Andrew Wallace (Speaker) | Link to this | Hansard source

I have received a letter from the honourable member for Kingston proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

The government's failure to support Australians with cost of living expenses.

I call upon those honourable members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) | Link to this | Hansard source

On Tuesday night, we saw the federal budget delivered, and what became really clear as it unfolded was that that document is a document to buy votes and get this government, this hapless government, to the other side of an election. What the budget failed to appreciate, and what the Treasurer failed to appreciate, is that Australians have been struggling under cost-of-living pressures for some time. They have been struggling with the cost of child care and the cost of energy and a whole range of things that have been putting pressure on households. Of course, the other part of the puzzle that has been there for a long time is that Australians have not got a decent wage increase. There have been declining real wages in this country as, in this government's own words, a design policy of their government.

We have a budget now that ignores the future, ignores a long-term plan for the future, ignores what other challenges lie ahead and ignores what needs to be done to set Australians up for long-term prosperity. We've had the Prime Minister bragging about how many budgets he's been involved in. We're not 100 per cent sure whether that's seven or eight—there's a little bit of a counting issue there—but we do know that none of the budgets he's been involved in have taught him this very important lesson: the Australian people need to be in the centre of his budget—not his own electoral prospects. Unfortunately, that has not been shown.

I'm going to focus on one area where the government was silent on Tuesday night: the real issue of rising childcare costs. We have a government that continually tells Australian families that there is no problem with the cost of child care. Over this term we've had government ministers—I think we're onto the third minister now when it comes to child care—telling families they've never been better off when it comes to the cost of child care. They've come in and they've quoted hourly figures. Of course, if you're using 30 to 50 hours a week it really adds up, and the government has failed to understand that.

The latest data shows that fees for child care are up 41 per cent since this government came to office, and, in one quarter alone, they went up 1.4 per cent, between March and June 2021. Out-of-pocket costs are up by 6.5 per cent in 2020-21, almost double the cost of inflation. What has been the government's response on child care? Silence. We know that in the last budget they tried to be as tricky as possible, thinking that budget would be the budget before the election, not thinking they'd have to come back and actually be accountable to this House. So we had a tricky budget where, if you have one child in child care, you don't get a cent extra—you don't deserve any extra support from this government. Of course, that counts for 75 per cent of families using the system.

If you're struggling with the cost of out-of-school-hours care, the government said you deserve no extra in that last budget. There were so many people, Australian families, hoping with their fingers crossed that the government would actually address it, especially when UNICEF has ranked Australia 37th out of 41 countries when it comes to childcare policies. They found Australia is one of only eight countries in the world where child care consumes at least a quarter of the average wage. This is a dismal showing. We are falling behind the rest of the world, and no amount of spin and rhetoric can make up for it.

When it comes to early education and care, the government is also completely ignoring the challenges coming out of the pandemic for the early education workforce. Under this government, almost 15 per cent of long day care services have a waiver from the National Quality Standard for staffing reasons. This is having a significant impact out there. I am told this is also driving up the cost of child care. Already this year we've had Goodstart and G8, two large providers in this country, announce that they will have above-inflation fee increases. They are going to. They have no choice when it comes to the costs that they are incurring. This government has taken its eyes off the prize when it comes to early education and care. They've said: 'This is not what we are here to do. We don't care whether people have access or not, and we don't care how expensive it is.'

Of course, when it came to the COVID pandemic they were slow. They were slow to act, time and time again, to ensure that early learning services could keep their doors open and to ensure people could get care. If the government haven't learnt their lessons from COVID, if they haven't learnt the priorities of the Australian people, the priorities of families, when will they ever learn?

It is really clear that we need an investment in our early education and care system. We need to be supporting families with the cost of living when it comes to child care, because this isn't just good for those families that get cheaper childcare fees; it is good for the economy, and this is the point that the government is failing to recognise. The government are happy to spend money—or at least announce money—for roads. As the shadow minister for infrastructure would say, we often don't see those roads.

An honourable member: Or the car parks.

Or car parks. The minister for infrastructure will announce the money—though maybe not deliver—but he refuses to acknowledge that affordable early education and care is infrastructure for families. It helps us grow the economy. It increases women's workforce participation. It increases productivity in this country. But it's not surprising that this government doesn't understand this. One of the government MPs did say that women using child care were outsourcing parenting, and another said that women might be forced back to work if they invest in early education and care. Under this government—and I'm so pleased to recognise this; it was the shadow minister for women who pointed this out earlier this morning—Australia has dropped from 12th to 70th in the world for women's economic participation and opportunities, as assessed by the World Economic Forum. The government is failing to see the significant economic reform that is right under its nose—that is, invest in education and care, help women get back to work and remove that economic disincentive.

In quite clear contrast, Labor have a different approach. Labor have been clear that we see early education and care as an essential service. We will lift the maximum childcare subsidy rate to 90 per cent and increase the childcare subsidy rate for every family earning less than $530,000, and we'll extend the increased subsidy to out-of-school hours. This will drive down the cost of child care. We will also task the ACCC with investigating price regulation to ensure that families are the ones that are getting the benefit from government support, that children are getting the benefit from this government support. It is only Labor that has a long-term plan, whether it's in child care, whether it's in energy prices or whether it's to get real wages moving again. It is only Labor that has a long-term vision to get our country back on its feet after the pandemic.

Soon there will be a choice. There'll be a choice for the Australian people: a short-term vision with a vote-buying exercise to get them—that is the coalition, the current government—through the election, or Labor's long-term plan that will really invest in the Australian people, invest in the skills we need in the country, including investing in early education and care. We will invest in child care, we will invest in energy and we will make sure that our country and our people have the services and the support they need so they can get on and do what they do best, and that's building our country.

Llew O'Brien (Wide Bay, National Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I call the Assistant Minister to the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction.

The member for McEwen will not speak while I'm calling the minister and will stop interjecting completely.

Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction) | Link to this | Hansard source

If we want to talk about valedictory addresses, the member for McEwen should have his ready because he's not going to be here after the election.

We all know how this matter of public importance came up. Overnight the federal secretary of the Australian Labor Party and Tim Gartrell, the campaign manager for the Leader of the Opposition, would have come in and said, 'Look, Leader of the Opposition, we've finally got our research and it says the cost of living is an important issue.' Finally the Leader of the Opposition might have absorbed the fact that Australians face ongoing challenges in their economic circumstances, and it would have been a wake-up call for him. So he would have said, 'Our solution is: let's go and have a debate about it in the parliament.' The Leader of the Opposition would have gone in and said, 'I've got the answer; I'm going to get up and give a compelling speech,' and the shadow Treasurer would have fought him left, right and centre: 'No, I want this matter of public importance speech!' But, in the end, they would have eventually turned to each other and asked: 'What is it that we're going to say? What is it that we're going to say about an economic plan?' And the answer is: they don't know. As a consequence, neither of them have actually come to the dispatch box today to articulate what their economic plan is.

We heard this during question time, where it didn't seem to matter what question was asked of the Prime Minister: the Labor Party had no plan and no solution to address the economic challenges this country faces. And we know they're probably working on the budget reply speech right now, off in their offices, still scratching their heads about how it is that they're going to sell it. But it's a great privilege, I've got to say—despite the protest of the member for Griffith, leaving the chamber—to be able to speak on this matter of public importance, because those of us who have a long enough memory will remember the final day of the last sitting of parliament. It was a similar day. We had a budget reply speech from the Leader of the Opposition. That was the last speech. The second-last speech I remember very well, not least because it was given by me, and I tabled the report of the Standing Committee on Economics inquiry into the impact and implications of the abolition of refundable franking credits. I remember that speech very well, and I'm sure many members, in hindsight, should have paid more attention to it. It reported the direct economic impact and the impact on people's livelihoods from the abolition of refundable franking credits, which would have led to a million Australians being pushed down the financial stairs should a Labor government be elected. And it is not just that policy but also, of course, their $387 billion worth of new taxes that would have had a direct impact on livelihoods, economic welfare and wellbeing.

That's why on this side of the chamber we don't take lectures about the cost of living, because the cost-of-living challenges of Australians—which flow through from supply-chain challenges, inflation, interest rates and the like—are never benefited because we have an alternative government whose only solution is to take away from Australians their livelihoods and their income, as Labor so wants to do at every single opportunity. And that is the ultimate choice that affects Australians in the lead-up to the next election. Who is it, in the end, that they trust to understand the importance of empowering Australians to be free to make decisions for themselves? Who do they trust to make decisions to empower Australians to be free to make their own choices and to live their own lives? We know full well that the opposition cannot be trusted with those choices, for a very simple reason.

The member for Melbourne at the moment is measuring for curtains in the hope of the opportunity to be the balance of power in a future government led by this Leader of the Opposition. He is measuring for curtains. And, funnily enough, I have never seen the Greens turn their noses up at any spending measure paid for by Australian taxpayers. In fact, it is quite the reverse: they've consistently argued, at every point, that they want to spend more money, more resources—taken from the Australian taxpayer—except in one area.

I know that the last time I said this the member for Melbourne got outraged enough that he stormed into the parliament and declared outright that he wanted a retraction, where they want to reduce the amount of spending for defence. Now, I understand that he takes exception to members in this chamber highlighting his deliberate attack on our defence forces and the security of this nation. What is it that they want to cut? They say it's not 50 per cent. Well, they have a responsibility to explain to the Australian people—particularly to the Leader of the Opposition, whom they want to enter into coalition government with—what they're going to cut. Are they going to cut our armed service personnel's pay? Are they going to cut their kit? Are they going to cut their equipment? Are they going cut the submarines that we need, the ships that we need and the armoured personnel vehicles that we need to defend this nation and secure its sovereignty and its interests here and abroad? And make no mistake: the Labor Party isn't just joined by the Greens but also by the Independents, who are lining up.

The biggest cost-of-living choice they face is how they're going to spend the multiple millions of dollars that they're splashing around the country left, right and centre, approaching communities with their voice to get elected to parliament as an acquisition as part of an investment portfolio. They don't understand the economic challenges that Australians face—making sure people can pay their mortgage, afford basic services and, of course, make sure the budget is balanced at the end of the week, challenges many Australians face every day. That is why our model and the Liberal approach towards economic empowerment are about trusting Australians to make their own choices, because that is actually what a budget is really about.

The Labor Party has always approached a budget as a pathway to empower themselves by putting their hands straight into the hip pocket of Australians and ripping out as much of it as they can so they can use it to decide how they will impose conformity on the country, whereas we—the Liberals and Nationals—understand that the pathway to economic empowerment is leaving as much of that money in their pockets as possible. It is a pathway to make sure Australians are empowered to make their own choices and decisions, and it is to make sure that they can support themselves so that they are in the best position to help and assist others. We understand that the foundations and success of our country, particularly the economic success, are built on strong citizens, because strong citizens make strong families, strong families make strong communities and strong communities make a strong nation. That is the basis on which we back Australians to be a able to get a job and support them and their family.

The numbers are crystal clear. The reality is we have an unemployment rate of four per cent, one of the lowest in Australia's history and something that we should be immensely proud of, particularly off the back of the enormous challenges we face as a consequence of COVID, where—let's face it—all the international forecasts, all the international data, all the Treasury forecasts and all the Reserve Bank forecasts said we would not be anywhere near it. It is the lowest level of unemployment in 48 years. Since we have come to government there are around 1.9 million more Australians in work in Australia, including, critically, 1.1 million more women in work. We see the pathway of economic empowerment as something that is good not just for families but for women and for every Australian, because it is so important. Currently at four per cent, the unemployment rate is well down from the 5.7 per cent when Labor last left office.

In the budget on Tuesday night, there were measures that understood that there are cost-of-living pressures today and that, of course, they will be there in the future. Critically, we understand the very specific and unique challenges that are faced around the cost of fuel, particularly as a consequence and a flow-on from the Russian aggression against Ukraine. For the next six months, Australians will save 22c a litre every time they fill up their car. A family with two cars, who fill up once a week, could save $30 a week, around $700 over the next six months, as a consequence of a reduction in fuel excise, recognising the particular reality we all face at this critical time. It doesn't matter who you are in Australia, we understand the price of fuel has a direct inflationary impact if it continues at current prices and if we don't support such important and critical measures for the future of household budgets and balance sheets.

Of course, we also announced a new one-off $420 cost-of-living tax offset for more than 10 million low- and middle-income earners. Individuals already receiving the low- and middle-income tax offset will now receive up to $1,500 and couples up to $3,000 from 1 July this year. This is targeted immediate relief for Australians who are facing cost-of-living pressures, and of course there are also more than six million Australians in other circumstances, such as pensioners, carers, veterans, jobseekers, eligible self-funded retirees and concession cardholders, who will get a new one-off $250 cost-of-living payment delivered.

This government understands that cost-of-living pressures are real and significant. They have a direct flow-on and impact on the decisions and choices Australians make. We understand the way to address them is to empower Australians to take control of their own economic circumstances, versus the Labor approach, which is to empower themselves through raising more taxes, imposing them on Australian households and, of course, dictating to them their choices and their future opportunities. I can assure you that, at the next election, that pathway will be rejected.

Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I think 'taking control of their own economic circumstances' is code for, 'Get a better job,' or, 'If you're feeling rental pressure, go and buy yourself a house.' What we just heard in the last 10 minutes was a speech that shows how out of touch those opposite are.

I want to remind people that the last few weeks are not the first time that we have stood here and talked about the cost of living. I went back to the start of this term in 2019. There are speeches in Hansard where I have raised the feedback I was getting from my constituents about the pressures they were feeling just to keep their head above water, to be able to earn enough to pay the bills and, if they were lucky, have a little bit left over. These are not new pressures. You cannot blame a terrible and tragic war that is happening for what people are feeling now. All we're seeing from this government is a quick sugar hit, a bit of a, 'Let's just toss something out for a quick fix.' There is not a single thing that they have put forward that gives anyone hope that things will get better in the medium to long term.

I want to point out that, when you talk cost of living, one of the things that gives you the biggest hit to cost of living is when a natural disaster strikes. Your economic future changes. This idea you control your own economic future—you tell that to people who lost their homes, whether it was to bushfires in 2013 or 2019 or whether it was to floods in 2021 or 2022. That's the stuff that really hurts. What I want to remind people about is what that mob across there did in October 2013 when 200 people lost their homes and hundreds more had damage to their property but didn't lose their homes. What they did was change the rules for the disaster payment, the whole $1,000—it was $1,000 nearly nine years ago and it's still $1,000 for an adult and $400 for a child. What they did, the day after my house and 200 other houses burnt down, was tighten that criteria. So, yes, I was entitled to it because my house had burnt down, but neighbours whose properties were partially damaged, who lost tracts of land, who lost all sorts of external possessions, who weren't able to get back to their homes for days, who had their power cut and who had everything in their fridges and freezers destroyed got nothing, because, on the day after those fires, those opposite thought they would change the rules and make it impossible for people who were devastated and suddenly found themselves with an extraordinary number of immediate expenses. That's the attitude that they've got. Those are the sorts of people they are. It says everything about how much they care about our communities.

I think what they forget, or what they just don't even realise, is how hard people are working to keep their heads above water. Remember: nearly a million Australians are working multiple jobs just to make ends meet. That shows up in the ABS data. That's not because they like working more, and it isn't because they want to; it's because they have no choice in order to pay the bills that they face. They're not the high-paying jobs. These are the low-paid frontline workers, and they need that extra money. Many of us in here have kids. We've seen what our kids, in their 20s and into their 30s, have had to do to try and subsist in an ever-increasingly expensive world. Whether it's petrol, their phones or the internet, these are things that are essential. These are not just nice things to have; these are essential things to help them live their lives and do their work. But there is nothing that this government can put forward other than some short-term little bandaids.

I also want to remind those opposite that another time you really feel it is when you're young and when you've got your own young children. That's when you really feel the cost-of-living pressures. That's why Labor's approach to making child care cheaper, whether it's before and after school or whether it's long day care, makes a difference to people's lives. It's something that those opposite only think you deserve if you have more than one child in care.

The other time you feel the pressure is when you or someone in your family is ill. Everyone in this chamber would have had people talk to them about out-of-pocket costs, whether it's hospital, psychiatry or psychology costs. Those are the things that hurt. That's why Labor's commitment to universal Medicare will make a difference.

Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The topic of this matter of public importance is the government's failure to support Australians with the cost-of-living expenses. That is a premise that I totally reject. We've just had a budget this week that actually highlights what an amazing job this government has done managing the economy, bringing the employment down to sub-four per cent—or at least that's where it's heading—creating new jobs and creating new opportunities. But the latest spike in prices is a great concern. They're largely driven by matters outside the government's control, being Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the consequent spike in oil prices, and the complications that have come about with the supply chain from COVID. For instance, international freight rates are up around about 500 per cent.

We've seen a worldwide surge in consumerism. As people have sat at home, their bank accounts have grown and now they want to spend that money, and the freight boxes all around the world have ended up being stacked up at the wrong ports because it's not an equal trade. There are all kinds of complications with the supply chain. That's why we are seeing this price spike. Most good economists predict that it is short term, that we'll see an increase in the production of oil around the world.

One of the things about shale oil is that it has a short-lived well life in so much as you have a low price and they stop drilling, you have a high price and the drills get back out into the paddock. Certainly we've got a high price at the moment. I expect that the oil supply lines around the world will increase. Whatever the reason, we understand the challenges it presents to household budgets. We're providing to low- and middle-income earners—well, it's not why; they were already going to see a tax cut worth between $1,500 and $3,000 to 10 million Australians. That will help with the cost of living. Next year the 37c-in-the-dollar bracket will be abolished. That will help with the cost of living. More people will be keeping more of their own money, and that means they'll be better able to deal with the cost of living. But that's next year and we're dealing with now.

We know that fuel is a big issue. I've already raised it. It's a big part of daily budgets. These steep increases that are caused by Russia's outrageous attack on Ukraine have led to this shortage. Remember that we're coming off a glut. You will remember that the fuel in our bowsers was around about $1 two years ago, and that led to the lessening of supply in the world, as I've touched on already. We're going to halve the excise for six months. That will be worth 22c a litre. MotorMouth, an app I have on my phone, tells me that in Adelaide prices are already below $1.80. They're also at that rate in Port Pirie, Port Augusta and Whyalla. I've done a calculation, and I expect that 22c a litre to be worth somewhere around $30 million over the next six months for my constituents in Grey. That will help with the cost of living. And recognising that people on a fixed income are particularly affected by the cost of living—pensioners, carers, jobseekers, self-funded retirees—there is an immediate $250 payment. On 1 March, the aged-care pension rose by $20 for singles and $15 for dual couples. That will help with the cost of living. Additionally, there's a $420 tax offset for low- and middle-income earners, remembering that on 1 July they will also get the tax cut that I previously mentioned. That will help with the cost of living as well.

Another one that I'm particularly keen on is the PBS. For the people on a fixed income, medication—particularly if you're on multiple medications—can actually deplete the family budget. Of course, we have a PBS safety net, the safety net threshold. The government, in this budget, is lowering the threshold from 48 prescriptions to 36. Let me say that that will also help with the cost of living. Those on fixed incomes will benefit greatly from the package that the government put forward on Tuesday night.

We absolutely recognise the pressures of the cost of living, which we hope will be temporary. I think most of them will be temporary. The instability in the world at the moment will wash through the system, and those supply chains will come back to normal. I don't think there is any chance of us missing this phenomenon in the Australian community. And I'm very pleased with the words that I heard from the Treasurer on Tuesday night and the way that we are addressing this in the short term. It's very important, of course, that we allow for that recovery and that we don't break in a lot of these payments for the long term, which is why they're one-off and temporary. It will give the ability for the budget to recover in the longer term as the economic situation returns to normal.

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

If Australians need any more evidence that this tired, old, nine-year LNP government is out of touch, they need look no further than the Prime Minister's response to cost-of-living pressures: 'If you want rent relief, buy a house. Buy a house! If you can't afford the rent, buy a house!' People in Cowan can't even find a place to rent. Rents went up by $200, $300 and even $400 overnight, and the Prime Minister's response to them is, 'Buy a house.' Young Tina—I'm going to call her 'Tina'—from the electorate of Cowan came to see me. She's got a job, she works, and she shares a rental with a roommate, as I believe some people did when they were young. I know my son is in share housing. Personally, I've never shared with anyone, which is probably a good thing for a lot of other people! Tina's landlord raised the rent, doubled the rent, and they had two weeks to find another place. They had applied for over 150 rentals and they had not got a single one. That is the situation facing people in Cowan, and the Prime Minister tells them, 'Go buy a house.' That is right up there with the previous Prime Minister telling young people to get rich parents if they want to buy a house. If course, I'm paraphrasing there, but the point remains that this mob just simply doesn't get it. They simply don't get what cost-of-living pressures are, what they mean to the everyday lives of people—people in Cowan and people in other electorates, like the electorate of Lilley, like the electorate of Macquarie, even the electorates of Goldstein and Grey.

The cost-of-living pressures aren't something that goes away with a temporary sugar hit. They're actually a lot more substantive than that. And writ large in the budget delivered on Tuesday is that it is a budget designed to get a failing, flailing government through an election but not to get Australians through increased costs of living, stagnant real wages, mortgage stress, high costs of child care and, really, this faded—not fading but faded—dream of homeownership for many of our young people.

At the last election this government was full of promises to the people of Cowan. Among the promises made was a promise, a commitment, to fund a Wanneroo training hub, which this government argued would improve training, access to training, and jobs for young people in the northern suburbs. In the northern suburbs 65 per cent of people have to travel outside of the city of Wanneroo in order to get to work. Three budgets have come and gone and I'm still waiting for that promise to be realised. How does the government expect the people of Australia to believe them when they can't even deliver on their last election?

Let me read an email that I received today from a constituent. She writes: 'The budget fails to deliver on affordable housing and support for those struggling in our communities. No strategy to increase the numbers of affordable housing, no increase to pay levels and no increase to income support. The disaster payments won't even replace the food from people's cupboards and fridges. Winter is coming and people are living in parks and cars with no hope for the future. Just take a drive through Paloma Park in Marangaroo to see the tent that has been there for more than six months.' That was long before Russia invaded Ukraine, Member for Grey. The problems do not go away in this budget, and this budget does nothing to help. This was also sent to the member for Stirling. Why isn't he here to respond to these people in Cowan? (Time expired)

Dave Sharma (Wentworth, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

It's good to rise to speak about the important measures in the budget to address cost-of-living pressures on Australian households—families, singles and others. These pressures are indeed real and significant, which is why addressing the cost of living was such a big part of the budget for 2022-23, as announced by the Treasurer on Tuesday evening.

It's important to understand the causes of these cost-of-living pressures. Ultimately that has to inform how you address them, and there are a number of them. There is the pandemic and the two years worth of disruptions that has caused. The effects of the pandemic are ongoing, particularly in China, the biggest exporter and manufacturer in the world, which is still subject to significant lockdowns, factory closures and stay-at-home orders. There are strained global supply chains. The member for Grey mentioned the astronomical rise in the cost of shipping a container of goods, for instance, because of the shortage of shipping and the shortage of containers and a number of other things, again to do with the pandemic. There are rising inflationary pressures around the world.

Of course, underway right now is Russia's illegal and unlawful invasion of Ukraine, which is hitting commodity and energy prices particularly hard. Russia is itself the world's largest exporter of coal, the world's second-largest exporter of iron ore and the world's third-largest exporter of gas, and it's also a major wheat producer. Ukraine is also a major wheat and commodity producer, so the effect of that conflict is spilling over into global commodity prices and, of course, into Australian households, because Australia is part of the global economy. We are a trading nation and we are susceptible to changes in the global economy.

What we are seeing here in Australia is inflation that is higher than it has been for some time, at 3½ per cent currently. That's still quite low compared to global figures. US inflation is running at 7.9 per cent, in the Euro area it's about 5.7 per cent, in Canada it's north of five per cent and in the United Kingdom it's around 6.2 per cent. The budget recognises that these inflationary pressures do exist. The cost-of-living pressures are exerting themselves upon Australians. Any person here in the chamber who has gone and done the groceries recently or filled up their car with petrol will know only too vividly that these cost-of-living pressures are real. We have introduced in the budget a number of measures which are temporary, targeted and responsible and which are designed to alleviate these cost-of-living pressures without baking in or creating ongoing structural issues with our budget.

One of the most important measures we have done is to increase the low- and middle-income tax offset by $420, and 10 million Australians will be eligible for that, including 58,000 in my own electorate of Wentworth. This measure will see a single-income household receive up to $1,500 in an offset on 1 July, or $3,000 for a two-income household. That's on top of tax cuts which have been delivered over the last several years, which means that an Australian earning average earnings—$90,000 a year or thereabouts—is already $1,215 a year better off than they were in 2017-18, for instance. This measure is not cheap; it's $4.1 billion over the forward estimates, but it will provide an important and targeted alleviation of cost-of-living pressures.

We're also introducing a cost-of-living payment of $250, which will go to pensioners, welfare recipients, concession card holders and others. There will be five million beneficiaries of this measure across Australia, and 6,000 in my own electorate of Wentworth. Again, that is on top of an increase in these payments of $20 a fortnight, or $30 for a couple, which was announced as an inflationary index measure just a few weeks ago. This measure comes to $1.5 billion in the forward estimates.

We are halving the fuel excise as well. That's already in effect; people will see that the amount of fuel excise they are paying on petrol is at least 22c a litre less than it was before. Again, this is a temporary and targeted measure. It's only going to be for six months, and it's designed to address the spike in energy prices and liquid fuel prices we have seen.

How have we been able to do this? We have been able to do this because the budget is in a strong position and the economy is in a strong position. As the budget papers show, our economy is almost alone amongst OECD countries in being 3.4 per cent larger than it was before the pandemic. Our unemployment figures are much lower than comparable countries, at four per cent—our lowest level in 48 years—and forecast to fall further. Our outlays are lower as a result, which means pressures on the budget have been alleviated and we're able to support these cost-of-living measures.

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk on this matter of public importance because people in my communities are, quite frankly, not coping. The cost of living is skyrocketing, and people are being left behind. I recently held an open office in Queanbeyan. I letterboxed the entire area and said, 'Come down and have a chat—no appointment necessary.' For some people it was the first time they had ever spoken to their parliamentary representative; some of them didn't know where else to turn.

It was a pretty eye-opening day. I spent most of the day meeting with people who had real-life concerns, the vast majority of which centred around rising house prices, rising rents, the lack of affordable housing options and the fact that income just had not kept pace with the cost of living. I spoke at length to a 70-year-old man who lives in Queanbeyan. His mother is in aged care in Yass. He used to visit her at least once a week, if not more. Now, due to the cost of petrol, he's had to reduce these visits to once a fortnight, and even that is a stretch. He was distraught. He was doing everything he could to keep his mother connected to family and to community. He wants to keep visiting her, but he can't afford it.

He was literally at the end of his rope. He told me he didn't want to continue living, and the only reason he was alive was for the sake of his mother. He often has to choose between paying his electricity bill or buying food. He worked his entire life as a carpenter, and now, while on the age pension, he has to make decisions about seeking health care or visiting his own mother in aged care. These are the real-life consequences of the rising cost of living.

Across Eden-Monaro we have some fantastic people who dedicate a huge amount of their time to supporting others. Many of the regions are fortunate to have community pantries set up to help feed families. I've met with generous and kind people who run community pantries, including the Salvation Army in Cooma, Vine Community FoodCare in Yass and Sapphire Community Pantry in Bega. They are telling me that more people are accessing their services than ever before and that people who work full time are now in need of emergency food hampers because their rent, power bills and petrol costs keep going up and their full-time wage no longer covers the essentials.

People are working hard every day in an effort to get ahead. They work hard to provide for their children, yet the truth is that they are falling further and further behind. When people are in trouble, when they need support, they turn to their government. They aren't looking for charity. They are asking for some acknowledgement that their situation is getting worse, and a government that cares should be willing to make meaningful changes. The government and this Prime Minister have shown this week that they have no plan to seriously address the cost-of-living pressures. Our own Prime Minister said that if you're struggling to pay your rent then you should just buy a house.

That is an insulting slap in the face to so many Australians who are out of the property market. In Eden, property prices rose by 30 per cent over the last year. Across the Snowy Monaro Regional Council area, properties have more than doubled in the last five years. The Prime Minister's comments are out-of-touch comments from a government that has no idea of the pressures on real Australian families, especially those in regional Australia.

This government delivered nothing to deal with the real cost of living. It was a sham. This government's budget, to deal with getting them through the next election, doesn't deal with regional aged care. It doesn't deal with skills shortages. It doesn't deal with the housing crisis. It doesn't deal with job security. And it doesn't deal with trying to increase wages or strengthen Medicare. It's a ploy for an election, not a plan for a better future for anyone. It's a cash splash that has no vision and offers no meaningful change for a fairer Australia and a better regional Australia.

The billions of dollars that are being sprayed around on the eve of an election won't go near to topping up the $3,600 that typical Australian families are already out of pocket because of the skyrocketing costs of living. They need a pay rise, not a bloody patch job. The defining features of this budget and this government are that pay will not keep up with prices and there will be almost nothing to show for $1 trillion in debt. Put simply, this government can't be trusted. They have failed us and they have failed regional Australia.

Jason Falinski (Mackellar, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I agree with those opposite that cost of living is the most important issue facing Australian families today. I agree with those opposite that, for young Australians, the most important issue that they are facing is home ownership, and whether they will be able to share in the Australian dream the same way that our parents and indeed many in this chamber were able to do. And I agree with those opposite that those who have worked hard all their lives and saved for their retirements deserve to understand that they have safety and security in retirement. But do you know the way that you preserve these things? Do you know the way that you solve these things? Do you know the way that you make it better for all Australians? You have policies that do that.

If there was a giant black hole in the centre of Australian politics at the moment, it would be the Labor Party's policy document. It is the greatest sucker of oxygen, light and basically anything worth nothing in the history of Australian politics. Those opposite have failed to provide a scintilla of policy designed to make anyone in Australia better off. All they can do is throw rocks. They can't actually build anything with those rocks. We had last year the farcical notion from those opposite of what their net zero plan would look like. As we found out within a few days, the modelling was wrong. People were complaining that they wouldn't be able to meet the targets in any case, and the whole thing fell apart like the house of cards that those opposite are.

Those opposite come in here and say, 'We have discovered an issue—cost of living—following your budget, which has billions of dollars and policies dedicated to helping hardworking Australians get through this period of inflationary pressure due to an invasion in Europe.' I am glad to hear those opposite have found one thing that they can't blame the Prime Minister for—that is, the invasion of Ukraine. They blame him for everything else. They blame him for floods, they blame him for bushfires and they blame him for the vibe.

For those opposite to say they are now suddenly concerned about housing affordability—they may have heard recently that the House Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue brought down a report called The Australian dream. No-one opposite could be bothered speaking to the tabling of that report. They issued a dissenting report disagreeing with the entire report, and all they offered was nothing. All those opposite have offered, all the shadow minister has offered, is a $10 billion social housing fund. I have no idea where that money is meant to come from, by the way. I suppose it'll come from the same hardworking families who are at the moment having to choose between whether they should visit their grandmother or whether they should stay at home because of the cost of fuel. I suppose they will be paying more tax for this $10 billion social public housing fund that they have suggested. But, of course, the thing that they won't talk to is the fact that public housing is not homeownership. Let's just be very clear, because the Labor Premier of Victoria has made it clear that it is the view of the Labor Party that young Australians don't wish to own their own home. He has put that on the record, and those opposite are yet to disagree with that proposition. Indeed, they tabled a dissenting report today disagreeing with 16 recommendations to make it easier for young Australians to own their own home.

Let's just be very clear what those opposite are actually arguing for in that report. They are arguing for more wealth inequality, because if you have high levels of homeownership you have lower levels of wealth inequality. Those on that side are in favour of wealth inequality. Let's also make it clear what they are doing. If you have high levels of homeownership, you have a lower incidence of mental health problems. They are arguing for a higher incidence of mental health problems. Then we get to childhood outcomes. If you have high levels of homeownership, as has traditionally been the case in this country, then you actually have better childhood outcomes. On that side of the House, they no longer believe in homeownership; therefore they also believe in lower childhood outcomes.

So let's just be very clear about those opposite. They come in here, having gone to their little focus groups, having identified a group of people who they tell, 'If you want to blame someone for how hard your life is and all the sorts of stuff that you want, blame the federal government.' But their policies would make those people's lives much, much worse. That is also assuming that they have any policies, and that is a giant assumption. (Time expired)

Llew O'Brien (Wide Bay, National Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The discussion has concluded.