Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) | Hansard source

This motion goes to one notion that is really effective in politics at the moment but also really destructive. It goes to the concept of trust. It goes to the concept of this government having repeatedly broken promises to Australians on the cost of living, on energy prices and on housing affordability, just to name a few. This goes to the heart of the Australian democracy, because we're seeing a time where Australians are not trusting their government, and that lack of confidence in our democracy is a result of the people who sit on the frontbench and make promises that they cannot keep.

Let's have a look at the track record of this Australian government. What we're seeing is that families are worse off. They've been worse off over the last 3½ years. Increasingly what we're seeing is that it's not because people are doing the wrong thing. It's not because they're not working hard. It's because we've got a government that is not translating their hard work into results and rewards. Australians are working hard. They're working harder than they've ever had to work, but they're going backwards. Now, that is a serious problem and a serious economic issue that this country is facing. We're seeing families who are paying more for groceries, more for rent, more for their electricity bills and more for their fuel. That sounds a bit odd when considering that, a couple of years ago, we had a prime minister and a Treasurer who went out to the Australian people and campaigned time and time again that life would be easy and it would be easier under their government. They promised that we would see a reduction in energy prices by $275. It's almost laughable because what we're seeing is the absolute opposite of that. We're seeing CPI still running at 4.2 per cent. Wages are growing at 3.3 per cent. What that actually means is that pay packets aren't keeping up with prices, and Australians are getting a pay rise on paper, but they're actually losing it at the checkout. That's not restoring living standards. That's eroding living standards, and Australians are seeing it for what it is. The $275 cut to household power bills by 2025, which was promised, is something we're still waiting for, but what have we seen? We've seen electricity costs go up 22½ per cent over the year, and, over the course of the last 3½ years, they've gone up even more than that. It's a broken promise that Australians can see in black and white. Families know that the opposite of what the Prime Minister told Australians is happening. The power bill on the kitchen bench tells everybody what the real story is.

On housing affordability, another addition to the litany of broken promises that we've seen from those opposite, they promised that housing would be more affordable in this country. But when I speak to young Australians—and I'd say the same would be the case for my colleagues who are in this place at the moment—I don't get young people coming up to me saying, 'Jeez, it's so good we've had this government come into power, because we're actually able to get into our first home,' or, 'Rents are actually going down; have you noticed that?' It's fanciful, it's fictitious, and it's an absolute broken promise that Australians are having to bear the brunt of as a result of this government's absolute mismanagement of the Australian economy.

We're seeing that on paper as well, because housing costs are up 6.3 per cent over the year, rents are up 3.5 per cent over the year, and new dwelling prices are up 4.7 per cent over the year. I can say to Australians and young Australians who are watching that the genius of this government is that they're going to go up even more. What they've actually done through this most recent budget is pitted investors against first home buyers because, Deputy Speaker Buchholz, as you and I know all too well, state concession schemes, when they come to the incentives that are given to young people to buy their first home, are geared towards new properties. What we've seen in the most recent budget is this government being totally oblivious of that. That will also result in housing affordability continuing to go backwards, which is another broken promise by this government.

In closing, this government has failed to manage the economy, and Australians are paying the price. We need a government that is going to be accountable and take responsibility, and the right thing for this government to do would be to put forward policies that are actually going to do what they said, and they should get into this place and apologise to the Australian people.

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