Tyron Whitten (WA, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

One Nation puts Australians first. We put the interests of Australia and Australians first. Under the Albanese government, Australia's standard of living has gone backwards. Families are struggling to make ends meet. Everything from a beer at the pub to groceries at the supermarket costs more than it ever has before—especially electricity bills, under the obsession with net zero. A serious debate can't be had on the cost of living without looking at record immigration under Labor, which is driving rampant rent and housing prices for everyday Australians. In my home state of WA, we are seeing rental vacancy rates at 0.7 per cent while locals compete with the flood of new arrivals. Perth's rents have risen more than anywhere else in the country—up 7.6 per cent this year alone and up a staggering 72 per cent since 2020. So what does Labor do? Drive up demand by increasing quotas of international students along with near-record net overseas migration.

One Nation knows there are many levers available that the government can pull to provide virtually instant cost-of-living relief. The government won't pull them. One Nation will. We plan to eliminate about $30 billion a year in federal government taxes and wipe out $10 billion from Australia's cost of living; that's $40 billion more in the pockets of Australians. One Nation's cost-of-living relief will temporarily reduce petrol and diesel fuel excise by 40c a litre; eliminate the excise on alcoholic beverages sold at hospitality venues; resource and empower the ACCC to better police profiteering and collusion in supermarkets, airlines and insurance; increase the Medicare rebate to better sustain the system and promote bulk-billing, partially paid for by eliminating Medicare fraud, estimated at $1.5 to $3 billion a year; and reduce electricity bills by at least 20 per cent by amending the national electricity market rules to promote 24/7 use of baseload power sources like coal and gas.

Affordable and reliable energy is absolutely essential for Australian households and businesses. Australia has the highest average household electricity prices in the world outside of Europe. Household electricity costs have increased by up to 40 per cent in the last two years. Under the Albanese government, the obscene push for renewable subsidies and premature closures of coal and gas power plants have directly led to huge increases in our energy bills and looming energy shortages. This makes no sense in a country like Australia, where there is an abundance of natural energy resources. One Nation's energy policy aims to leverage this competitive advantage to generate cheaper, more reliable power.

The total cost of renewable energy subsidies is over $1,500 per household per year on their electricity bills. There are 10.3 million households in Australia. Abolishing these subsidies will save $15.6 billion each year. The cost to Australian taxpayers of the renewable energy transition is estimated at $1.5 trillion. One Nation does not subscribe to the impractical pursuit of net zero through the destruction of Australia's economy, environment and prime agricultural land. One Nation will abolish the department of climate change, along with related agencies, saving $30 billion per year. We will eliminate the woke agenda from government bureaucracy, including ESG and DEI programs and funding. We will eliminate the federal Aboriginal industry and provide direct assistance to those who need it, which will save approximately $8 billion per year in direct grant funding.

We will review the functions and costs of the Department of Education and eliminate duplication with state departments, saving $1 billion per year. We will review the functions and costs of the department of housing and amend or abolish the national building code mandates on costly compulsory requirements like ensuring all new homes are wheelchair accessible. We will return the NDIS to its original purpose of providing reasonable and necessary disability support. We will abolish the TGA and roll its essential functions into the department of health. One Nation will also establish a review of $3 billion worth of medications approved for the PBS. We will withdraw Australia's membership from the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the International Criminal Court. This will save about $1 billion a year. Reducing foreign aid and redirecting foreign spending based on need rather than geopolitics will save about $3 billion per year. Only One Nation puts Australians first.