Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that the cash rate has risen to 3.85 per cent, marking the 13th interest rate increase under the Government;

(2) recognises new data showing a record 760,100 Australians aged 65 and over are now in the workforce, the highest level since records began in 1995;

(3) expresses concern that nearly 100,000 more older Australians feel it necessary to work or delay retirement or are returning to work due to cost of living pressures;

(4) condemns the Government's economic mismanagement and unchecked debt fuelled spending, which has contributed to rising inflation and increasing household costs for power, rent, groceries and mortgages; and

(5) calls on the Government to take urgent action to address the cost of living crisis, curb spending pressures driving inflation, and ensure older Australians are not forced to delay retirement due to financial hardship.

When I put this motion forward, it noted that the cash rate had risen to 3.85 per cent, which marked at the time the 13th interest rate rise under this government. Since then, we have had yet another rise, the 14th interest rate rise, under this government, taking the interest rate to 4.10 per cent. The impact of this is significantly affecting not only young people in my electorate but also older Australians, and that's what I'd like to touch on in particular today.

I rise here because too many Australians are being forced to work longer, and this isn't by choice; this is by necessity. We have a situation where people who have worked very hard for the benefit of this country thought they would be retiring comfortably and planned out their life in a certain way. But now, because of the real financial pressure that Australians are under, they're having to work longer.

This motion highlights a deep and concerning trend in Australia. The cash rate now—having had, like I said, 14 increases under this government—has not come out of nowhere. It's a result of a government that is addicted to spending. Because of this economic vandalism, we are seeing inflation hurting Australian households across my electorate of the southern Gold Coast and across the country as well. We're seeing 16 per cent more for food, 18 per cent more for health, 22 per cent more for rents and 39 per cent more for insurance. As we all know, it's almost 40 per cent more when it comes to electricity.

Mortgage holders are paying a lot more now than they had to previously—in the thousands per year. And this isn't abstract economics; it's pressure felt at every kitchen table. It's pressure felt across every bill, payment and mortgage repayment, or even on rent day. Despite the fact that the Treasurer may insist this is attributable to what is happening abroad, we know that this is homegrown inflation, and the 13 interest rate rises prior to the most recent interest rate rise and prior to what's happening in the Middle East are a testament to that. We're seeing a situation where government spending is outpacing economic growth by a measure of four to one. We're seeing $50 billion in new discretionary spending, and savings are simply reallocations of existing expenditure. We all should adhere to one principle here, and that is that you cannot spend your way out of inflation; you'll only make it worse.

While this motion talks to what is happening to older Australians, others are not exempt. Young people are not exempt, and people who have entered into the housing market are not exempt. We're now also seeing the long-term consequences of this government expenditure. We're seeing a situation where Australians are now facing a trillion dollars in debt, right on their doorstep, and $1.2 trillion in debt by the time we get to the next election. That means we're going to see less money for services and more pressure on those who are holding the tax burden. And every dollar that's spent on interest is a dollar that is not spent on Australians.

The largest collapse in living standards across the developed world is something we should not be proud of in this parliament. It's something this government should not be proud of. Australians are working harder and they're falling further behind because of this situation. I represent an electorate that has an average age slightly higher than the national average. I expect that many people in my electorate who thought they would be at the point of their life where they're ready to retire, spend time with their families, and maybe travel and see the world are now facing the tough economic choices where they're having to work longer. It's just not good enough. People who have worked and contributed to this country for so many years deserve better. They deserve access to that retirement, and they deserve a government that is going to stand up for them, get their own expenditure under control—that is, government expenditure—reduce the pressures on inflation and create a situation where people who have worked for this country can retire comfortably and not have to keep working.

Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, and I reserve my right to speak later.

Claire Clutterham (Sturt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Inflation is a huge challenge. There is no doubt about it. We have not shied away from this at any stage. We have an inflation challenge in our economy, likely to be exacerbated by the conflict in the Middle East, and that requires action. It has a three in front of it now, but without a dedicated focus on utilising all available mechanisms it is likely to increase. It may increase anyway because of the myriad factors that are beyond the control of the government and beyond the control of business, of the RBA, of industry and of individual Australians.

The volatility in the global economy and the escalation of tensions in the Middle East could add further pressure to inflation in the coming months. We know this. We've been clear with the Australian people about this. We haven't just started the work on meeting the inflation challenge because of the recent conflict. We've been doing the work and implementing policy to support Australians through this inflation challenge since we came to government.

There are a number of parts to the Albanese Labor government's response—firstly, the forthcoming May budget, which will be underpinned by restraint, reform and measures to increase productivity. The Treasurer has been absolutely clear on this. We must take steps to reform in order to put a bomb under productivity growth, to encourage it to further stimulate the private sector, to encourage investment and innovation, and to cement and then further grow our economic prosperity. The budget bottom line has also been improved through the finding of efficiencies. The MYEFO illustrated that we are $233 billion better off than when we came to government, and $144 billion in savings were found in the budget through finding more-efficient ways to provide services and do business.

Budget savings cannot just be implemented by cutting services and cutting support to Australians who need it. Finding more-efficient ways to provide services and support, more-efficient ways to do business, is what our policy agenda is focused on, such as asking APS departments to examine their operational discipline in order to find five per cent of savings. The policy mistake of only cutting services and only cutting support in order to improve the bottom line means that the first objective of structural budget repair and economic reform must be carefully balanced against the second, which is to help working Australians, individuals, families, young people and retirees—a complex web—deal with the cost-of-living challenge that inflation can present. The government acknowledge that people are under pressure, and we're doing something about it, with tax cuts for every taxpayer, more bulk-billing and cheaper medicines, and by backing higher wages and slashing student debt.

The third lever is the labour market. A focus on low unemployment, sustainable wages growth, stimulating private sector growth and investment, and a continued emphasis on a framework where governments, business, unions and workers partner and walk forward together to ensure these goals are not only met but met in a way that benefits all stakeholders as much as possible is the Albanese Labor government way. These goals are complicated and challenging, but it is necessary to strive towards them. The country needs people who are working hard to boost productivity and to contribute to the economy.

We need policies that are designed to increase wages sustainably—not a deliberate policy of low wages, which was the policy agenda of the previous government. In this respect, we are seeing results, with the overwhelming story being one of stronger wage growth and rising living standards. Annual nominal wages have grown above three per cent for 14 quarters in a row, the longest streak in more than a decade and a half. The national accounts for the December quarter showed that real incomes per capita grew two per cent through the year to the December quarter and are growing at more than twice the average of other comparable major advanced economies.

We have also seen more than 1.2 million jobs created under the Albanese Labor government. This is stronger growth than any major advanced economy, with more than four out of five of these jobs having been created in the private sector, which has been and always will be the engine room of our economy.

Our economic policy agenda is underpinned by a focus on good jobs, higher wages and increased productivity. This must always be at the heart of decisions we make in the course of the fight against inflation.

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australian families are at breaking point. From the kitchen tables of my electorate to the check-out counters across the country, the story is the same. Australians are working harder than ever, yet they are falling further behind. Under this Labor government, we have seen the biggest falls in living standards in the entire developed world. But, instead of taking responsibility, what do we hear from the Prime Minister and the Treasurer? The latest trick is to point fingers overseas. They want you to believe that your mortgage is up and your grocery bill is skyrocketing because of the Middle East crisis. Let's be crystal clear. The inflation we are experiencing right now is not a product of the Middle East—that's coming. The cost-of-living crisis was not imported. It was manufactured right here in Canberra. The government keeps looking for a global excuse, but the data tells a different story.

Inflation in Australia is now higher than in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and Japan. Are we to believe the Middle East crisis only affects Australia? Of course not. The difference isn't what's happening in the world; it's what's happening in this budget. This inflation right now is homegrown. It is the direct result of a prime minister addicted to spending and a treasurer who continues to put debt petrol on the inflation fire.

Think of the economy like a local market. If the government floods that market with billions of dollars of new money while the amount of goods stays the same, prices go up. It is simple maths. When the government spends recklessly, it competes with every Australian family for every resource, driving prices higher. Government spending is now at a 40-year high outside of a recession. Labor's debt is ticking towards a staggering $1 trillion. To put that into perspective, Australians are now paying more than $50,000 every single minute just to service the interest on Labor's debt. That's $50,000 a minute that isn't going to hospitals, schools or tax relief, and it's not even paying down the principal. The way that I like to relate this to individuals is from a workforce point of view. In South Australia, if you collect the Labor state debt and the Labor federal debt and put it together, the average South Australian worker now owes their governments more than $100,000.

Because this government refuses to stop spending, the Reserve Bank has been forced to do the heavy lifting. We have seen 14 interest rate rises under Labor. These aren't just numbers on a page; they represent an extra $27,000 a year for the average mortgage holder. That is the Labor tax on every Australian family with a home loan. The RBA governor hasn't ruled out a recession because of how this government has mismanaged the economy. While families are cutting back on meat, cancelling holidays and struggling with school costs, this government refuses to live within its means. We are forced to tighten our belts—so should the government. Look at the wreckage of their policies. Insurance is up 39 per cent; energy is up more than 40 per cent, up 32 per cent in this year alone; rent is up 22 per cent; and food is up 16 per cent.

Let's talk about energy. Minister Chris Bowen's wind- and solar- only approach ideology is steamrolling common sense. We see electricity prices up 32 per cent in this year. We see a fuel supply chain in shambles. One day, the government says, 'There is plenty of supply'; the next day, there is a national crisis. They blame Australians for buying too much petrol rather than ensuring the supply chain works. When my colleague Angus Taylor was the energy minister, he didn't make excuses. He got on the phone, worked with suppliers, and ensured fuel reached the families and farmers who needed it. He understood that he needed a backbone to run an economy, not just a printing press. We have offered a bipartisan taskforce to control spending. We have called for a revitalised Charter of Budget Honesty. The response from the Prime Minister: silence, nothing, tumbleweeds. The conflict in the Middle East didn't drive up childcare costs by 11 per cent; the Middle East didn't cause $1 trillion in debt—Labor did.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It takes a bit of chutzpah to come in here. These are the people who wasted $20 billion on JobKeeper—paying money, by the way, to companies that made money and whose profits went up. They wasted $20.9 billion in the last year alone, I might add, on outsourcing up to a third of the Public Service to consultants. That's what was found when independently assessed. Then, of course, who can forget the $21 million spent on the COVID app, where only 17 people were identified as close contacts?

They splurged money left, right and centre and left us with a trillion dollars of debt, and then, by the way, in the last paragraph, call on the government to take urgent action to address the cost-of-living crisis. They opposed student debt reduction. They opposed free TAFE. They opposed energy bill relief. They opposed tax cuts. They opposed cheaper child care. They opposed 60-day scripts. They opposed 25-day scripts for non-concessional income earners. They opposed $7.70 for concessional income earners, with scripts frozen until 2030. They opposed, by the way, the $45 billion Homes for Australia plan to deliver 1.2 million houses. They opposed the Medicare urgent care clinics, and they were going to close them. They opposed the mental health urgent care clinics as well. Again and again and again, they opposed cost-of-living relief. They voted against it in parliament.

They had policies at the last election that were going to increase the debt and deficit. That was their policy. They haven't identified in this debate one example of money that we have spent that they wouldn't have matched as well. In addition to that, the Liberal and National parties are the parties of higher taxation. They were the ones who increased the government expenditure to debt ratio. Since John Howard and Scott Morrison, the Liberal and National parties have told the Australian public to believe what I say, not what I do. When they get into power, they splurge money again and again and again. We were the ones, by the way, that provided two budget surpluses. They promised—Joe Hockey, the shadow Treasurer—promised that they would have a surplus each and every year of their rule. In nine years, they didn't produce one surplus.

It says 'to support people and dignified retirement' in the fifth paragraph here of this motion. The Liberal and National parties have opposed superannuation increases every step of the way and then froze the increases when, of course, Tony Abbott was the Prime Minister. Again and again and again, they opposed relief for working-class people and pensioners. They opposed, for example, the rental assistance that we provided for people who needed it—increasing in the last few budgets. They opposed it. They voted against it again and again, each and every time. By the way, when their former illustrious leader Sussan Ley, the member for Farrer, talked about TAFE, they said, 'Unless you actually pay for things, you don't really appreciate them.'

Of course, in their first budget when they were in last, they cut $80 billion on education and health expenditure. Are those the kinds of cuts you want to make? Are those the kinds of cuts the Liberal and National parties want to make? I reckon that's exactly what they want to do. When they're in opposition, they're nice and bland and vanilla, and they say, 'Trust us; we believe in Medicare; we believe in public education; we believe in public hospitals,' and when they get into power they do what they did in the 2014 budget.

We've got some new members here, by the way, who must have political amnesia, because they stood for political parties—the Liberal National Party and the Liberal Party in South Australia—as candidates, backing in exactly what they did in opposition in the last parliament, exactly what they did in government under Abbott and Turnbull and Morrison. Now, since they've been sitting on the opposition benches, they've voted against relief for people again and again and again. So it's a bit rich for the member for McPherson to bring this motion and for those opposite to talk about cost-of-living relief when they have opposed it. It is only Labor that stands up for Middle Australia, it's only Labor that stands up for pensioners and it's only Labor that stands up for the working people of this country.

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to speak again.

Leave not granted.

Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker Lawrence, I've got a secret to let you in on, and it's that when the coalition, those opposite, talk about cutting spending they're talking about cutting things that Australians need. The member for Blair is right. We don't know what cuts they are talking about when it comes to this budget. We don't know whether it's going to be health—they might go into the idea of axing bulk-billing again—or whether it's going to be manufacturing. We know that last time they were in government they cut the guts out of manufacturing, sent jobs offshore and booted the car industry out of this country. Is it going to be cuts to education, going back to what the coalition did in the Howard years, making sure that tertiary students were doing it even tougher? This debate, at its core, is about what the opposition would cut, because they've got a cracking track record of it.

Last week I was out knocking on doors. I spoke to a mum in Corinda, and she was worried about how her adult children would get into housing. I spoke to a dad in Tarragindi with a five-month-old, and he was worried about health care. I spoke to a young couple in Corinda, and they were worried about the cost of their bills. It's clear that people are doing it tough. People are doing it tough across this country, and that is why the Albanese Labor government is focused with a laser on our No. 1 priority, which is delivering cost-of-living relief. Cost-of-living pressures are real, particularly for those on low and fixed incomes. We're taking action every day on easing the cost of living for everyday Australians.

I think it's worth looking at the opposition's record when it comes to the economy that has such a big impact on every Australian, because the opposition left us with an inflation rate with a six in front of it. Public demand grew faster than private demand two thirds of the time under them. They went to this last election promising bigger deficits, more debt and a tax hike on every Australian to fund nuclear reactors. That's the reality. We don't have to imagine what the opposition would do if in government, because they have shown their colours time and time again. Not only do we know they have a track record of cuts, not only do they want to increase taxes for every Australian; they've also voted against cost-of-living relief measure after cost-of-living relief measure. Whether for free TAFE or for 20 per cent off student debt, the opposition has form.

We've delivered surpluses. We've turned those Liberal deficits into surpluses, and we've brought the budget into much better shape. The budget is over $233 billion better than what we inherited, with over $114 billion in savings found. It's the only mid-year update on record to deliver a better bottom line in every year of the forward estimates, with less debt in every year and net policy decisions that improve the bottom line.

Inflation has been higher for longer than we'd like, but it's substantially lower than its 2022 peak and much lower than we inherited from the coalition. There are temporary pressures such as the end of energy rebates, global volatility and the escalating situation in the Middle East. The RBA governor has been very clear. What surprised them last year was the strength of the pick up in private demand, not public spending and not fiscal policy. Private demand strengthened substantially more than expected in mid-2025. In the December quarter, private demand contributed more than three times as much to growth as public demand. When you contrast this side of the chamber with those opposite, what is clear is that we are investing in cost-of-living relief for everyday Australians and they only ever cut.

Debate adjourned.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:17