Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this important issue that Senator Lambie has brought before the Senate. I thank her for bringing it to us today. Senator Polley referred to Senator Lambie's speech as a rant. I would say it was an impassioned call for this government to take action on some very important issues. This is an important issue, and I thank Senator Lambie for bringing it before us.

The cost-of-living crisis has become synonymous with this Labor government. Throughout its first term and now in its second, we have seen Australians braving the ever-declining standards of living. Even now the cost of essentials refuses to come down, with milk, bread, electricity and gas all rising. The ugly truth that this government continues to shy away from is that their approach simply has not worked. Throwing temporary energy bill relief at households has not brought the cost of energy down. As we are seeing in my home state of Western Australia, now that the state government energy relief measures have been lifted off the bills, we are seeing those costs go up significantly. The latest ABS data, unsurprisingly, shows that once government funded energy bill relief ended, electricity costs rose in June 2025 across all household types. Now, with household energy prices up 40 per cent over the past two years, and a further increased forecast this year, this Labor government is a few watts short of powering a solution. With no real plan to address the issue and the demand on the grid only increasing with the rise of artificial intelligence, Australians can only expect their wallets to feel an even tighter squeeze under this government. What Australians need is a lasting cost-of-living relief, not one-off election commitments. Housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages were all included in the list of main contributors to the rise of costs of living in this quarter. Under Labor, rent is up 20 per cent, insurance is up 35 per cent and food is up 14 per cent. The fact is that this Labor government has not delivered on its alleged priority of helping Australians with the cost of living, and Australians are suffering as a result. Our young people are struggling to build their futures. Our senior citizens are shielding their life earnings from the government's superannuation tax. And our families are dreading the delivery of those windowed envelopes in the post.

We are now seeing many millennials in a position worse off than their parents were in at their age. As a result, family planning has been put on the backburner as Australians delay the inevitable cost of raising children. Australia's 2024 fertility rate stayed at 1.5 children per woman, which is well below the 2.1 replacement rate needed to sustain population growth and workplaces. Recent KPMG analysis confirms the declining birth rate is largely driven by compounding economic pressures that Australians are facing, including rising rents, mortgage payments and limited parental leave. I believe the conversation on alleviating childcare costs must include important measures like income splitting for families. Families should have a choice to access the kinds of care arrangements that best suit their needs, including alternative options that currently receive no government support at all.

This is exactly the kind of tangible cost-of-living relief that this government would never consider, but it is something that we should consider as a parliament. It's not a flashy headline, and it does not come with a dollar sign. A measure like this would bring real financial change for Australian families. This is the kind of tangible change that Australians want and need. They don't need another three-day, invite-only get-together for bureaucrats in Canberra which produces no more than he-said, she-said from journalists. When will the government stop desperately sweeping the nation's economy under the proverbial rug and face it for what it is?

The cost of living has not come down. The standard of living has in fact not gone up. Productivity growth is slower than it has ever been—or certainly in a long time. The Australian dream of homeownership, unfortunately, has become a fantasy. Australians are tired of watching the cracks in our economy widen at the hands of the Albanese government. I call on the Prime Minister to deliver real change—change that will make a difference for the millions of Australians that voted for him yet, sadly, are seeing the results of failed action by this government.