Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Likewise, Mr Deputy President, I congratulate you on your election to your role. It's wonderful to see you back in the chair.

This is the first opportunity I've had to speak in the new parliament. I think Australians were watching very closely what happened during question time today, and, indeed, I was listening very carefully to what happened during question time today. When Australians switch on the television to watch question time, they want to know whether their government is standing up for what's important to them and standing up for our national interests, our values and our future. They want to know whether their government is making sure that it has good control of the economy and that it is doing everything it can to make their lives easier. They want to see leadership. Right now, at least based on the display that we saw in question time today, I don't think that Australians would have seen the leadership that they deserve.

We know that Labor has won the election. Now it is time for us to see whether they are going to keep their promises and whether they can actually deliver better outcomes for Australians. Frankly, based on what I heard here in question time today and based on the three years of Labor government prior to this, my hopes are not high. Labor can't handle the economy. Labor can't build more houses, despite the fact that that's what they promised Australians they would do. My fear is that this government will continue to let Australians down at every turn, because you certainly weren't getting a straight answer to the questions that the opposition asked of the government today—not a straight answer at all. There were no facts; it was all spin. Well, here are some of the facts—particularly in relation to questions about housing and questions about the economy.

The Labor government's Housing Australia Future Fund has been one of the greatest failures in public policy in recent history. The government promised to build 1.2 million new homes by 2030, and now we know, because of advice that has been produced by the treasury department, this promise will be broken. For the government to build 1.2 million new homes by 2030, the maths says they need to build 250,000 homes a year. So far, they are barely hitting 170,000 homes a year. That number is significantly down from the 190,000 new homes that were built on average every year under the previous coalition government. That's something that I know that many people on this side of the chamber, on the opposition benches, are incredibly proud of. But it is saddening and disappointing for Australians to see that a government that promised so much in this regard—like I said, they promised to build 1.2 million new homes by 2030—doesn't look like it is going to get there.

We talked a lot about homeownership during the election campaign and during the three years prior to that. We in the coalition want to see Australians achieving the dream of owning their own home. Indeed, we had plenty of election policies that addressed that very issue. But all we have from Labor is a promise for something that we now know they are not going to achieve. Australians deserve honesty; they don't deserve spin. As I said earlier, there was an awful lot of spinning going on from the government here in question time today.

Here are some more facts about the economy. Under Labor, the economy is stalling, and households have gone backwards. Households are in recession, business investment is falling and productivity has flatlined. The economy only grew by a lacklustre 0.2 per cent in the March quarter, while annual growth is stuck at 1.3 per cent, which is less than half the long-term average. These figures from the ABS have completely obliterated Labor's pre-election claim that the economy had turned a corner. Treasurer Jim Chalmers's response is that any growth is a good outcome. It is clear that this Labor government has a very low ambition for Australia's economy, and we will continue to ask questions about that ambition throughout this parliament. (Time expired)