Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Things aren't easy right now for many Australians, including families and businesses in my electorate of Hume. The cost of living and the cost of doing business are skyrocketing. It's getting harder and harder for Australians to make ends meet, and the government still has no plan to deal with rising inflation or cost-of-living pressures. Labor's budget did nothing to address the increasing financial pressures Australians are facing right across the board. More than three million Australian families have a mortgage, and they've been hit with seven consecutive interest rate hikes by the Reserve Bank as it tries to put a lid on rising inflation. A person with a typical mortgage of $750,000 right now is paying over $1,200 per month more than they were when rates started rising back in May.

Australians are hurting, and in the October budget Labor failed to outline a plan to take the pressure off the Reserve Bank. As Stephen Koukoulas, former economist of Julia Gillard, has said, the budget puts no downward pressure on inflation, leaving the Reserve Bank with all the work and carrying the can in getting the inflation rate lower. Australians have been told their power bills will go up by more than 50 per cent, their mortgage payments will continue to rise, the cost of groceries will remain high and inflation will continue to surge, and yet the government still has no plan. Australians can't wait another seven months for Labor's second budget to come up with a plan to deal with cost-of-living pressures, which have become very real and painful for so many—what a missed opportunity to help Australians at a time when they really need it.

The reality is: it's harder and harder to make ends meet under a Labor government which is clearly incapable of managing the economy. Almost every day of the election campaign, the now Prime Minister promised he would show up and take responsibility. It's time for the Prime Minister to stop making excuses and deliver a plan that will help Australians through these difficult times.

As I said, people in my electorate of Hume are hurting. Small businesses, pensioners, farmers, homeowners—absolutely no-one is left untouched. By Christmas—now only a month away and a time when Australians are wanting to spend money on gifts for loved ones, get together with family and go on holidays—the crisis will really start to sink in.

Kyle, from Thirlmere, in the north of my electorate, said Labor's budget and increasing financial pressures have forced him and his wife to watch what they spend, and his wife has had to return to full-time work to continue to make ends meet. Lesley, from The Oaks, told me she is at the point where she can barely afford to put food on the table or pay her bills. Brian, from Mount Hunter, said he's not surprised that the Labor Party has already breached faith with the Australian people. His power bills are not cheaper; quite the opposite, in fact—they're only going up. Margaret, from Douglas Park, summed it up perfectly when she said that it's 'just another broken promise from the Labor Party'.

These are everyday Australians in my electorate who are feeling the pain of this government's inaction and lack of a plan—families just trying to have a crack and get ahead. We left the economy, in the wake of a global pandemic, in a stronger position than almost any other major advanced economy or country around the world. Just two years ago, we were staring down the prospect of business closures—a million businesses could have closed—tens of thousands of deaths and an unemployment rate of 15 per cent. This government has no plan to keep our economy strong or to help families doing it tough. There's not even a hint of that.

It's true that, when you're in government, you don't choose the cards that you get, but you do choose how you play those cards. That lack of a plan is what we see is really the issue that this government needs to confront head-on. On energy alone, they have flown about five different kites over the past few weeks, and none of those kites are even close to landing. Let's see what happens from here. But what we do know is that the pain will continue, and it will intensify, not just for households but also for businesses, as we see the wholesale price, in particular, sharply higher.

As we head towards the festive season, Australians can expect further pressure on their wallets with soaring bills—as I said, a huge spike in their grocery bills—and financial stress and anxiety. Labor is demonstrating once again that it cannot be trusted to manage the economy.