Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'Struggling to survive'—that is how too many people in my community, and people right across this country, describe their lives right now. Last week I heard that message firsthand when I welcomed our new leader, Angus Taylor, to Lindsay. We met with Simon and Jen from Screaming Beans, who are hardworking, proud and determined small-business owners doing everything they can to stay afloat. Between them, the couple is working around the clock just to keep their doors open—not to get ahead, not to build wealth, not to take holidays, but simply to stay afloat. Simon and Jen are not an isolated case. They are representative of so many families and small-business owners right across Lindsay and across Australia—people who get up early, work late, pay their staff, pay their taxes, support local suppliers and sponsor the local footy team. They are doing everything right, and yet they are barely keeping their heads above water.

Under this Labor government, living standards have declined. Australia has experienced the largest fall in real household disposable income in the developed world. Families are earning, but they are not getting ahead. Wages are being swallowed by rising mortgage repayments, higher rents, soaring energy bills and grocery costs that seem to climb every single week.

The Red shield report 2025 from the Salvation Army paints a sobering picture of what Australians are experiencing. Ninety per cent of the Salvos' emergency relief recipients said that the cost of living remains a constant strain, with more than one in three resorting to buy-now pay-later schemes just to cover essentials like food, utilities, medicines and transport. Forty-two per cent could not afford child care or preschool. Forty-three per cent could not afford essentials for their infant—baby formula, nappies, a cot or a pram. Let that sink in. People are borrowing just to eat, just to keep the lights on and just to get to work.

Housing stress is now the norm, not the exception. More than seven in 10 are spending over 30 per cent of their income on housing. What does that mean for families, for women trying to return to work and for households that are already stretched to breaking point? In a country as prosperous as Australia, that should trouble every single one of us.

In my electorate of Lindsay, we are seeing firsthand the pressure that rapid growth, rising mortgages, rent increases and utility costs are placing on families. Young families who moved to Western Sydney to build a future are now questioning whether that future is secure. When I speak to people in Lindsay, they do not talk about abstract economic theory. They talk about their power bill, their insurance premium, their next interest or mortgage repayment, their interest rate hikes and pulling their kids out of after-school sports because it just isn't an option anymore. They talk about whether they can afford to fill up their car and still buy groceries. They talk about being carers and then being forced to fight bureaucracy just to retain the payment that keeps food on the table. They talk about the fear of a payment being paused or cancelled—not because they have done the wrong thing, but because the system is complex and unforgiving. They are asking for stability. They are asking for fairness. But what they're getting are declining living standards.

It's not just numbers on a spreadsheet. It's a carer in Lindsay staying up past midnight to complete forms after a full day of unpaid care. It's a retiree worrying about medical bills while waiting for an age pension or healthcare-card application to be processed. It's a family budgeting down to the last dollar because one administrative decision has tipped them into debt.

We need to back small businesses like Simon's and Jen's, who I mentioned earlier, so they don't get drowned in costs that are rising and in red tape. We need to increase housing supply so families are not competing for too few homes. We need to ensure child care is accessible, affordable and flexible and that parents have choice. According to ABS figures, in 2024-25, caring for children was the most common reason that women who wanted a job were unavailable to start within four weeks. This was higher for mothers with children under 15 years. We need child care that works for real life, so parents aren't forced to choose between their children and their livelihoods.

As the member for Lindsay and as the shadow minister for women, the shadow minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the shadow minister for families and social services, I'm seeing firsthand how these pressures are impacting Australians. As their representative, I'll continue to fight for policies that recognise their struggle, respect their effort, restore hope and give them choice, because surviving should not be the benchmark in Australia; thriving should be.