I rise to support the motion moved by the member for McPherson and to highlight the continuing financial hardship experienced by Australian households under the Albanese Labor government. Across Capricornia, families are working harder, paying more and increasingly wondering why, after years of promises from this government, it is becoming harder to get ahead. Food on the table, a roof over their heads and fuel in the car are necessities Australians cannot go without—particularly in regional Queensland, where travelling considerable distances for work, education and healthcare is a fact of life.

Economists say households have little choice but to keep buying these essentials even when prices rise, because families cannot simply stop eating, paying their mortgage or putting fuel in the car. The latest figures demonstrate the extent of the pressure, with annual inflation climbing to four per cent in August, up from 3.5 per cent in July. Housing costs have risen 5.7 per cent, food prices three per cent, health costs 3.9 per cent and education costs 4.7 per cent over the year to August. Electricity prices alone have increased 13.2 per cent over the same period, placing further pressure on household budgets.

Behind these figures are everyday Australians across Capricornia, from families in Rockhampton struggling with rising grocery prices to pensioners in Yeppoon trying to make their fixed income stretch further and young families in Sarina facing mounting pressure from mortgage repayments, child care and electricity costs. October is Seniors Month in Queensland, and only last week I attended a seniors meeting at CARV in Yeppoon alongside my state colleague, the member for Keppel, Nigel Hutton. What we heard firsthand was deeply concerning, with older Australians desperate for respite from relentless cost-of-living pressures that continue to erode their financial security.

These are people who have worked hard, raised families, paid taxes and contributed to our communities for decades, yet rising living costs are placing increasing pressure on their ability to afford everyday essentials. Unlike working Australians, pensioners generally have limited opportunities to supplement their incomes, leaving them particularly vulnerable to rising prices. This pressure is being compounded by the Albanese government cutting the private health insurance rebate while approving an average premium increase of 4.41 per cent from April, up from the 3.73 per cent in 2025.

The impact is clear. Over the year to June, living costs rose 4.7 per cent for age pensioner households, compared with 3.7 per cent for employee households. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister and Treasurer continue boasting about the savings they claim to be delivering for Australians while overlooking a fundamental economic reality: savings account for nothing when swallowed up by an out-of-control government spending elsewhere. This is the problem with the current government celebrating modest savings while failing to rein in spending, adding to inflationary pressures, eroding household purchasing power and contributing to the decline in Australian living standards.

For Australians who were around in the '90s, these circumstances may feel painfully reminiscent of former Labor prime minister Paul Keating's infamous declaration that Australia was experiencing the recession we 'had to have'. The pensioners I speak to across Central Queensland have no appetite for another economic lesson delivered at the expense of their household budgets. Mortgage holders are also feeling the strain, with four interest rate rises in 2026 and a total of 16 interest rate rises under the Albanese government.

In regional communities, fuel is another unavoidable expense. Farmers rely on diesel, transport operators move the goods our communities depend on, and families travel significant distances for work, school and medical appointments. This is why the coalition has proposed its fuel price shield, which would automatically halve fuel excise when the two-week average price of Brent crude exceeds $100 a barrel, providing approximately 27 cents a litre in potential relief, or around $15 on a typical tank. The proposal would also temporarily reduce the heavy vehicle road user charge to zero, recognising the flow-on impact of freight costs on groceries and other household essentials.

While governments cannot control global oil prices or international instability, they can establish practical mechanisms to cushion Australians against sudden price shocks. The people of Capricornia are resilient and hardworking. They are not asking government to solve every problem, but they are entitled to expect responsible economic management that allows them to get ahead rather than watching every saving disappear into another bill. Our seniors deserve to enjoy retirement with dignity, while younger families deserve the opportunity to build financial security for the future.

Australians are working hard, and we know that they're doing it tough right now. While our economy already faced an inflation challenge coming out of the pandemic, the global instability, most notably the re-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, is making things significantly harder. This renewed conflict is pushing up global energy prices, fuel costs and inflation right across the globe, and Australia is not immune. The latest ABS data shows that, while our underlying inflation remains stable, the annual headline inflation ticked up in August, driven almost entirely by higher global fuel costs and the unwinding of previous energy rebates. The market is pricing in rate rises across every major advanced economy. Australian workers didn't choose this war, but they are paying a heavy price for it. From an economic and moral point of view, an end to this conflict cannot come soon enough.

In times of global uncertainty, responsible government matters more than ever. We take our full share of responsibility in the fight against inflation by managing the budget carefully and living within our means. Let's look at our track record. Real spending growth over our four years in office has averaged just two per cent, less than half of what our predecessors averaged and well below the 30-year average. When we came to office, spending was nearly a third of the economy. We brought that down to 25 per cent to 26 per cent, roughly a quarter. We have found nearly $180 billion in savings and reprioritisations across our budgets and updates. In our most recent budget alone, we are reforming structural savings, including $38 billion, by restoring the NDIS to its original intent and billions more cutting back on expensive external contractors and targeted reductions in green energy programs. Because of this discipline, our latest budget outcome is $22 billion better than estimated, nearly half the deficit of what we inherited. Gross debt is nearly $200 billion lower than when we took office, saving taxpayers $70 billion in interest costs over the decade. That's why Australia remains one of nine countries across the globe with the AAA credit rating from all three major international ratings agencies.

Because we are managing the nation's books responsibly, we are able to roll out continuous, meaningful cost-of-living relief for everyday Australians. We're helping people keep more of what they earn. We have delivered income tax five times in five different ways, putting nearly $3,000 a year back into the pockets of the average worker by 2028. This includes a new $250 working Australians tax offset and a $1,000 instant tax deduction. We have made medicines cheaper, expanded bulk-billing and urgent care clinics and raised the Medicare low-income threshold so over a million low-income earners pay little to no levy. We've backed higher wages, lifting the national minimum wage to help our lowest paid workers to keep pace. And, through our tax and housing reforms, we're helping more than 75,000 Australians realise the dream of homeownership by making the property market fairer while safeguarding existing investments.

The coalition left office with an inflation rate north of six per cent and rapidly rising, alongside $600 billion in debt accumulated before the pandemic even hit. Today they are promising to the public $110 billion in unfunded commitments. But, when the time came to support working families and fix the housing markets, what did they do? The coalition voted against our plan to cut income taxes, they voted against making the housing market fairer, and they voted against more cost-of-living relief, cheaper medicines and wages growth. By their own economic logic, their approach of bigger deficits and higher spending would pump inflation and force interest rates even higher and leave Australian workers significantly worse off.

This government will not waver. We will continue to deliver responsible fiscal management, ease cost-of-living pressures and build a stronger, fairer economy for every Australian. We welcome the opposition's support for cost-of-living measures.

It never ceases to amaze me how different the thinking is in this building to what I hear when I go back to my electorate and speak to locals in the Redlands. You could be forgiven for thinking you were living in an alternate reality if you compared the feedback I receive on the ground in my electorate from locals who are doing it incredibly tough under this cost-of-living crisis, with higher interest rates, negative equity and small businesses going under, to the narrative that you hear in government talking points.

I just heard from the last speaker about bulk-billing. Let me let me read an excerpt from an email that I received from someone in my electorate this week. We just heard that bulk-billing has been all resolved. Beverly from Cleveland said: 'After all the ads in the media advertising bulk-billing and saying doctors are more accessible, can you please explain why it is actually harder to access bulk-billing clinics in the Redlands area? Doctors who I've been going to for over 30 years are no longer bulk-billing.' That's the reality on the ground.

We also just heard about the impact of the housing reforms. I want to read you this account from Trevor. Trevor is from Cleveland in my electorate, where my electorate office is. He's written me one of the most interesting emails I've had in the course of my four years in this place. Let me read a few excerpts here. He said: 'Twelve months ago, my family made the decision to buy a home. We weren't investors or speculators. We were simply trying to secure a roof over our heads after being forced to move repeatedly. Every move costs us money. We've now been left in a position where our home's value has fallen significantly. We now find ourselves with approximately $150,000 in negative equity. Today my wife works six days a week. My daughter works incredibly hard as well. I work around 60 hours over five days. We are all earning fairly average wages. Yet, despite all that effort, it feels as though we are going backwards. I was raised to believe that, if you worked hard, lived responsibly and played by the rules, you would eventually get ahead. That is what my parents taught me. But, right now, what I see is our nest egg shrinking, our financial security disappearing and our family's confidence in the future being shaken.' I could go on. It's quite a lengthy email.

That's the reality on the ground. That's what people are seeing. That is the direct consequence of the policies that are being implemented by this government. We have had the worst collapse in living standards of any advanced economy in the world under this government. That's the reality. That's what's happening out there in the real world. We hear from those opposite about how it's all going great or, if it's not going great, it's Donald Trump's fault or the ayatollah's fault. It's everyone's fault except for this government and this Treasurer. We've just had the 16th rise in interest rates under this government. People are absolutely doing it tough out there. I've been inundated. I've got more cases here I could read from. It is, to me, quite concerning that we've got a government who are so out of touch. When they are going back to their electorates, I don't know who they're talking to.

But do you know what? I get the sense that they actually do understand the reality on the ground. We saw that article from Paul Sakkal a couple of weeks ago where we had three backbenchers quoted concerned about the approach that the government is taking in relation to the economy. This is a direct result of where this government is leading us. Labor's record spending means the budget is now forecast to be in deficit for the next 40 years. Debt has passed $1 trillion as well. We just heard, 'If you go back 4½ years and you look at the projections sideways and with one eye closed, we're actually performing a lot better than what we could have been doing under a former coalition government.' You guys have been in power for 4½ years. I've got a son who's actually spent nearly his entire life under a Labor government. You didn't come down in the last shower.

Can I give you a little bit of friendly advice? The public opinion around 'you can just blame the last guys' runs out at about the 4½-year mark. I really encourage you guys. I know some of you like to talk to Sakkal after a few drinks and have a chat off the record. Let me tell you this. Why don't you go on the record and tell your constituents what you actually think about the economic management of your government, because I can guarantee you that you guys are hearing the exact same stories I've been hearing and that I've just read out to you. This isn't good enough. Australia's going backwards at a rate of knots. We've absolutely got to have a change of government at the next election, because I can't see you guys getting any better.

We know that, for many, the cost of living is a weekly calculation. It's the groceries, it's the rent or the mortgage, it's the prescriptions and it's that unexpected bill that comes in before pay day. Labor understand this, which is why we are responding with practical help. It's why the priority for the 2026 budget was to continue to roll out cost-of-living measures.

At the same time, though, we are trying to make the economy more resilient by introducing some big reforms that start to address intergenerational inequalities. This Labor government is cutting taxes five times for 13 million workers, so the average Australian will be $2,800 better off every year across all our taxes; the latest was in July this year. We've also taken $250 off Australians' tax bills permanently, and there's the $1,000 instant tax deduction without receipts. On top of this, don't forget that we provided fuel tax relief earlier this year to help people as they fill up at the bowser.

We're also making health care more affordable. A sudden fever or an unexpected injury can turn your bills into something you weren't ready for. That's why we're making free urgent care clinics a permanent part of our Medicare system. We're delivering a record boost to public hospitals and we're making life-changing medicines cheaper. Don't forget—25 bucks a script under Labor.

Young people are telling us that they feel that the dream of owning their own home is disappearing for them. When you work hard and save hard, you should be able to buy that home of your own. We've already delivered the five per cent deposit scheme for first home buyers, and we're building 100,000 homes specifically for them. In fact, around Brisbane, 32,000 people are now in homes of their own as a result of the five per cent deposit. We've also got Help to Buy, which is a joint equity scheme to support homeownership. The reality is that first home buyers were being priced out of the market by property investors backed by tax breaks like negative gearing. So what have we done? We've made the tax system fairer so that that doesn't happen. Making housing more affordable also means building more homes, which is why we've put billions of dollars into building the necessary infrastructure—water, electricity, power, roads.

Those opposite need to let the facts speak for themselves. Labor is doing so much hard work to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to get ahead. That's why we've delivered a pay rise for all minimum and award wage workers, taking the total increase under Labor to $9,000. Paid parental leave is now 24 weeks, and there is now super being paid on top of that. There's a $10,000 bonus for housing apprentices to top up their wages. There's 30 per cent off home batteries to help permanently cut power bills. There's paid prac for nurses, teachers, social workers, occupational therapists and more. We're boosting Medicare with $1.8 billion in extra hospital funding. There's more choice, lower cost and high-quality health care for Australian women with our record spending in women's health. We've expanded the five per cent deposit to all first home buyers, with more than 280,000 first home buyers now accessing the scheme. There is another pay rise to aged-care nurses following the first instalment in March.

I'm going to keep going, because we are doing a lot to help people with the cost of living. We've expanded bulk-billing so more people can see a GP for free. There's a freeze on the draft beer excise indexation for two years. There's a 20 per cent cut to student debt, with an average saving of $5½ thousand. Fifty more urgent care clinics have opened—including one in the heart of the Brisbane electorate which I was so proud to deliver—providing more than two million Australians with free urgent health care. From 1 January we delivered the next stage in our plan to make the biggest cut to the cost of medicines in the history of the PBS: all PBS medicines are $25 or less. This will make medicines the cheapest in over two decades.

Labor always has been and always will be the government of fairness in Australia. We understand the importance of addressing disadvantage, promoting economic inclusion and supporting the most vulnerable in our community, which includes those on low and fixed incomes. This government is doing everything it can to support Australians with the cost of living. Just imagine how much harder it would have been under those opposite; they voted against every one of the measures we've introduced. It would have been difficult for people to get even further ahead. While the LNP and, frankly, One Nation continue to focus on themselves and vote against Labor's cost of living, let's not forget that it's Labor that is delivering for the people in my electorate, the people of Brisbane and across Australia.

Families across my electorate of Mackellar are hurting. The cost-of-living crisis is stretching household budgets far beyond their limits, and this has gone on for way too long. Hardworking Australians are trying to keep their heads above water as they are hit from all angles. Whether it's buying groceries, filling up at the bowser, renewing insurance or paying a mortgage, households are facing increasing costs that are putting them under enormous pressure. With Australia's annual inflation reaching the highest rate in almost three years in March, with fuel, housing and food costs continuing to rise, Hiten from Frenchs Forest told me that his household, like many others on the Northern Beaches, is struggling.

To combat inflation, the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates again last month—the fourth increase in the cash rate this year. It now stands at 4.6 per cent, the highest since 2011. Even before the latest increase, the average interest rate on outstanding owner-occupier housing loans reached 6.21 per cent in July. For families with mortgages, this means more pain and more decisions—decisions like whether to pull kids out-of-after-school sport or to skip or lower a level of insurance, postpone seeing the doctor or perhaps even sell the house.

Catherine from Belrose told me she's working two jobs taking care of elderly patients and facing imminent housing and food security issues. She rightly points out that she is not alone. Many working- and middle-class families are struggling with rising interest rates, increasing living costs and the real risk of losing their homes. The latest ABS figures illustrate why our communities are drowning. Inflation climbed back to four per cent in August. Underlying inflation remains at 3.6 per cent. Food is three per cent more expensive than a year ago. Transport costs are up 5.6 per cent. Housing costs are up 5.7 per cent, and insurance is up 3.5 per cent. The prices of everyday essentials have also increased, with milk up 8.9 per cent, fruit up 6.9 per cent and coffee and tea up more than five per cent over the year. Add to that increases in rent, child care, water, health care, electricity and education.

It's not only households that are hurting. Businesses in my electorate are just hanging on. They are angry and frustrated at the lack of support. Natalie, who runs an allied health practice on the Northern Beaches with her husband, wrote to me recently. She echoed what many small-business owners have told me—that running a small business right now is harder than it has ever been. Wages, rent, insurance, energy and compliance costs have all gone up, while their patients are more careful with every dollar they spend. Natalie said they cannot simply pass every cost increase onto the people they look after. Every month, they make careful decisions to keep their doors open, their staff employed and their patients cared for. This is the story for so many small businesses around Australia.

This year's annual Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Small Business Conditions Survey found that 63 per cent of small businesses cited increased costs as their biggest challenge, and the ACCI CEO, Andrew McKellar, put it plainly: Australia's small businesses are right on the brink. They are stretched, and they have extremely limited capacity to absorb additional costs. From talking to businesses all around my own electorate of Mackellar, I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. Constituents and small-business owners in my electorate are asking, rightly so, 'When will there be relief?' However, with the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, inflationary pressures are not likely to ease any time in the near future, but, right now, Australians need tangible everyday relief, including more affordable child care, health care, education, housing and support for Australian businesses.

There is one really clear action the government could take right now so that they could invest in such services, and that is to ensure that Australians get a fair return for the export sale of our gas by introducing a 25 per cent tax on gas exports. Research from the Australia Institute estimates that a 25 per cent gas export tax could raise $17 billion annually. Norway established a sovereign wealth fund in 1990 to invest revenue from its oil and gas resources for the benefit of its own population—for the Norwegians. It's now worth $3 trillion. It's time Australians reap that same benefit from the sale of our own resources. (Time expired)

Those opposite have a lot to say about the economy, but there's one part of the economic story they conveniently leave out: their own record. When the coalition left government, inflation was running above six per cent and rising. Before those opposite lecture this parliament about inflation, they should explain to Australians how it got so high on their watch.

Food inflation was twice what it is now, while the cost of health and education increased by 35 per cent under their government. Their economic record put enormous pressure on the essentials Australian families rely on every day. When they were in government they doubled Australia's gross debt, even before COVID, and racked up $600 billion of debt before we came to office—almost two-thirds of total gross debt. Debt went from $257 billion in 2013-14 to $542 billion in 2018-19 before COVID. At the last election, the coalition proposed bigger deficits and more debt. Since then, they have made more than $110 billion in unfunded commitments. Under their plans, gross debt will be more than half a trillion dollars higher by the end of the decade. Their approach means bigger deficits, more debt and greater risks to inflation and interest rates.

Our government has identified almost $180 billion in savings, with more than a third included in our most recent budget. They cannot credibly lecture Australians about fiscal responsibility while opposing our budget savings measures and at the same time refusing to explain what they will cut, so let's ask some obvious questions. Will they cut access to free GPs and bulk billing? Will they cut the three-day childcare guarantee that helps parents return to work while giving children a strong start in early education? Will they cut cheaper medicines, our investments in Medicare, free TAFE, paid parental leave, housing or a future made in Australia? These are the measures Australians rely on, and they are precisely the areas the coalition must explain if it intends to criticise while proposing more debt.

We recognise the cost-of-living pressures inflation continues to place on families. That is why our government has acted to help Australians keep more of what they earn, access essential services and build a more secure future. We expanded paid parental leave and introduced superannuation payments on parental leave for the first time. We mandated payday super, and, while they want Australians to raid their super, we are strengthening retirement savings so more Australians can retire with dignity. We delivered further permanent income tax cuts and cut income taxes five times in five different ways, putting nearly $3,000 a year into the pockets of an average-income worker by 2028. We are backing workers through increases to minimum and award wages while supporting small businesses with loss refundability, a permanent $20,000 instant asset write-off and simpler tax arrangements. By investing in skills recognition education, we are helping businesses find the workers they need and opening doors to better employment opportunities and higher wages.

Cost-of-living relief also means making health care more affordable and accessible. In my community, our investments in Medicare have helped more than double the number of fully bulk-billing GP clinics to over 94 per cent, with 49 Medicare bulk-billing practices now serving our community. Under Labor's cheaper medicines policy, more than two million cheaper scripts have been issued locally, helping residents access the medicines they need at a lower cost. Nearly 5,000 people have purchased their first home thanks to our five per cent deposit scheme. We have pursued these measures while maintaining budget responsibility and improving our fiscal position. We have found almost $180 billion in savings across our budgets and budget updates, including substantial savings in our most recent budget.

By contrast, the coalition delivered no budget surpluses in nearly a decade in government—and that record matters. Australians deserve an honest debate about the economy. That means acknowledging the pressures families face, being transparent about the costs of government policies and explaining how those policies will be funded. After nine coalition budgets that delivered zero surpluses, the Australian people deserve better than lectures from those opposite without an honest account of their record and a clear explanation of what they will cut. The Albanese Labor government will continue working to ease cost-of-living pressures and deliver practical support for working Australians and for families and communities like mine.

Our country is in bad shape, and it hurts. Australia is in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis affecting just about every Australian across this great country. People are frustrated. They're getting desperate and, understandably, they're very angry. We are at the point where we are taxed not only on our income but on our hard earned savings, on our super, on any investments people might be lucky enough to have and on any money they might make when they sell these investments. Inflation continues to rise. Rents are rising. Power bills are rising. Food seems to cost more at the supermarket with every single shop. Over the past year food prices have gone up 3.2 per cent, health costs have risen 3.8 per cent and education costs have gone up 4.8 per cent. It costs more to insure your car, and it costs more to fill up your car.

I don't know where it is that the members of this Albanese Labor government are walking, driving or shopping, or where they're talking to people, but they seem unable to hear what all regional Australians are saying to me. Let me tell you what I'm hearing on the ground. A teacher from my electorate in Parkes has written to me about the strain she is seeing in her school community:

These financial stresses are not just abstract concerns; they are visible in the day-to-day lives of our students. We see it in their conversations, in occasional lateness to school, in the contents—or absence—of lunchboxes, and in the challenges some families face in maintaining school uniforms.

Then there's the 68-year-old woman from Brewarrina who has had to go back to full-time work because she can no longer afford to pay her rent. In Tomingley, a farmer has written describing energy price rises as 'another kick in the guts'.

Every day, in every community, I am made aware of people who are struggling, and it's apparent that, in living memory, times may never have been this tough. Interest rates are at a 15-year high, which, combined with the rising cost of everything, has made rents and buying a house out of reach for many Australians. While hard workers and those who have made this country are hurting, this Albanese Labor government continues to spend and spend. Government spending is at a 40-year high, outside the pandemic, and debt is over $1 trillion. And yet our seniors, in the often modest homes they've paid off through scrimping and saving while raising a family, are told they must tighten their belts even more—that they must buy margarine instead of butter, drop their private health insurance, catch one of the buses that simply don't exist in regional communities instead of filling up their car, or, if they have to drive, pump their tyres up a little bit more and get rid of the roof racks. Air is free. Small-business owners are being told, yes, they can pay more tax. It is getting harder and harder to help the next generation get ahead. In other words, do as I say, not as I do.

The people Australians trust to manage our country are clearly failing, and it's time for a change. The Nationals, in a coalition, are the only people who care about regional Australians and who are listening. We have a plan. We have a way forward. It involves lowering taxes, cheaper power, more sensible migration and putting Australians first. It involves common sense. We will even establish a Future Generations Fund to pay down Labor's trillion dollar debt and invest in long-lasting nation-building infrastructure in roads, ports, energy and water. This government needs to stand up and take responsibility today. It needs to account for the dreams it has taken away from everyday Australians.

So many Australians are doing it tough right now. Global instability—including the war in Iran—is pushing up fuel costs, inflation and interest rates across the world. Australia is not immune to these pressures, nor are we unique in the inflation challenge we are now confronting. The government know this, and we're taking action. The Albanese Labor government is strengthening the budget, getting inflation down and continuing to deliver real cost-of-living relief for everyday Australians. In the face of great global forces, our focus is where Labor governments' focus always is: on getting costs down for families, providing targeted relief and helping Australians' pay packets keep up with the cost of living.

We know the strain that household budgets are under. Just as families are making tough choices at kitchen tables and in living rooms, the government is making tough choices around the cabinet table and in the caucus room—tough, principled choices to rein in the growth of the NDIS; to reform the unfair, age based private health insurance rebate; and to cut spending on external contractors and non-wage benefits. We are putting downward pressure on inflation through fiscal discipline and targeted support to those who need it the most.

When we came to office, the coalition had left Australians with inflation that was north of six per cent and rising. Grocery prices were rising at almost twice the current rate, and the cost of essential health care had increased by almost 35 per cent, forcing many to cut back on care and put off seeing their GPs. The 2025-26 final budget outcome proved that our bottom line is far better than what we inherited. It is better than what was forecast at the last election, and it has only improved since. Average real spending growth is less than half of what our predecessors averaged. It is lower than their pre-pandemic average, and it is well below the 30-year average. Forecast debt is almost a quarter of a trillion dollars better than what we were left with, thanks to four years of spending restraint under this government.

The coalition took a promise of bigger deficits and more debt to the last election, and it seems that they are yet to learn anything, with over $110 billion in unfunded thought bubbles thus far this term. We are providing fiscal restraint without smashing the labour market and throwing thousands of working Australians into unemployment. Those opposite take a different approach, and they are shameless about it. Instead of getting inflation down through spending discipline, sensible reform and paying down debt, those opposite would trade hundreds of thousands of jobs and make savage cuts to services in chasing the most reckless path to low inflation.

The difference between our approach and theirs is clear: a balanced fiscal strategy based on spending discipline and targeted cost-of-living relief versus a 'slash and burn' approach of mass unemployment and cuts to services that everyday Australians rely upon. Unemployment breaks up families. It has scarring effects on skills and lifetime earnings, and it hits school leavers and low-skilled workers the hardest. High levels of unemployment and a slack labour market make it harder for those in work to get a pay rise that keeps up with the cost of living. It's exactly the kind of extreme approach you would expect from those opposite. Forcing down wages and cutting essential services is in their DNA.

Just last week, the Leader of the Opposition announced the coalition's latest great idea: taking a blowtorch to aged care by slashing temporary migration in the sector. The coalition's sweeping cuts would hit aged-care workers and older Australians across my community the hardest, in places like BaptistCare in Bangor, John Paul Village in Heathcote and HammondCare in Hammondville. How many fewer aged-care workers would there be under those opposite? The Leader of the Opposition doesn't have the exact number, nor will the coalition tell Australians how many fewer doctors, nurses and construction workers there would be. Nowhere in their policy is there a place for temporary workers who provide essential care to older Australians across my community every day.

Like a dog chasing its own tail, all that the three right-wing parties seem to care about is going lower than the others in a twisted game of limbo: Who can cut services the hardest? Who can slash more jobs? Come right up and see how low you can go! While those opposite continue to outdo themselves in lowering the bar, our balanced fiscal strategy is getting inflation down and delivering targeted relief without crushing the labour market or cutting the health and aged-care services on which Australians rely. We are indexing payments and thresholds for 2.6 million Australians, helping young Australians into their first homes, saving families thousands on cheaper medicines and cutting taxes again and again for every Australian taxpayer. Relief today and reform for tomorrow— (Time expired)

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19 : 24