Steph Hodgins-May (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

How do you claim to tackle the housing and cost-of-living crises while handing out $360 billion for imaginary subs? How do you say you're easing pressure on families, when one in three big corporations pay less tax than a nurse, without upsetting billionaire donors? It's tricky. How do you choose between helping a single parent who can't afford rent or giving yet another tax break to her landlord? How do you tell Gina Rinehart or Anthony Pratt that they might need to pay more tax because nurses and teachers can't put food on the table after paying theirs?

Apparently, the answer is simple. Billionaires make massive political donations. Nurses and teachers don't. Inflation isn't driven by a nurse's pay rise; it's driven by corporate greed. The major parties would rather see your mortgage explode than rein in the property moguls in this country. They would rather protect fossil fuel donors than cut your energy bills. It is the same hypocrisy and the same excuses. We must end property investor tax breaks and curb the power of billionaires and corporations, and we must put housing and households first. It seems pretty bloody simple. Families don't need excuses; they need relief. All we need is some courage and some leadership from this government.