David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Raise Our Voice Australia campaign allows our young people to express their vision for our nation's parliament. Today I'm thrilled to speak on behalf of 12-year-old Grace McMahon, from my electorate of Maranoa. Grace poses a serious question: how many people in Australia are struggling with the cost of living? Showing wisdom beyond her years, Grace knows the answer is: a lot. She writes:

We all know that cost of living is getting expensive, but did you know that according to NAB's Consumer Insights Survey, this year, 43 per cent of Australians experienced some form of financial hardship.

One in five of those surveyed also reported not having enough money for food and basic necessities or being unable to pay a bill.

How many Members of Parliament, have ever had to choose between paying a bill and feeding your family?

Interest rates have risen by four percentage points since May last year because of inflation.

As a result, a potential 1.6 million people are at risk of losing their home, my family included.

My solution is a simple one - make the banks keep interest rates at a fixed rate permanently.

This will mean that when people borrow money, they know exactly what they will need to repay - no unexpected changes.

Australians will be able to manage their money better, resulting in lower stress rates.

I might not understand inflation, but I know that costs will keep rising, and this might just be one way to help our people.

We need to think about Australia's future if we want to make Australia a better place.