I rise to speak against this motion. It's quite astounding for Senator Cash and the Liberal Party to come in here and say that they want Australians to pay more when they tap their cards. That's not something that our government agrees with. You know what's nice? You know what I think Australians will appreciate when they go to tap their card as they pay? I think they will appreciate that they don't have to pay a hidden surcharge—because it was always just a little bit sticky. Sometimes you'd go to pay and you'd think maybe your coffee was $4.50 or $5.12 or what Senator Cash said—I think she's buying expensive coffee in Perth's western suburbs—and then sometimes there'd be a charge added on top. That's sneaky.

We know that the vast majority of small businesses were not passing those charges on. I think something like 84 per cent of businesses were absorbing that cost themselves. And now our government has made it really clear that we don't want Australians to pay more when they tap their card. You shouldn't have to pay more if you decide to pay with your card than if you are paying with cash. It's of course not a small amount on its own, but, when times are tough, when Australian families are struggling with the cost of living, those small costs at the cafe when you're buying a coffee, at the servo, at the chemist add up. I think people just got used to it, perhaps accepting it as part of making a purchase.

I'm really proud of this change. I'm really proud that we have recommended that the RBA look into this issue, because there is no more important time for us to think about all the ways that we can help Australians who are struggling with the cost of living, and ultimately that's what this change is about. Card surcharges were costing Australians around $1.6 billion every single year—$1.6 billion being paid by ordinary families, by young people. That's $1.6 billion that comes out of a household budget for no reason other than they chose to use their card instead of cash. And we know cash is just not king anymore. I can't really think of anyone I know who carries cash around these days unless they're buying off Facebook Marketplace.

Now here's the part that Senator Cash and the Liberal Party like to leave out. These reforms are expected to save businesses $910 million a year. I'll help them along the journey because I think they need a bit of assistance.

In late 2024, our government said that we were prepared to ban surcharges on debit cards. We were clear that this would be a decision that would be subject to further work by the Reserve Bank and that there should be appropriate safeguards to make sure that both consumers and small businesses—ordinary Australians and small businesses—came out ahead. The Reserve Bank went away and did that work and decided that the best path forward was to remove surcharging on both debit and credit cards. That change, of course, kicked in just a few weeks ago.

The RBA is also—and this was left out, by Senator Cash, conveniently, in her contribution, and in their media blitz on this issue in recent days—lowering the cap on interchange fees, which are the fees that businesses end up paying every time a customer taps their card. Yes, you heard that right. You didn't hear that from Senator Cash earlier, did you? That's lower fees for businesses. On top of that, payment companies and the banks are now required to be more transparent about the costs that they are charging, so that small businesses can shop around and find a better deal.

When you put it all together, it's a pretty sensible set of reforms. It means Australians pay less when they go to the checkout, whether that's at a coffee shop or at a chemist. It means that small businesses are paying less to the banks when customers use their cards. It means lower costs for Australians and lower costs for small businesses. I'll remind you that 84 per cent of small businesses were absorbing this fee already. So those businesses will be better off under these changes, because they will see lower interchange fees from their bank.

Sometimes I wonder why those opposite are so determined to undo this—lower costs for shoppers; lower overheads for businesses; more transparency from the banks. But what I know is that the Liberal Party and Senator Cash want Aussies to pay more—more for their groceries, more for medications, more to see their GP and more at the checkout. We don't.