Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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

This Government's reckless agenda driving up the cost of living for Australian families.

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—

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

In the last 24 hours, we've seen a treasurer that has refused to accept any culpability for not just yesterday's rate rise but also the 12 that have preceded that over the long four years that he has been the Treasurer of this country. That has added an extra $23,000 to the mortgage bills of Australian families and Australians right across this country. Their standard of living is being torn apart by a treasurer that has forgotten the fundamentals. While writing a 6,000-word essay, he has forgotten about what actually drives inflation—about his responsibility in spending and the influence of that on inflation.

In the last six months, those on that side have spent $50 billion out of government coffers. That is fuelling this inflation, putting pressure on Australian families and driving down their standard of living. In fact, our real wages in this country have reduced to 2011 levels. It will take 19 years for Australian families and Australians to get their real wages back to where they were previous to that. That shows the anaemic growth that this treasurer has presided over, thinking that big government can do it all and that the government knows best with Australian taxpayers' money.

But all they have done is forgotten the fundamentals. And this has driven inflation, whether it be in education by over 17 per cent, electricity by 40 per cent, insurance by 39 per cent, food by 16 per cent or rent by 22 per cent—22 per cent not just for rent but also for the lift in housing costs that has also been exacerbated not by spending but by a migration policy that has increased demand while supply has been flat. This government has brought over a million new people into this country without even having an understanding of the priorities of who they are bringing into this country. We are giving the greatest gift we can give to any person on this planet: a ticket to Australia. So why wouldn't we prioritise the people that have the skills that we need to build homes, to ensure that we address the supply of housing and say to young people that they can hope to own a home one day and may actually be able to afford rent. That is what real governments would do. That's what a treasurer would do: understand that it's not just about spending money; it's about pulling the levers. It's about pulling the right levers that will ensure that we give hope to young Australians and to every Australian that we can all enjoy the opportunity of homeownership or simply of having a roof over our head.

That is a government that has lost sight. Instead, over the last three years, they've prioritised dog groomers and martial arts instructors over the tilers, roofers and plumbers that might be able to build the supply that we need. That's just common sense. That's what has been lost by this government: understanding what the fundamentals are that drive our nation's economy and what they can do without having to spend your money. That is what real leadership should be, and that's where the Treasurer has missed this opportunity. For him, after four years, to try and walk away from his track record of 13 interest rate rises that have cost Australians an extra $23,000, taking it out of their pockets and putting it into the banks' pockets, shows that this treasurer is out of touch with what real Australians are feeling.

There will be Australians tonight that can't afford to put dinner on the table. And the reality is this: energy is the economy. If we are going to fix the fundamentals of what is driving inflation, what we can do as legislators is ensure that we are pulling the proper levers to bring down those energy costs and ensure that, right through the economy, whether you're buying food or building a home, you can drive down those costs, put downward pressure on inflation and therefore take the pressure off the Reserve Bank. That is what this treasurer has missed and what this government has missed because of an ideology—an ideology that you are all paying for.

The reality is that we were told of this green dream of an all-renewables approach. Let me tell you that it was meant to be cheaper and it was meant to be greener. The reality is, since the energy minister and the government have taken over, all we have seen is a continual increase in energy prices flowing right through to your grocery bill, right through to the construction of homes. So if you're not prepared to tackle the fundamentals then unfortunately you're going to continue to drive up inflation and you are not going to fix the problems of this country.

We could have a targeted migration approach. We could pull a lever and reduce the mass migration that we are seeing. We could also have a policy on energy that will actually drive down prices. Let me tell you, there are three quick ways we can do that in the here and now. In fact, the Prime Minister today could sign to scrap the safeguards mechanism penalty that is imposed on energy generators. This government is taxing energy generators every year to reach unsustainable emissions reductions targets of nearly five per cent every year. The safeguards mechanism was about using technology to reduce emissions. If the technology doesn't exist, lo and behold, what you have to do is buy offsets. Offsets are a cost and that cost goes onto your energy bill. The good generators and distributors are not going to wear that; they're going to pass that on to the Australian consumer.

So I challenge the government today, if they are serious about reducing energy bills—we've forgotten about the $275 that was promised to come last year that is never going to happen—then they need to be honest, look the Australian people in the eye and get rid of the safeguards mechanism today. That will drive prices down immediately.

We also need to ensure that the capacity investment scheme that is skewed to bringing new generation of renewable energy—not whatever energy that can be brought onto this grid—should be expanded to every source. We should have a technology agnostic approach to ensure we get supply into the grid. That's just simple economics. I learnt in grade 8 at Chinchilla State High that it's all about demand and supply. The reality is if you increase supply then the prices will come down and that is the opportunity for expanding the capacity investment scheme right across to any technology model of energy. It would also say to the Australian Energy Market Operator that you will change your mandate from sourcing energy predicated on a renewable energy target or on a reductions emissions target to one that sources the most affordable and cheap energies. They are three quick ways that this government, with a stroke of a pen, could fix today. That's the reality of what this government has missed because of an ideology of effectively getting an energy grid that will be over 90 per cent renewables.

We're not against renewables; we're just saying you have to get the balance right. If you want to look at a world example, look at Portugal and Spain. They had a red-hot crack. They got to 77 per cent renewables and they lost their grid because they didn't have this thing called baseload power. You need baseload power to ensure that when there's a wind drought or a sun drought that the grid can continue effectively and will not have to be restarted. That's why they lost their grid for a period of time. That is where we are opening ourselves up to sovereign risk. They are connected to continental Europe but we'll have nothing. We will have zero redundancy built into our grid. We're not saying we should walk away from emissions but we're saying we'll do what the rest of the world is doing.

We are currently around 1.1 per cent of global emissions. That's actually including India and China. If we were to take them out, we'd be under one per cent. We've said, 'Well, let's keep pace with what the rest of the world's doing.' While the rest of the world, the OECD, are only reducing their emissions by 1.7 per cent every year, the Albanese government is asking the Australian people to reduce their emissions by 4.7 per cent per year. They are streaking ahead and that means the cost of it gets put into your energy bill through the safeguards mechanism, because that is a tax on energy generators that they have to pass on to you.

There are simple solutions. I challenge this government today: if you were in touch with the everyday Australian out there, you would understand the hurt families feel when they are paying an extra $23,000 just on their mortgage, and that is before you start talking about their education costs, about their insurance, about their food. There are Australian families that will not be able to put food on the table tonight. In a country as rich as this, that is an embarrassment. It is an embarrassment on this place that we have not had the courage to look ourselves in the eye and look the problem square in the face and say, 'There are solutions right here in the here and now and in the long term. We are energy rich. If we open our minds up to the opportunities and solutions across every spectrum then that will make sure that young Australians can have hope one day to own a home.' Young Australians might then feel as though they can actually have a lifestyle that we've taken for granted for so many years. That's the commonsense that I challenge this government on—to walk away from the ideology that might give them the kudos on an international stage but leads them to forget the average, everyday Australian that feels this every day and that has the shame of not being able to take their kids on a holiday, to send them to the school they want or even to put dinner on a table. Australians are better than that, and they deserve a better government than that.

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a real pleasure to be able to stand here today and talk about the cost-of-living measures that we, on this side of the House, are voting for. It's almost ironic to hear the Leader of the National Party say that if we were in touch with the Australian people we would do better. Perhaps, if they were in touch with the Australian people, they'd stop talking about themselves and actually focus on what people sent you here to do. They sent you here, and they didn't ask you to hold up a pamphlet. They didn't ask you to talk about backroom deals on media outlets. They asked you to come here and talk about what matters to them, and what matters to them is how governments respond when people are in crisis. That's exactly what we've done.

We voted to cap gas prices. We voted to cap electricity prices. Those opposite voted against that, against real cost-of-living measures. We voted on energy bill relief. They voted against that. We voted to reduce PBS medicine prices. They voted against that. When we talk about people being driven by ideology, perhaps it's time those on the opposition benches actually had a think about that, because what you are doing is continually voting on ideology rather than talking about what matters to the Australian people. What matters to the Australian people is that this place comes together at times and puts politics aside and says: 'What matters right now is how we get energy prices down. What matters right now is how we get PBS medicines cheaper. What matters right now is how we get more bulk-billing doctors. What matters right now is good education for our kids.'

Those things matter, and, on this side of the House, those things matter so much that we vote on them and we put money towards them. We don't talk about doctor shortages in our regions because we do things about it. Do you know how we do that? We waive HECS fees for doctors and nurse practitioners when they come out to rural and remote Australia for five years. We've waived HECS fees to make sure that young people can actually get into the housing market. We've created five per cent deposits for first home buyers, and that's working in our regions. More 17,000 across our regions have got into their first home because of the policies of this government. We're not talking about backroom deals. We're not talking about media opportunities. We're getting on with the real world and real life for many Australians.

Today the member for Maranoa was in the media again talking about how his party might or might not get back together with the Liberal Party. I'm a bit over it, to be honest. I don't care. We're getting on with the issue of delivering for Australians across the country. I was in the media this morning talking with the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the member for Leichardt and the member for Braddon about how we can help regional and remote councils with support after the Rex administration. We're getting on with the job. We announced $5 million to help those regional and rural councils impacted by the Rex administration because we focused on what's in front of us. I'm proud to be a part of a government that is not only focusing on important issues like regional aviation but also talking about investing billions in remote, rural and regional Australia and investing in talking about the things that matter to the people who live there instead of talking about ourselves and little else.

We know people are under pressure, and we know there is more that needs to be done. It'd be great if that was the focus of every member of this parliament at this point in time, but we know it's not. We're supporting real wages to grow. We're delivering tax cuts for every taxpayer, including another tax cut in July. We're delivering cheaper medicine, as I said. On 1 January this year we saw the largest ever cut to the cost of medicines in the history of the PBS. We're taking the price of medicines back to $25. The last time it was that price was in 2004, when the coalition was actually a party that came together and agreed on things.

We're investing more in bulk-billing doctors. We want to see more people go to a doctor and be bulk billed. We've invested in Medicare urgent care clinics, which is a massive game changer across our communities. They are free, timely and high-quality care that thousands of Australians are getting. Over 120 urgent care clinics have opened, with 39 of those in regional, rural and remote areas. Last weekend, the latest Medicare urgent care clinic to open was in the heart of Bega, in Eden-Monaro. It's at 61 Carp Street, Bega. It's open now, with extended hours, seven days a week. There is no need for an appointment. You can walk in and get the service. I've already had a number of people contact my office who used the service over the weekend for the first time. Strengthening Medicare and making health care more accessible and affordable should be the job of all of us, but we know it's only the government that ever invests in Medicare here.

Whether it's home batteries, cheaper child care or home-care packages, we have to make sure we invest in them. Those opposite might call those things reckless spending, but they make a difference to every Australian's life—whether you live in metropolitan Australia or you're part of the one-third of Aussies who live outside metropolitan Australia.

We know how important it is to make sure that we're getting more tradies into our system. I know firsthand—my husband's a tradie and my dad was a tradie. We're delivering $10,000 payments to housing apprentices to make sure that we are incentivising people to take up those roles. We know it's required. When we came to government in 2022, the largest skills gap ever inherited by any government on record was ours because those opposite didn't invest in TAFE or universities.

Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They ran it into the ground.

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They ran it into the ground. It is really a terrible outcome. We are talking about a skills shortage that didn't need to be there. We've seen successive coalition governments at state, territory and federal levels rip money out of TAFE, in particular. Not only do we know that there's a skill shortage; we know that we have to incentivise people to get back into those skills shortage areas, which is why we've got prac payments now rolling out to nurses, teachers, social workers and midwifery students—people who make a real difference in every community across the country.

It is so important to focus on what's in front of us instead of focusing on what's behind you—for those opposite. We are committed to making sure we make a difference to every person across the country, and I'm particularly committed to focusing on how we deliver for regional Australians, because right now, on this side of the House, there are 24 members of the Labor Party who represent rural and regional Australia. That is a number larger than the National Party, larger than the crossbench and larger than the Liberal Party. So when we talk about delivering for regional Australia, can we please not go through this old trope that somehow you—those opposite—are the party of regional Australia, because it is not true. Regional Australia is not a monoculture. Regional Australia is diverse. It is interesting, and they vote Labor too.

It is incredibly important now that we come together and we look at how we deliver for communities. I've been listening to communities across the country. Over the last couple of months, I've been in the Tiwi Islands, Swansea in Tassie, Cloncurry, Bendigo, Ruffy and Colac, particularly over the high-risk weather season, listening to people and their firsthand experiences in the wake of bushfires, cyclones and floods. It's incredibly important we deliver for those communities both now and into the future.

We've delivered almost $330 million to Victorians impacted by devastating bushfires. We've committed more than $66 million for Queenslanders to help them recover from floods in the north and north-west, and we know that it is important to continue to deliver for communities that have been impacted. That spending isn't reckless, and I would really—

That interjection is so inappropriate because cat D funding has been delivered for your community. It has, and it is so disappointing to hear politicisation over something when it doesn't need to be there.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lyne, enough of your interjections or you'll be leaving the chamber.

Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

People who have been impacted by disaster are going through a really tough time, and every level of government needs to step up when that happens and deliver as quickly as possible. Category C and D funding has been delivered on the Mid North Coast. Category C and D funding has been delivered in north-west Queensland. Category C and D funding has been delivered in Victoria. And we'll continue to deliver for every member of our communities.

When we talk about policies, we don't have to put 'regional' in front of them to know that they're going to help regional Australia. Whether it's bulk-billing, whether it's infrastructure investment or whether it's disaster recovery, our government will continue to deliver for all of the country. (Time expired)

Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before the member for Eden-Monaro leaves the chamber, I refer to her last contribution. In the past, with disasters in my area and in previous times, we have worked very closely together. Where credit is due, I will certainly give the member that credit. However, your last speech was rank with hypocrisy in saying we were looking at ourselves—looking backwards, not looking forward.

What was the last question in question time about? Was it about the interest rate rise that will cause the majority of households to pay another $1,300 a year? No, it wasn't about that. Was it about the housing crisis? No, it wasn't about that. Was it about the fact that electricity prices have gone up 38 per cent? No. Was it about gas going up 42 per cent? No? What was the question about? Was it about the economy? Was it about how people are suffering? No. It was about why standing orders were suspended. All they wanted to do was talk about what's happening in this bubble. They didn't want to talk about what's happening to people on the ground. The point of that is that it was completely political. The last question in question time—the show people want to watch to hear answers to questions from those across this side—was deliberate and political and had nothing to do with people because you don't care. The government doesn't care. It was complete spin. It was a very deliberate question, to take the shine and the spotlight away from a failing Treasurer and a failing government and a failing economy.

What we see is that that will continue. We see the unlucky No. 13. This is the 13th rate rise since this government came into power—$1,300 a year. These are normal people who are being affected. In my electorate, we don't have the highest mortgages. But with this interest rate rise—and I've already spoken to people in my electorate—people are now deciding whether they pay for food or whether they pay for pharmaceuticals. These are business owners. These are farmers, pensioners, students and people going to university who are deciding whether to buy food or going-back-to-school supplies.

It's no wonder that we have the highest insolvency rate of businesses in 35 years—35 years! But it's 'business as usual, and we'll ask a political question for the last question of question time.' We are going to see over the next decade a sea of red, of deficits, because of the policies and ideology of this government. They will continue along with net zero, and damn the cost for ideology. That is why you have seen the increases in the price of electricity. That is why you've seen the increases in the supermarket—because of input costs. That is why you have seen the biggest insolvencies in 35 years. And that is a shame. That is a shame for Australia, but it is shame on this government.

You talk about the policies, but you don't go out and consult. You make the decisions in your backrooms and then you turn around and point at us when we say we can't agree with that, because it's not our ideology and, from what our people are telling us, it doesn't work. You say you represent rural people. Well, I certainly don't see you representing them in here.

The government needs to take stock, the Treasurer needs to take responsibility and this Prime Minister needs to own up to it.

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

Here we go again—another day, another MPI from the Nationals, claiming the sky is falling in, families are failing and somehow it's all Labor's fault. It is the same script and the same scare lines from the same people who had nine long years to fix things and chose not to. The truth is that this MPI is not about helping regional Australia. It's about distracting from the Nationals' own record of neglect, of turning up to the regions at election time, taking photos in hi-vis and then disappearing when the hard work needed to be done.

When the Nationals were in government, regional Australia did not get relief; it got ripped off. They left us with inflation at 6.1 per cent and rising. They left bigger deficits, no savings and debt heading completely in the wrong direction. They went to the last election with a plan for even more debt and higher taxes to pay for a nuclear fantasy that would drive up power prices and kill jobs in our regions. That is the reality they don't want to talk about.

Now, are people doing it tough? Yes. There is no doubt about that at all, and the Labor government has never pretended otherwise. The difference is that this government is actually doing something about it. We are not pointing fingers, not talking Australia or Australians down but getting on with the job of governing in difficult global conditions. We are delivering cost-of-living relief that is responsible, targeted and fair and tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer—three rounds of them. The first are already flowing, with even more to come. From July next year, lower income and middle income earners will pay less tax and, from the year after, even less again. That is real money back into people's pockets week after week. There are cheaper medicines, with PBS scripts capped at $25, the lowest price in two decades, and frozen for pensioners and concession card holders at $7.70. That makes a real difference in regions, where chronic illness is higher and access to healthcare has become much harder. A stronger Medicare with more bulk-billing, more urgent care clinics and more doctors and nurses where people actually live—these are not promises but actual delivery.

Cheaper child care, energy bill relief, a $40 increase to JobSeeker, higher rent assistance and a 20 per cent cut to student debt—these are policies those opposite all voted against, by the way. And, while we're doing all of that, we also have done what the Nationals never managed to do, which is actually fix the budget. There have been two surpluses, a smaller deficit and debt going down, not up, and we are over $233 billion better off than what we inherited, with more than $114 billion in savings found. That's not reckless. That's actually responsible. The IMF says our fiscal strategy is effective. The OECD says we have tightened policy, but apparently the Nationals know better than the world's leading economic institutions.

What really sticks in the throat is the hypocrisy. The Nationals like to pretend they are the guardians of the regions, but where were they when regional manufacturers were hollowed out? Where were they when power prices went through the roof? Where were they when wages flatlined, apprenticeships were cut and regional health services were stretched to breaking point? They were silent or, worse, they were just complacent.

This government is backing regions with real investment, like investment in roads, like the Singleton and Muswellbrook bypass; energy; skills; health care; and local jobs. We're backing fee-free TAFE so young people don't have to leave town to get the training they need. We're backing apprentices, local industry, the energy sector, mining and critical minerals. All these create jobs in places like the Hunter instead of shutting the gates and walking away. We're doing in partnership with communities, unions, local councils and industries, because lasting change only works when the regions are actually part of the plan.

The Nationals don't have a plan for regional Australia's future. They have nostalgia and fear—fear of change, fear of progress, fear that, if the regions succeed under Labor, people might remember who actually delivered for regional Australia. Australians can see what this MPI is all about: the same old boring attack from a party that talks big about the bush but failed when it mattered most.

Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This MPI is about the government's reckless agenda, which is driving up the cost of living for Australian families. It's not actually a question. It is a statement that the policies that this government has brought in since 2022 are hurting Australian families. When families are paying, on a $500,000 mortgage, $23,000 more since Labor have come into office, that hurts. That hurts families. We have more families who cannot even think about purchasing a home because the housing market can't give them a home at a price they can afford. The policies that this government has implemented are hurting Australian families.

When they go to the supermarket—I'm not going to say the names. When they go to any supermarket, the prices that they're paying for eggs and for bread and for milk and for all the ordinary daily needs of a family are through the roof. Sixteen per cent is the current figure. Then you add in the electricity costs. Electricity is something that people need. In our society, people need electricity. Costs are up 40 per cent—40 per cent! How is that reasonable?

For the government—from the Minister for Climate Change and Energy to the Treasurer and the Prime Minister—to go on with the hubris and the arrogance that we've listened to today, it shows that they are all, every one of them, singing from the same hymn sheet: 'Not our fault. Not our fault. Don't look at us. It was actually those 10 years of waste and deficit.' It's 'the dog ate my homework'. This government needs to take responsibility. They've been in government for four years. When are they going to take responsibility?

Australian families are hurting. Whether it's paying school fees, whether it's putting fuel into their cars, it doesn't matter which way they go. They can't afford to live. A cup of coffee in 2022 was $4. How much is it now? It's $6 for the average latte, and that's a small one.

Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's $7 in the Hunter.

Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's $7 in the Hunter. There you go. The member for Hunter probably knows. The fact is that people can't afford to go out to a cafe any more. If they want to purchase a meal at a pub, the price is through the roof. I know because I take my family to the pub.

Then we go into all the subsidies. What drives this 13th rate increase? It comes because inflation is out of control. And guess what? It's on this Labor government's watch. It was not happening under the coalition. It is happening under this Labor government. They need to take responsibility for continually giving out subsidies. We've now got a new subsidy for EVs—another $50 million. 'That's not going to hurt anybody!' Yes it will, because it comes out of taxpayer pockets.

The way this government spends money to make up for or to put a bandaid on what is a broken economy is appalling. It will only cost taxpayers more. It will only continue to see inflation rise. I actually feel a little sorry for the RBA and for its chair. These are the stories they have to keep coming out to tell the Australian people while trying not to annoy the current Labor government, which is where the responsibility needs to sit.

Then we've got things like policies, great policies, like the gun buyback—$15 billion, Member for Hunter! Where's that going to come from? Oh, the Australian taxpayer. One more time: a terrible policy that was just simply a repeat of 1996, when John Howard was doing the right thing. Here we have a government and a Prime Minister who have made a decision for gun buybacks because he wanted to cover over a massacre that should never have happened on his watch. The fact is this government is responsible. It needs to take responsibility. We will continue to work to make it take that responsibility seriously.

Matt Smith (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are the regions who provide your food. We have custody over the places that you go on holidays. We provide you with critical minerals. We provide your power. We are practical people. We are the salt of the earth. We are the best parts of Australia. Not a single person in this House would disagree. Do not disrespect us.

I grew up in Gippsland.

An opposition member: Best member to ever come out of Gippsland!

Thank you! I keep telling him! I played in Wollongong. I spent some time in Albury and the Atherton Tablelands. I played in Cairns. But I also spent a bit of time in New York City, where I picked up a phrase: studio gangster. I might be the first person to put the phrase 'studio gangster' into Hansard. I'd like that to be recognised. For those who don't know, a studio gangster is someone who yaps when there's nothing on the line. This is what we are seeing from those opposite: a lot of noise; no influence. Studio gangsters are fun. You like to hang out with them—good times, great times—but when the rubber hits the road they're nowhere to be seen.

So let's speak about roads and investment in roads. Take the main artery for Queensland, the Bruce Highway. The last time the Bruce Highway had any investment in it at all, guess who did it? Then infrastructure minister, now Prime Minister, the Hon. Anthony Albanese. Oh, and he's back as Prime Minister, so guess what's getting invested in? The Bruce Highway with $7.2 billion. This will allow freight and families right the way up Queensland to see each other, to spend time with each other. We're making that road safer so that our truckies don't have to worry about it so much anymore. I go to the depots; I have a chat to the lads. They are afraid of the road, but they know the money for it is coming. They know the work is going to commence. They know they will get home at night to see their loved ones.

What I'd like to hear from those opposite is more science and fewer feelings. We tend to cherrypick ideas, cherrypick stats. Portugal and Spain? That's a nice example, and it fits your narrative then fantastic. California, the fourth-largest economy on the planet, has 67 per cent renewable and clean energy—the fourth-largest economy on the planet! It's something we should be aspiring to, but, instead, we cherrypick numbers rather than trying to deliver for the people that we are paid to represent.

So what is the Labor Party doing for the regions? As Minister McBain said, we don't have to put the word 'region' in front of it to make it relevant. Tax cuts. People in the regions pay taxes. Fee-free TAFE has been taken up more in the regions than anywhere else to address skill shortages. The students are building the homes that people can live in. Come to the wide open spaces that we represent, that we love so much, that we hold so dear. We want to share them; we want to show them. Bring your businesses to us. Bring your talents to the regions. Build these houses. Build these businesses. All that is going to be made possible. When you get there, there are urgent care clinics and there's cheaper medicine—there are going to be two clinics in Cairns; it's going to be awesome! Cairns is a big, big place. There are two electorates—Kennedy and Leichhardt. They've just got effective members!

Fee-free TAFE is under threat from the Queensland government. It is taking our workforce away. We have an opportunity here to show the regions as they are—the place we all love—and we are taking it. We're delivering for the people that have delivered for Australia for well over 200 years. Our food, our mining and our places to holiday all belong to us. Labor knows that when we take care of the regions, we take care of the country.

Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let's have a think about what has happened this week as a result of inflationary pressure—the uptick in the inflation numbers. Interest rates have risen. What does that mean for people? It means their mortgage repayments have risen, and it means the cost-of-living crisis just got a lot worse. That's a serious problem for people out there who live in the real world—not in the chamber, where sometimes people are more interested in talking about political games than what actually matters to people.

There's a lot of duck and spin in parliament this week about why this has happened, but I want to put some points together and try and link them logically; try and follow with me. Firstly, the government's failing energy policy is putting the retail cost of energy power up. It's going up because the policy's a dud. It's based on ideology, not reality—and if you want to know that, talk to RepuTex.

In an attempt to paper over this failure, with sleight of hand the government gives out energy rebates—one of a very great number of government spending measures by this Labor government that thinks fiscal responsibility is an optional extra. The Treasurer thinks: 'That's okay; we'll give out energy rebates and that will reduce the headline rate of inflation. No-one will notice and everything will be rosy for the economy.' The issue for the Treasurer is the RBA are a bit smarter than that, and they take into account the trimmed mean inflation number as well; therefore, interest rates have gone up. Before people talk about criticising us about the rebates: we wouldn't have had such a ham-fisted energy policy that increased prices in the first place. What does this mean? It means it's getting more expensive to get a mortgage. If you're already paying one off you're paying a lot more, and the cost-of-living crisis is now affecting you even more than it was. If you aspire to buy a house, it just got a lot harder because you're going to need a lot more in your repayments.

Not only is that an issue; business is getting harder and harder to do in Australia. I go around my electorate of Nicholls, which has the Goulburn Valley, one of the great entrepreneurial places in Australia. We have a high proportion of private sector economic activity as opposed to public sector. You go out to those farms and to those factories, and you can see what's driven Australia and why so many migrants over many years, as soon as they get off a boat in Sydney or Melbourne, come to Shepparton—because it's the land of opportunity. It's inspiring to see what those people have done and will continue to do. But all those people who run these businesses are telling me it's getting harder to do business. Why? Because the imports are getting more expensive. There are so many examples of that. If you run a farm, fertiliser is more expensive because of energy prices. If you're running a business, wages are going up because there are people who don't understand that if you put too much energy into the public sector there's a rise in the costs for the private sector. It doesn't mean we don't want higher wages across the board, but there's got to be that balance. Keating understood there had to be a balance and Costello understood there had to be a balance, but I'm not sure this Treasurer does. I'll quote Judith Sloan from the Australian, who said yesterday in the paper:

… it is becoming increasingly clear that Chalmers doesn't understand how the economy works.

I don't know when that has been said about a Treasurer in the past.

I also want to just touch on, in the minute that I've got left, and address some of the dishonesty in the debate about what Labor inherited. I wasn't in this place during the last term of the coalition government. I was out working in the private sector. I can tell you that when COVID hit it was very frightening for those people who had businesses. They thanked Josh Frydenberg for looking after them by introducing JobKeeper. That did put some pressure on the budget, and it did put some pressure on inflation. But I remind those opposite that they wanted to spend $81 billion more for JobKeeper and other measures during COVID. So how much worse would it have been coming out of that absolute crisis had Labor occupied the Treasury benches then? I think it's a really important thing to remember when people are saying, 'What we inherited.' They have very short memories, and I remember how difficult that time was for the private sector and the fact that the previous coalition government actually looked after them during COVID.

Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

People in my electorate of Gilmore put their faith in me once again at last year's election because they know, as part of the Albanese Labor government, I will continue to deliver for my local community. I've delivered important community infrastructure, like the Jervis Bay intersection flyover, which is well underway, the new RFS sheds at Manyana and Lake Conjola, a new surf lifesaving club at Gerringong and the reconstruction of the Mogo Local Aboriginal Land Council building, which was destroyed in the Black Summer bushfires. The people of Gilmore voted for cheaper medicines, cheaper child care, free TAFE, reduced student debt and tax cuts. They voted for more bulk-billing GP clinics and wage increases for our wonderful aged-care workers, and they voted for Medicare urgent care clinics, with the new Nowra Medicare Urgent Care Clinic due to open very soon. I can't understand on what planet any of these significant local projects or important cost-of-living initiatives equate to reckless spending. Do those opposite want to pull the pin on the new Nowra Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, leaving people in my community waiting hours for medical attention at the overcrowded Shoalhaven Hospital ED? Do they want to slash the $752 million for the Milton Ulladulla bypass, which has been in the 'too hard' basket for more than two decades? Will they tell my community that the Princes Highway duplication between the Jervis Bay road turnoff and Tomerong is a waste of money? Do they want to scrap plans for the revitalisation of the Nowra Riverfront Precinct, which will support local jobs and provide more housing? Or maybe they want to sink the upgrade of the Shoalhaven marine rescue base? Or maybe those opposite can tell the kids at Gerringong that plans to upgrade their clubhouse at Gerry Emery oval have tanked or notify the Batemans Bay Seahawks Football Club that their new clubhouse has been axed?

I'm proud that the Albanese Labor government is backing our regions, our families and our communities. We've made a record investment in funding for regional roads through the Black Spot program, Roads to Recovery and, in my area, a special $40 million Shoalhaven roads package to help the council fix local roads. Should we scrap that essential road funding and put drivers at risk? Do those opposite, who claim to support regional and rural areas, want to slash funding for the New South Wales South Coast? We're boosting our regions with better roads, more doctors, full funding for our public schools and more funding for our hospitals, and we're helping people buy their first home. What's got to go from those opposite? To say that these important investments are reckless spending just goes to show how out of touch they really are with everyday Australians. Like everyone on this side of the chamber, I know people in my electorate are doing it tough. That's why we're doing something about it. We're helping families, students, our older residents and small businesses with tax cuts for every taxpayer, more bulk-billing and cheaper medicines. We're backing higher wages. We're helping train young people in Gilmore to become doctors, nurses, social workers, builders and electricians, with free TAFE, supported uni places and by slashing student debt—all policies those opposite opposed.

We're getting on with the job of rolling out responsible cost-of-living relief, just like we said we would. People in the Gilmore electorate tell me every day how the expanded hours at the Batemans Bay Medicare Urgent Care Clinic have helped them or their loved ones, and people in Nowra are champing at the bit for their new Medicare urgent care clinic to open—as am I. I'm so thrilled that the number of fully bulk-billed medical centres in my electorate has almost tripled, from 10 to 27, in just the past three months. And so many people in Gilmore have told me that our cheaper medicines are making a huge difference to their household budgets, with PBS scripts now costing no more than $25. We'll continue to deliver across every portfolio to help people with the cost of living.

Alison Penfold (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

After nearly four years of Labor, the cold, stark reality is that Australians are paying more for everything. It doesn't matter what the Treasurer wants to believe or what he wants to spruik. He cannot hide the truth, because Australians are living it.

Australia is the only developed country where interest rates are rising. Why is that? Because of Labor's out-of-control spending. While the Treasurer is desperate to shift the blame, attributing his own fiscal failures to foreign wars and other global pressures, there is no doubt that this 'Jimflation' crisis is homegrown, with ABS data revealing that inflation is being driven by government policy. Under this government, spending is growing 13 times faster than what the coalition budgeted for and has reached its highest level outside a recession in 40 years. This is not sensible governing; this is reckless maladministration. Frankly, the Treasurer's attitude, his blame shifting, his aloofness towards the situation, is an absolute affront to Australians. It's a kick in the guts. Does he not realise that he's the sole individual in charge? He has the power to change this.

After all of the essential bills are paid and a small grocery shop is done—and I mean small, because just two bags is over $100—hardworking Australians have very little of their own money left. In my electorate, a constituent from Nabiac shared that, on Christmas Eve, they bought just 36 items at a cost of $199.61. Add to this the car insurance, which comes in at $277.51 a month for just two cars—that doesn't include registration or green slip, by the way—plus home and contents insurance, which comes in at $278.83 per month; private health insurance for a family of four at $498 a month; and council rates, water access and sewerage connection at $3,481.10 a year. Very little is left over. This is one of the poorest electorates in the country, where the pay cheques are neither large nor flexible enough to accommodate cost increases without sacrifice.

The average mortgage holder was already paying around $21,000 more per year in interest than they were under the coalition. That burden rises again due to the latest rate hike. For most young Australians, the great Australian dream of homeownership has become exactly that—just a dream. This too, has been exacerbated by Labor and its migration policy. They brought in a million migrants in their first two years—70 per cent higher than in any previous two-year period. Someone is arriving to live in Australia every 52 seconds. Based on Labor's own population statement, a further 1.8 million people will arrive over the next five years, with no plan for where they will live.

Another driver of Labor's economic crisis is their reckless pursuit of a renewables-only energy policy. Australians need affordable base-load power, not expensive, taxpayer subsidised, intermittent and unreliable energy—affordable power coupled with responsible action on climate. But, under Labor's renewables-only fiasco, factories are closing, business investment is stalling, and emissions have not moved. The government promised a $275 cut to power. Instead, Australians are paying around $1,300 more. In my own electorate, manufacturer Jamestrong Packaging have seen their energy bills increase by 65 per cent, insurance by 76 per cent and rates and taxes by 75 per cent.

The cost of Labor is now showing up everywhere, in higher taxes, more debt and a budget so stretched that the government is spending $50,000 every minute on interest payments alone. Whilst the Prime Minister enjoys a day at the tennis, with the travel no doubt being billed to the taxpayer, Australians are working just to get by. They can't afford to go to the tennis. They can't afford to go out for dinner or take their kids to the movies. I've got people in my electorate who are still not back in their homes after the floods of May last year. This is not living. This is a grinding existence created by this government, a government that have completely and utterly insulated themselves from the economic hardship they are inflicting upon Australians.

Australian taxpayers work hard for their money. It's absolutely galling for them to see it being spent so recklessly, so indiscriminately, by politicians that have never had a real job, that have never had to go without just to get by. This is not your money; it's the Australian taxpayers'. Start spending it accordingly—considerately, frugally, carefully. The 'Lucky Country' is now experiencing the largest decline in living standards in the developed world. Under this government, with this treasurer making the big financial calls, Australia increasingly does not feel like the lucky country.

Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker Scrymgour, what can I say? The assertion from those opposite that the Albanese Labor government is doing nothing to help Australians couldn't be further from the truth. It is ludicrous. If I were to ask those opposite for a list of their achievements for the people of Australia in their 10 years in government, that list would have nothing on it. They should know better. They have repeatedly voted against meaningful measures to ease pressure on households. We understand, however, that people are doing it tough, and we know that there is more for us to do. That is why in 2025 we delivered a responsible budget with the cost of living front and centre. The claim we are reckless is something that they should know a lot about because of the division and the disarray that we are seeing blow up across the aisle.

Yesterday the Reserve Bank governor stated:

… governments … have a job … to provide services and infrastructure … and at the same time … make sure that they contribute to bringing inflation down …

The Reserve Bank governor also stated:

… the government at the moment seems—

very—

focused on what they need to do to continue the fight against inflation …

We have delivered so much. We've had a $325 energy rebate to ease power bills. We've introduced a $300 per week paid prac placement for nursing staff, midwives, teachers and social workers, recognising that essential workers deserve support, not hardship. We have wiped $3 billion from HECS debt, benefiting more than three million Australians, including 18,000 people from Dunkley. Our No. 1 focus is helping Australians with the cost of living today and tomorrow and building a stronger future.

Last year we delivered tax cuts for every taxpayer, with another one coming in July. We secured pay rises for minimum and award wage workers. We expanded paid parental leave to 24 weeks and ensured superannuation is now paid while parents take government leave. We've provided an additional $150 discount on power bills for every household and around one million small businesses and introduced a 30 per cent discount on home batteries to permanently cut energy costs. I can't wait to have mine installed very soon. We expanded bulk-billing, and we froze draft beer excise indexation for two years. From 1 January we've delivered the biggest cut to PBS medicines in history. Medicines are costing $25 or less for those with a healthcare card. This is going to save Australians more than $200 million a year, making medicines the cheapest they have been in more than two decades.

When it comes to health, the difference between the two sides of this chamber are stark. The opposite gutted bulk-billing when they were in government. We have spent the last three years and now this term rebuilding it. We are investing $8.5 billion to deliver 18 million additional bulk-billed GP visits a year. We are investing more than $790 million in women's health and $11.3 million in men's health. The member for Hunter is very happy about that. We are investing in mental health, and that includes $1.2 million into Headspace Frankston, recognising that 43 per cent of Australians will unfortunately experience challenges during their lifetime.

We know skills and training are essential for easing cost pressures and for building our future workforce, so we have delivered the paid prac placement and free-fee TAFE with more than 355,000 fee-free places.

There is no better example of Labor's delivery than in Dunkley. More than $112 million has been committed to local infrastructure, from roads and parks, mental health services, support for local artists to the $1.1 billion Peninsula University Hospital. Last year, just before Christmas, I joined Minister Rishworth to open the Brotherhood of Saint Laurence Thrive Hub, supporting young people into employment.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The discussion has concluded.