Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Reserve Bank's latest decision confirms what Australians already know: Labor has lost control of the economy. They've lost control of energy costs. They've lost control of social cohesion. They've lost control of our borders. After 13 interest rate rises, families are hurting. Mortgages are up around $1,800 a month, rents are surging, groceries cost more every week and power bills are nearly 40 per cent higher despite repeated promises to bring them down. Australians were told that relief was coming. Instead, they got record prices. Living standards have collapsed at the fastest rate in the developed world. Families are paying 16 per cent more for food, 22 per cent more for rent and nearly 40 per cent more for electricity. These are not statistics. These are household budgets being smashed by this government. At a time when Australians are already under pressure, the government's failures are adding further strain to housing, services and community confidence.

It all flows from the same problem: an addiction to spending and a refusal to take responsibility. Labor's spending spree has driven inflation higher for longer, forcing the Reserve Bank to act. Instead of getting spending under control, Labor's answer is always the same. It is higher taxes on savings, on houses, on super and on family business, and that is not economic management. Labor spends, prices rise and you pay. (Time expired)