The Leader of the Opposition wants to talk about Australia's supposed broken economy. Let's talk about the economy that he and his colleagues handed over. When Labor took office, inflation was already at 5.1 per cent and climbing, peaking at 6 per cent. Today it's 4.3 per cent, still too high, and families are feeling every cent, but it is still better than those opposite, without solutions. Higher global oil prices are making the job harder, but Australia remains one of the world's largest economies. The IMF ranks us 14th and forecasts our economy growing this year to be greater than those of Britain, Germany and Canada. That doesn't mean everything's fine, but it does mean that 'broken' is a slogan, not an economic analysis from the coalition of chaos.

If the opposition wants a practical example of how our economy could work better, I suggest they visit the supermarket. Coles and Woolworths account for around two thirds of supermarket sales. Two companies are two-thirds of the market. That's not much choice for Australian consumers, especially from the supposed party of freedom. For nine years, the coalition governed a country with increasingly concentrated supermarket power. And what did it leave behind? A voluntary Food and Grocery Code of Conduct. Unbelievable. That is more legislative gold from the Liberals who love loopholes. When the biggest businesses in the market held bargaining power, the coalition's great reform was to ask them to behave.

Labor made the code mandatory. We introduced serious penalties and outlawed excessive pricing by the largest supermarkets. But I think we might need to go further in examining the underlying problem. Should we be considering limits on supermarket market share? Why should two companies control so much of an essential market? Should we be making sure large supermarket landholdings are not shutting out future competitors? And should we be removing the barriers that stop independent supermarkets from opening their doors? These are questions worth asking, because the free market only works when there is genuine competition. When two supermarket chains control two thirds of sales, Australians don't need another loyalty card. They need more choice. When Labor legislated against stronger penalties, the coalition voted against it. That is a record they should explain before they lecture anyone about economic management.

The opposition also wants to speak for small business, but I've got a question for them. Who brought in the GST? The Howard government. What did that mean for every small business? They turned every small business into a tax collector. The cafe owner, the sparkie and the hairdresser are running their businesses, paying their workers and then spending their evenings keeping records and lodging business activity statements. Even Howard later admitted the original BAS was too complicated. So when the coalition lectures small business about red tape, it might start with the paperwork they gave them.

And what is the economic alternative being offered today? This week the opposition presented its package for proposed savings. It wants to scrap the $250 tax offset for working Australians and cut support for housing, while promising tax relief and more homes. Some of its other expensive promises haven't even been included in the costings. It wants to give more, spend less and leave major parts of the bill off the page. That is not an economic plan. That is a magic pudding. Everyone gets another slice, yet somehow the pudding never gets smaller.

And then there's One Nation. In July, the Opposition Leader said One Nation's economic policies could send us broke. He warned of an eternity of pain. And what did Senator Hanson say about him? She called him a management consultant and told Australians they couldn't trust the coalition. It's a good thing AI is going to take that job as well. Yet Senator Hanson has still offered to provide the numbers to help the coalition form government. One says the other's economic policies would send us broke, and the other one says the other can't be trusted, and One Nation is still offering to give them the numbers in parliament. Surely that deserves some explanation from those claiming to have the answers to Australia's economic problems.

Australians are under pressure. They deserve honest answers, real competition and policies that add up. The opposition brought this motion asking us to examine economic management. Fine, but let's examine the inflation they left, the supermarket rules they opposed, the red tape they imposed and the promises they still haven't paid for. You can't call an economy broken, put forward a magic pudding for a budget and expect no-one to check the recipe.