Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House notes that the Government:

(1) has been delivering on its plan for a better future over the 2022-23 summer break;

(2) is being a responsible and honest government, accountable and upfront with the Australian people in the tough times we face;

(3) is cleaning up the mess left to us by the Governments of Prime Ministers, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison; and

(4) will continue to deliver targeted and responsible cost of living relief to Australians in 2023 as part of delivering on our plan for a better future.

While campaigning in 2021 and early 2022, one of the big things I heard about from Boothby residents was the impact of the cost of living. By the time of the election they were talking to me about: the cost of power; the cost of fuel; the cost of food; the cost of school fees, child care, aged care. Everything was going up except their incomes. They knew that Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine was going to continue to impact the international energy market and that our energy market, after 22 failed plans, left us exposed to those international price hikes. And with the first interest rate rise coming through on 3 May 2022, 18 days before the election, it underlined that everything was heading in the wrong direction under the previous government.

Of course, what we did not know at that stage was that the then Minister for Energy and Emission Reductions, the member for Hume, had hidden a power price rise that had been due for release by the Australian Energy Regulator on 1 May, 20 days prior to the election. We now know that that notification should have told the Australian people that energy prices were expected to rise by up to 30 per cent. We didn't know it because of what, we are led to believe, was an amazing coincidence. On 7 April, four days before the former prime minister, the member for Cook, went to the Governor-General and, for the election, the Morrison government amended regulations so that the offer was not revealed until 26 May, five days after the election.

When I talk to Boothby residents now, the cost of living is biting. I hear them, I see them and I care. The difference now is that we have a government that has a well-thought-through plan and is acting on it, and a government that is open, honest and transparent with the Australian people. Australians don't like it when bad news is hidden from them for personal electoral gain. They like to be talked to as adults, not children. When we see the Treasurer speaking on the nightly news or on Insiders over the weekend he does not shy away from the fact that things are tough. He does not shy away from the impact this has had on Australians across the country. He cares. But he also explains the importance of following the strategy to provide cost-of-living relief in a way that does not drive up inflation but instead builds productivity, builds our way out of where we are, and we know this is beginning to work.

The economy is a big ship to turn and it takes time. But when we see that the biggest quarterly contribution to inflation was the March 2022 quarter, almost a year ago under the former government, the ship is starting to turn. Our energy plan, which was passed on 15 December when parliament was recalled, is already beginning to make inroads on the energy price trajectory. The price increase hidden from the Australian public by the former government in May 2032 was 30 per cent. By December, prices were predicted to increase by 36 per cent. Less than a month later, that is now down to 23 per cent, and the key conclusion from the Reserve Bank forecast released last week was that our energy plant is starting to take the edge of the energy market. In less than a month, the plan is starting to work.

So Australians are in good hands with the Albanese government's rigorous and meticulous three-point plan to address this wicked problem. The three-point plan is relief, repair, restraint. Relief refers to cost-of-living relief that does not add to inflation; and cheaper child care, cheaper medicines, fee-free TAFE. Repair is dealing with issues in the supply chain, including workforce issues. Again, I refer to cheaper child care, paid parental leave, more university and TAFE places, and to enabling those on the age pension to earn more before their pension is affected. We also backed a rise in a minimum wage because we value these often frontline workers, not forgetting they were the ones who took the risk to keep the country operating during the pandemic—shops, aged care and the like. But 10 years of deliberate wage suppression is not okay for anyone, not to forget the lack of investment in renewable energy, the cheapest source of energy and one where we would not be exposed to international price hikes. It's about time. And finally, restraint: showing spending restraint, as we did in in banking last year; a short-term boost in revenue and in targeting spending to where it will drive productivity and not drive inflation higher.

The Albanese Labor government is working strategically to address the clean-up of the mess left to us by the previous Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments, and we will continue to deliver targeted responsible relief.

The DEPUTY SPEAK ER: I thank the member for Boothby. Is the motion seconded?

Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Boothby is new here. I give her credit for the fact that before coming to this place she was the chief executive officer of Saint Vincent de Paul South Australia and she won the seat as the first ALP member for 73 years. Well done on that. I listened very carefully and closely to her contribution. In her motion she does not mention the fact that Labor promised on many occasions—by the Prime Minister, in fact, 97 times—that power prices would be reduced by $275. Now, that has not occurred. She mentioned the cost of living. Yes, people are paying more for rent, more for groceries, more for fuel, more for energy, more for housing, more for everything. She talks about a three-point plan: relief, repair, restraint. I heard her closely say that she hears, she sees and she cares about the people of Boothby and others when they talk to her about cost of living.

But what is Labor doing to address the issues? Labor reminds me a little bit of the dog which chases the car, catches the car and then doesn't know what to do with it. We heard for many, many years Labor decrying all the things we on this side were doing when we were in fact getting on with the job, even through COVID-19, of reducing unemployment to its lowest level in decades. We heard the then shadow treasurer give us the challenge and say if there is one thing that the Liberal and Nationals could do, and they will be marked on this through COVID, is to make sure that unemployment goes to its lowest levels and to make sure that we keep the doors of businesses open, and we achieved that. We did not hear the member for Rankin give us any credit for that but we did it. Despite this worldwide virus, we made sure that the doors of business remained open. We made sure that the cost of living was on a reasonably even keel despite the pressures of COVID. I know, right throughout the world, airline companies were going bankrupt. Not only did our planes remain in the air, but one of the airlines, Rex, even expanded. We made sure that indeed 700,000 jobs were saved through JobKeeper. We made sure there were a record number of apprentices—a record number of women, in fact—in jobs. We made sure our trade and exports covered by free trade agreements, which were around 20-something per cent when we got into power, rose to 71.3 per cent of economic activity through our trade and exports. As I say, there are 815,600 female business operators—a record.

But what do we hear from those opposite? We hear them going on about a trillion dollars worth of debt. It's not a trillion dollars worth of debt. Every time a Labor member get their talking points and reads that line out, it's not a fact; they are misleading the House. Similarly, every time they get up at the dispatch box or elsewhere in this House they should be talking about what they're doing about their $275 pledge to reduce power prices; they said they would do it, but they haven't.

Here's the test. The test for Labor, like the dog which caught the car, is: what are you doing about the cost of living? What are you doing about the rent crisis? What are you doing about pushing housing prices down? We heard the member for Macquarie, earlier this morning, talking about green efficiencies in housing. Fantastic! That's at the upper end. But, in the main, people are paying more for housing. What are Labor doing about it? They say, 'We're going to build a million social houses.' Well, good luck with that! Good luck finding the labour and good luck finding the actual timber and metal frames it takes to build a house.

But what are Labor doing about the power situation? They're trying to kill off coal projects, kill off gas projects and kill off what has supplied most of our energy requirements and needs over so many years. In the process they're going to kill off jobs in that sector. And you know who'll cop it in the neck? It'll be regional Australia. Regional Australia expects the Labor government, having caught the car, to now do something about it. Like the dog which wanted to catch the car, you've caught it but what are you going to do to help regional Australia and what are you going to do to help businesses and families?

Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I walk the streets of my electorate, visiting community groups, sporting organisations, businesses and of course—one of my favourite things—burger shops, the most common feedback I get is: 'Gee, you guys are doing a great job!' As a first-time MP and someone very new to politics, that is something I didn't expect to hear from locals—and it is totally unprompted when it comes.

Let's be honest: why wouldn't they be happy? Just months into our term we have delivered a budget that has delivered over $400 million to the Hunter electorate and much more in the wider Hunter region with my colleagues the member for Paterson, the member for Shortland and the Deputy Speaker, the member for Newcastle. But it is not just about delivering once a year in a budget; it is what we're doing day to day that matters. Childcare cost is a huge issue for families, and our cheaper childcare policy will see 6,300 families in the Hunter electorate better off. We know this will help ease the financial stress for families not just in the Hunter but right across the country.

We have just seen changes to paid parental leave pass through this place. These will make it fairer and encourage parents to share the caring responsibilities. But we are not stopping there; we're also extending paid parental leave to 26 weeks, giving more time to families at that important time of life when they are welcoming a new baby.

We are staying focused on easing pressure on families and helping Australians manage their budgets. Cheaper medicines took effect on 1 January and people in the Hunter electorate who rely on prescriptions are seeing cheaper medicines, which is saving them up to $450 per year, helping with them with the cost of living. We have 180,000 free TAFE places now available, to tackle skills shortages and help more Australians train for good, secure jobs.

And the great news continues in 2023. We will establish a national anticorruption commission. We will see same jobs, same pay legislation introduced, which will ensure workers employed through dodgy labour hire agreements receive the same pay as workers employed directly. This will deliver wage increases for people employed in a number of sectors right across the Hunter electorate.

Last week we introduced a package of legislation to deliver the single-biggest investment in affordable and social housing in more than a decade. It will include the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023, which will deliver on our government's promise to create the $10 billion fund.

We will establish the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund that will provide finance for projects that diversify and transform Australia's industry and economy. We have launched our National Battery Strategy, seeking feedback on how we can boost Australia's battery industries. We will soon introduce legislation around the safeguard mechanisms, which is a critical building block for Australia's progression towards net zero.

We are reviewing the broken Medicare system, with the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce. Gap fees have skyrocketed over the last decade. For the first time in the history of Medicare the average gap fee for a standard GP consult is now more than the Medicare rebate itself. We all know what caused that, and those opposite should hang their heads in shame. This means that too many Australians in the community simply can't get the care they need when they need it. We will fix that.

We can't fix overnight all the problems left by the previous government, but we aren't wasting a single day. People are realistic and recognise that there is more to do. We were elected for a three-year term, and you can't get everything done on day one. There is a lot more to do as we clean up the mess left to us by the governments of Prime Ministers Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison. We will continue to deliver targeted, responsible cost-of-living relief to Australians in 2023 as part of delivering our plan for a better future.

James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We're reliably informed through the media that the National Secretary of the Labor Party gave the caucus a very important overview of his assessment of the public mood, the polling that they no doubt spend a lot of money on, talking about Australians and their concerns about cost of living, and wanting to make sure that the government is seen to be understanding those challenges, listening to people and focusing on them. I suppose this motion was on the Notice Paper before caucus was given that advice, but it's remarkable that, if that report is true, members of the government, like the member for Hunter, come in here and open with the immortal line, 'People stop me in the streets telling me what a good job I'm doing,' particularly when the evidence from their own national secretary is far from that being the reality.

People out there are really hurting right now. The government's view is that everything is awesome—like The LEGO Movieeverything is going so well: 'Just steady as she goes. Keep up the good work.' That is a frightening attitude from the government when their own national secretary, their top political operator, said that people are hurting and we need to make sure we're showing that we are prioritising the challenges they've got in their lives right now. Those challenges are deep and immense. In particular they relate to the household budget.

Of course, under this government, real wages are going down at the greatest rate in my lifetime. Inflation is at 7.8 per cent and wages growth is at 3.1 per cent, so under Labor there is a dramatic reduction in the earnings of the average Australian. We don't have the latest wage figures for the December quarter—they'll be out soon—but whatever the difference is between the wages growth figure and the inflation rate of 7.8 per cent is the amount at which people are going forwards or backwards. I doubt that wages grew at more than 7.8 per cent in the December quarter, and that means that, under this government, working Australians are going backwards. It seems that the Treasurer and the Prime Minister have effectively conceded that that will be the case for some time into the future.

While wages are going down, of course prices are going up—inflation is at 7.8 per cent—and interest rates are going up. They have gone up eight times under this government. A lot of people this year—800,000—are coming off fixed three-year mortgages and are refinancing. They are going to see their mortgage repayments more than double. And that's only so far. The Reserve Bank indicated, coming out of their decision last Tuesday, that there are multiple interest rate rises to come. The governor foreshadowed multiple increases. If things are already tough on the mortgage front, regrettably, for Australian families they are only going to get tougher as interest rates continue to rise.

We're also seeing property values fall—in nominal terms, let alone in real terms. Property values are going down, but, when inflation is going up at 7.8 per cent, it means that, even if property prices stay the same, in real terms prices are decreasing. Unfortunately, in nominal terms they're going down. When you add inflation to that, there are some markets in this country where property prices have fallen by 20 per cent. So the value of your property is going down, the cost to service your mortgage is going up and your wages are decreasing. That is the reality under this government.

At the same time, despite their big promise on power prices—to reduce bills by $275 a year—instead they are going up dramatically: electricity by more than 50 per cent and gas by more than 40 per cent. We've seen in Victoria today a major story about the huge burden in that state regarding gas prices. Regrettably that is going to be a story we consistently see going forward. The government's own plan involves those prices going up, despite their promise to reduce electricity prices by $275 a year. That's the reality under this government.

The cost of living is continuing to dramatically squeeze every Australian family. At the same time as those hardships are being endured, members of the government are bragging about their record in this chamber. They are talking with pride about the way in which they are managing an economy that is seeing real wages go down, cost of living go up, housing prices fall and the pressure of mortgage payments dramatically increase month after month. Well, I have to say to the government: if that's what you're proud of, don't get too comfortable on that side of the chamber, because your time there is going to come to an end very, very soon.

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I won't be taking advice from those opposite about what it means to listen to the community, after a wasted decade where we have failed to act on climate, where those opposite presided over an economy that had stagnating wages at the heart of their approach to the economy, where we saw secure jobs go backwards, where we saw a failure to invest in skills, a failure to invest in sovereign capability. Despite what those opposite might desire to do in their revisionist approach to history, I'm not buying it, and I don't think people in my community are buying it.

We heard so much destructive, divisive rhetoric from those opposite over the last 10 years. It is very serious, the damage that that has done to communities. So I am really pleased to be part of a government that is doing what we can to repair the damage that has been done but is doing more than that and actually delivering the positive change that Australians voted for on 21 May. I do not take for granted for one moment the opportunity that I have here to be part of a government, to represent my community of Chisholm. It is a great honour and a great privilege to be here.

We know there is a lot of work to do. We're staying focused on easing pressure on families and helping Australians to manage their budgets. Over the previous decade, we saw out-of-pocket costs to go to the GP soar in my electorate of Chisholm. They rose by a whopping 38 per cent. And we saw early childhood education and care costs rise by over 40 per cent. We're doing something about these critical areas. We're looking at the Medicare system and what we need to do to make the system work for everyone, and we're making early childhood education cheaper.

We've also made medicines cheaper. Cheaper medicines took effect on 1 January, easing some of the pressure that a lot of Australians are facing at the moment when they rely on prescriptions. Unfortunately we saw that patients were making a choice between the health care they need and providing for their families. The co-payment for general patients has doubled since 2000, and more than 900,000 Australians delayed filling a prescription or didn't get a prescription filled in 2019-20 due to the cost. All Australians should have access to universal, prompt and world-class medical care, and no-one deserves to choose between filling prescriptions for potentially life-saving medicines and providing for their families. Under the National Health Amendment (General Co-Payment) Bill 2022, which we passed, a reduction to the PBS co-payment was introduced which means that people will be paying $12.50 less per medicine. This means that people who get one script filled will save around $150 year, while those filling two scripts a month could save around $300 a year. This is going to make a difference to a lot of people.

Our cheaper childcare reforms mean that 1.2 million families across Australia will benefit from 1 July. I know that 7,200 families in my electorate are going to benefit. We have in my electorate one of the largest numbers of families in Victoria who access child care, so this is incredibly significant to my local community, and I've had many conversations with people about this. It means that costs will be brought down for families and that households will be able to have conversations about improving workforce participation for women, which is really important if we are serious about gender equality. This side of the House is serious about addressing the problems we've had with gender inequality and legislation, which, unfortunately, have seen us go backwards in the global rankings on a number of key measures, and that is simply a disgrace.

We know that electricity costs are going up for a range of reasons, including external factors such as the war in Ukraine. So we're doing what we can to take the sting out of projected price rises, and we're starting to see the effect of that. Ours is a government that doesn't waste a second in taking action that is required for positive change in this country. We know that this will help ease financial stress for families across Australia.

I remember very distinctly during the election campaign standing in Box Hill with the now Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and his being asked about wage rises. He backed in workers in this country and said, 'Absolutely.' 'Absolutely' is the answer to the question of whether we are going to get on and do the job needed to make this country better.

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So many words, so little wisdom—the motion moved by the member for Boothby could not be further from reality. I like the member for Boothby. She comes with a great track record, and I echo the comments of the member for Riverina, who spoke earlier. There's a general rule for new members if you're going to move a motion. If the motion is so important that you've moved it in the House of Representatives, may I recommend you stay and listen to the contributions, because by leaving, you send the message that it doesn't matter. The challenge is that the motion is a fig leaf.

If the government was serious about delivering on the cost of living, we'd have had more from the Treasurer over the summer break than a 6,000-word ideological essay that was widely condemned and rose and then fell just as quickly. This government has failed to take responsibility for cost-of-living pressures that are rising on their watch at speeds not seen in decades. A ninth consecutive interest rate rise from the Reserve Bank shows the government is, frankly, not doing enough to put downward pressure on inflation—$50 billion of off-budget expenditure at the same time that the Reserve Bank is raising rates to stop expenditure makes this point loud and clear. You'll always pay more under Labor. It's always been the way.

Day after day, the Prime Minister wants to talk about everything except the cost of living, which is the No. 1 issue facing all Australians. Families, including those on double incomes, are struggling to make ends meet and having to make really tough calls just to keep their homes. They're taking second jobs. They're working overtime. They're giving up their holidays. Before the government goes on about the extra expenditure on child care, only 48 per cent of families put their children into child care. If we're going to take pressure of the cost of living for families, the government needs to do a lot more.

The government has broken its promises multiple times—promises to take action on electricity prices. It said over 90 times that they would reduce by $275. The government said nothing before the election about increasing industrial relations and placating those in the union movement, yet that was the first issue that the government resolved on coming to power. Hardworking Australians are paying more and more on their mortgages because of the government's lack of priorities. As it stands, Australians with a mortgage of $750,000 will be paying an extra $16,000 a year in repayments. Without an economic plan, without the federal government doing its share of fiscal lifting, the Reserve Bank is having to do all the heavy lifting. Without an economic plan from this government, hardworking Australian families are struggling, and businesses will have to pay a higher price.

Before the election, the Treasurer said we were facing a full-blown cost-of-living crisis. Well, that has now become a full-blown catastrophe under this government, with eight straight interest rate rises leaving families paying much more. Interest rates are now the highest they have been since Labor was last in office. Inflation is at its highest levels in 30 years. An updated Reserve Bank forecast tells us inflation will be higher and for longer. Families will have to make very tough decisions now, and all the Treasurer can offer is a 6,000-word, fluffy essay about redefining capitalism. Bless him!

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Where were you, muppet!

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And the Prime Minister is missing in action on living costs, and his backbench, replete with false, silly and meaningless slogans thrown from the back—as if they matter to families, Member for Solomon, who are facing higher living costs.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why'd you leave them for 10 years, then?

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm sure they'll be forever grateful that you can yell from the backbench while they actually pay the cost of your ineptitude and inaction. The government has the priorities wrong. Australians deserve a government that's got their backs, and that is not what they are seeing from this government.

The Reserve Bank says a further 800,000 Australian households will now move from fixed-rate mortgages circa 1.98 per cent on to flexible or variable rates approaching seven per cent. That is an extraordinary impost on what working Australians are facing. This government needs an economic plan. It needs to work in concert with the Reserve Bank. I admire the member for Boothby's motion; the problem is it doesn't hold true.

Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.