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

The Treasurer is fond of saying that the economy is 'in better nick'. Really? Real wages are down, energy costs are up and inflationary pressure is driving interest rate increases. The size of government and government spending is expanding significantly, but are people's lives getting better? The standard of living is going backwards. We can arrest Australia's decline—and it is a decline, I'm very sad to say. But we can arrest it. We need to do a few things and understand a few principles. We need to back private enterprise. Get out of the way of people who want to start business, grow business, invest and employ people. Make this the central pillar of economic management. The people out there who want to do this are saying to me, 'The government should be there to help,' but, under Labor, the government hinders. Often the best way that government can help private enterprise is to get out of the way. They certainly shouldn't be increasing the costs of inputs that are critical to run those businesses. We need to fix the energy market with a technology-agnostic and sensible transition that reduces emissions in a way that doesn't force economic activity offshore. We need to approach migration policy as a lever to get the skills we need but make the numbers sustainable and in line with infrastructure and housing. I came into this place and held up an apple to illustrate how difficult it is to run businesses, including orchards, and things have not got better. They've got worse. Anyone who thinks that the economy is in better nick is delusional and should probably nick off.

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

You're skating a thin line there.