Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australians are fed up with Labor's toxic new taxes, and they do not want carve-outs—they want them gone. In Capricornia, that is not just politics; it is real life. I've heard from a father in Sarina, a hardworking man raising two young children while working and running a beef cattle property with his partner. He told me:

We are not asking for luxuries ... we are simply trying to keep our family afloat and build some sort of future for our children.

Their mortgage repayments have increased. Electricity, fuel, groceries, insurance and farm overheads keep rising. Seven years ago, hard work would have helped them get ahead. Now, he says:

our money goes nowhere ... we are breaking our backs, yet things are not improving.

That is the reality for many families in regional Australia. When Labor talks about budget cuts, families like his do not see relief. They see more confusion, more uncertainty and more pressure. These families are not asking for special treatment. They want the chance to get ahead and policies that ease the burden instead of adding to it. He told me:

we are working hard, just to go backwards.

That should stop every one of us in our tracks. In Capricornia, people are proud to work, produce and provide for their families, but right now they feel squeezed from every direction. The only way to stop these toxic taxes is to vote to axe them.

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