Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia national debt is, at $1.2 trillion, on the brink of being the highest in our nation's history—all of this at the hands of the current Treasurer. What does that represent in real terms? It could be $50,000 every minute or $72 million in a single day or $26 billion in interest every year down the gurgler.

This Labor government has poor economic management dressed up in slick spin. They are completely delusional in not acknowledging that Australians out there are doing it tough. The average mortgage has gone up by around $1,800 a month since Labor took office, and last week we saw some ABS data that had CPI headline numbers up by 1.3 per cent. They pulled out electricity for special mention. It has gone up by 23.6 per cent in just one year.

Now, tomorrow is Melbourne Cup Day and, quite frankly, under better economic managers, everyone should've had a win. Instead, interest rates will almost certainly remain at 3.25 per cent for the long haul. People are working harder but they're just not getting ahead.