard source

In this place, I represent the good people of Dawson. In Dawson, we trade in three commodities: honesty, integrity and truth—and, let me tell you, under the Albanese Labor government, truth is in very, very short supply. So let's talk about the broken promises, and let's be honest, the Albanese Labor government breaks promises hell, west and crooked. The promise: no Australian is going to be worse off. But the truth of it is that every Australian is worse off. Grocery prices are up and are becoming nearly unaffordable. Mortgage rates are up and, by all reports, are going to go higher. Insurance prices are up. Electricity prices are through the roof, which is in stark contrast to the gentleman who was speaking just before, saying how fantastic it is that wholesale electricity prices are down. I don't know how you buy wholesale prices. We buy retail prices. But, anyway, that's another learning curve for a new member—fair enough! Rental prices are up. Gas prices are up. These are all broken promises.

Let's unpack the promises a little bit further. The promise: no new taxes—and yet, let's have a look. The Treasurer has just brought down the highest taxing, highest spending budget in history. The new taxes: capital gains tax, negative gearing tax and a tax on trusts. When asked about capital gains tax and negative gearing tax, the Prime Minister said, 'How hard is it? For the 50th time'. Prime Minister, let me tell you, it's very hard. People are doing it tough—and, let's be honest, you haven't been. And what about the sneaky death duty hidden in the budget? Oh no, it's not called death duty; it's called inheritance tax.

Let's have a look at the cuts for veterans' welfare. Allied health is capped at $5,000. I ran into a veteran on my last trip to Townsville. He said: 'Andrew, when you have allied health for veterans capped at $5,000, that is only enough for 15 weeks! What am I supposed to do for the rest of the year? So, if the Prime Minister could answer that and look the veteran straight in the eye and tell him what he should be doing, when this veteran's been good enough to put his life and his body on the line for this country, what should the Prime Minister be telling him?

And what about the private health fund changes for the over-65s? After working their whole lives and at a time they probably need some more health care, there are changes to that. That will put more pressure on the ED. That is absolutely crazy. And there's housing, with 1.2 million homes promised by 2029. But recent reports are showing that they could be up to 250,000 to 300,000 short. And the Prime Minister said, 'My word is my bond.' Well, I certainly wouldn't like to take that bond to the bank. I give you that tip. And this is probably the biggest, most famous one of them all: 'Under Labor, if you vote for Labor, you will be $275 better off on your power bill.' That little story was reproduced 97 times. That wasn't a slip of the tongue. That was repeated, repeated, repeated.

Australia has just witnessed a trial of broken promises, and they've shattered families' budgets. This is in a Labor created cost-of-living crisis. A federal budget should be a road map and an opportunity, but this Labor government has turned it into an economic dead end. This budget doesn't reward effort. It punishes it. The foundational deal in this country used to be simple. If you worked hard, if you had a go, you could get ahead. But, under this prime minister, the great Australian promise is dead. I think the Prime Minister should come into this chamber and say, 'I apologise to the Australian people.'

See this speech in context