House debates Statements by Members

Economy

Thursday, 29 October 2026 House of Representatives

Andrew Hastie

Andrew Hastie Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Industry and Sovereign Capability

1:51 pm

This Labor government don't get it, and they won't listen, so let me spell it out. Australian families are hurting, and they feel poorer because they are poorer. Families are drowning in rent and mortgage payments. Their budgets are tighter than ever. Food prices are up. Power prices are up. Petrol prices are up. That's the cost of this Albanese government. And what's Labor's answer? It's more taxes, more spending and more excuses, higher taxes on savings, higher taxes on businesses, higher taxes on housing and higher taxes on families. But do you know what Labor's biggest tax is? It's sneaky. It's silent. It requires no policy announcement, just more spending. Do you know what it is? It's Albanese's inflation. Albanese's inflation is a tax on families every single—

Sharon Claydon

Sharon Claydon Newcastle, Australian Labor Party

Member for Canning, you'll remove the use of the personal name.

Andrew Hastie

Andrew Hastie Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Industry and Sovereign Capability

The Prime Minister's inflation is a tax on families every single day—at the supermarket, at the petrol bowser, when the power bill arrives. When Australians ask why life is so expensive, what does Labor do? They blame everybody but themselves. Families are trimming their budgets, but Labor keeps spending and taxing families with inflation, stealing their purchasing power and taking more tax through bracket creep. Families are making changes; it's time the Albanese government did the same. It's time for restraint. It's time for responsibility because families can't afford the price of Labor anymore.