Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

Interest rates have gone down by a little—hallelujah!—and there are some financial commentators saying that we might be seeing green shoots for the economy. That might be true for some, but, for those doing it hard, it means absolutely nothing—zilch. If you speak to charity groups and food banks, they will tell you that millions of Australians are still struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table.

The latest report from Foodbank confirms that food insecurity in Australia has reached a critical point, with 3.4 million families either skipping meals, reducing their portion sizes, going entire days without eating or eating spoiled or expired food. According to the Salvation Army's 2025 report, the rate of food insecurity 'was more than six times higher than the national average'. We've had years of price hikes on food and power, and, of course, rents have never been higher. According to Anglicare's 2024 cost-of-living report, a full-time worker on a minimum wage has just $33 left, if they're lucky, after rent, food and transport are covered. The head of Anglicare said in June, 'It's really frustrating for people to hear speculation on whether the cost-of-living crisis is over, because millions of Australians are still struggling to afford even just those basic essentials.'

While low income Australians are struggling to make ends meet, our energy companies, on the other hand, our banks—what's new with our banks?—and big tech are making an absolute motza. They could shower us all in their cash. Research from The Australia Institute late last year shows just how much Australia's two biggest energy retailers are gouging from Aussie customers. More than a third of what Australians pay AGL and Origin for electricity is pure profit for those companies. The research, using the companies' own data, shows that an average AGL customer forks out over $750 a year directly to the profits of the company. AGL made a billion dollars last year, by the way—what a disgrace!—off the poor butt of Australians. They have no conscience. Origin Energy customers pay nearly $600 a year into the company's annual profit. Good on them; they should make Australians shareholders. Origin Energy's profit last year was $2 billion. It's the same story with gas. The average Origin customer pours $410 into the company's annual profit. An average AGL gas customer hands over $400 each year in pure profit for that company.

I have never been a fan of privatisation. This just shows how badly it can go for Australians. Australians need to look at this and listen, because privatisation is nothing ever good. Once we privatise something, we have no control over it. That's why you are paying those big bills. We sold out on you. We sold out on Australians—not me, but these two major parties. That is why Australians are paying these energy prices. They're saying, 'We don't know why this is happening,' but I'll tell you why it's happening. It's because they sold you out years ago. If it wasn't the electricity companies they sold out, it was the wires and poles. That's where we're at. It's an absolute disgrace. You are now paying for that—good on you, Australia—and you're not even a shareholder. What a disgrace! What is the government doing about it? I'll tell you what it's doing.

Then there are the banks, like the Commonwealth Bank, which is just another asset we privatised and sold off. That's money we could have been making and putting back into health and education. Do you Australians understand how it happens now? These two major parties go and privatise over the years they're in, and they do you completely over. All those profits those companies are making should have been coming to us, because we should have kept owning them. That's where the problem lies today, but Australians still keep voting for them. While your energy costs are going up, you can have a good look at yourselves and who you are voting for, because these two majors have done you over year in, year out, for a very long time now by privatising stuff. That's where it comes from.

According to Sydney University, it is estimated that the five big tech giants operating in Australia had a combined record profit of $15 billion. We weren't quick enough to work it out and do Commonwealth tech companies and make the money. Instead, somebody else is getting in before us. That is lack of will. You have to ask yourself, Australia: do you have the right people representing you up here? They have sold you out cheap, and they've been doing it for years. That's what the Liberal and Labor parties do to you. Good luck to you if you're wondering why those energy prices are so high. They can go around and blame anything they like, but the only ones to blame are themselves. They have done this to you because they let it go and privatised it. Good on them.