What a mess the Albanese Labor government is presiding over. But the problem is that the price is being paid by Australians and by Australian small businesses. Australians have spent years being told by this government that it understands the pressures that they're under and that it's providing cost-of-living relief—all of these kinds of things—and we know that's a load of rubbish. Households are having to make difficult decisions about what they can and can't afford—food, things for their kids, which school activities they can go on, how much petrol they can put in the car. All of these decisions are being made on a daily basis because of the actions of this government. Every time someone pays by card, there are costs associated with processing that payment. Those costs don't cease to exist for a small business because this government decided that they should no longer appear separately on your receipt.

The Prime Minister gloated about these changes. On 31 March this year, on social media, he said:

These small surcharges add up fast, and this will save you money every single time you tap.

That's what he said. On 30 September, again on social media, he said: 'Pay by card? From tomorrow, your morning coffee will be cheaper.' Wasn't that wrong—totally wrong. Either the Prime Minister lied to Australians or he doesn't know how our economy works, because costs don't disappear just because the Prime Minister says so. On 1 October, on social media, he said: 'Every time you tap, those little surcharges add up. Right now they're costing Aussies $1.6 billion each every year. But from today they're banned—saving you money every time you tap.' What a load of rubbish.

Assistant Minister Charlton defended the ATO when the ATO banned card payments. He defended them. He didn't defend small businesses. Nobody from that side defended small businesses, but they ran to defend the ATO. If the ATO cannot afford to absorb card surcharges, then explain to me how small businesses are meant to. Shockingly, today, the small business minister, in the other place, said she had no idea. She heard about the surcharge on the day that it was announced. They didn't even run it past her. They didn't even talk to the minister in charge of small business about the impact of this ban on small business. That tells you everything about how much this government cares about small business, which is less than zero. That's why they're crushing them.