Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hume has submitted a proposal, shown at item 12 of today's Order of Business:

Australians were promised relief, but instead they've been hit with another spike in the cost of living. Inflation is up, power bills are soaring, and interest rates have been higher for longer because of Labor's failures.

Is consideration of the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

The:

With the concurrence of the Senate, the clerks will set the clock in accordance with the informal arrangements made by the whips.

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a matter of public importance because the cost-of-living crisis that began under Labor continues on today. In 2022, Anthony Albanese made a promise to the Australian people. He said that they would be better off under Labor. More than three years on, Australians are worse off. Living standards have declined by more than six per cent under the Albanese Labor government, and that is the biggest decline in living standards in the developed world. Australians were told that their power bills would go down by $275, but, instead, families are paying thousands of dollars more, and there are 330,000 Australians who are drowning in $300 million of energy debt. Labor's solution to this is, 'Oh, you should shop around.' That's not a solution; that's an excuse.

Australians were told that mortgages would be cheaper under Labor. Instead, interest rates went up 12 times, and mortgage repayments are up on average around $1,800 a month. That's not the sort of money that you find down the back of the couch. We were told by Labor that they had a plan for inflation. But, instead, Labor added fuel to the fire by increasing government spending, and that kept inflation higher for longer. Then they told us that inflation was a global problem and it wasn't their fault. But, while other countries' inflation fell and their interest rates came down, ours continued to climb. Australian families and businesses have paid an extraordinarily high price for this. The cost of everything is up. Electricity is up by 39 per cent under Labor. Rent is up by 20 per cent. Insurance is up by 35 per cent. Food is up by 14 per cent. Health is up by 15 per cent. Education is up by 17 per cent.

Labor's had three years and four budgets to get this right, but every single one of them has failed. They also have seen a fall in our standard of living that we now expect will not be recovered until 2030. So, if you are feeling poorer, there is a good reason: you are poorer. You are poorer under Labor.

The coalition set up the cost-of-living committee in September 2022 because we could see at that stage that Labor had no plan to address the cost-of-living crisis. We travelled around the country and received thousands of submissions from ordinary Australians and heard firsthand the pressure that Australian families and businesses are under. After a two-year inquiry, the evidence was overwhelming. It found that Australia's standard of living had collapsed due to Labor's high inflation and low productivity. To address this, two of the many recommendations that committee made included for the Albanese government to convene a National Cabinet to address this issue of excessive government spending that's driving inflation across all levels of government and for a National Cabinet to develop a productivity-enhancing reform to the economy, including establishing a national deregulation agenda.

While Labor didn't act on these recommendations at the time, it does seem that the Treasurer has finally realised that productivity is a problem in Australia. He got halfway there with his productivity roundtable, but, as we know, the outcomes to that were a little lacklustre. Just a few weeks ago the RBA that warned our living standards would continue to fall over the next few years unless something is done to address our sluggish productivity. Because we've gone backwards under Labor and will continue to go backwards, we are concerned that Labor is not taking the cost-of-living crisis that continues in Australia seriously. They're out of their depth. They've blamed everybody else, while Australians know the truth: the cost of living was fuelled by inflation and is homegrown. Inflation is higher than it should be because of decisions that were made here in Canberra.

The government's spending has blown out to more than 27 per cent of GDP. That's the highest level of government spending outside of a recession in nearly 40 years. That's extraordinary! Debt is heading to $1.2 trillion, and that's $32,700 per household and $2,080 a year in extra interest that we're all paying since Labor came to office. Higher spending, higher debt, higher inflation—that's the reality of life under Labor. No Australian household or business would run their budget the way that Jim Chalmers is running his.

Australians were promised relief. They were promised their grocery bills, mortgages and electricity bills would go down, and none of that has happened. The Reserve Bank has been clear. Unless the government reins in its spending, inflation will continue to be too high for too long and standards of living will not improve. Australians deserve better. They deserve a government that keeps its promises, lives within its means and delivers the relief for families that they so desperately need and have been crying out for now for more than three years.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's another display of crocodile tears from those opposite, showing empathy for people who have challenges with the cost of living when, in fact, each time we put taxation relief before this chamber, they voted against it. Only today we had before the Senate the National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025, which is reducing medications. The reality is different, despite the way that those opposite want to come into this chamber and rewrite history, as they tried to this morning with that contribution around aged care. They're doing it here again.

Looking at cheaper medicines, when they were in government for 11 very long years, they didn't do anything about bringing down the cost of medications. We know that over seven million Australians are living with arthritis in this country. Some of those who suffer with arthritis and from that disease take medications every day. Unfortunately, it's a large number of them. This is going to reduce their cost of living, which is going to have a real impact on those people. The 60-day scripts is another measure that's going to help with the cost of living. What did those people do when they were in government for 11 years? They failed to take that necessary step.

Since we've been in government, we've built on our first term. We take very seriously the challenges to people's households. We've actually delivered a real wage increase for Australian workers, unlike those opposite. Last week, we passed legislation to ensure that workers are able to rely on penalty rates and overtime rates by legislating to stop any change so that workers won't be worse off. Those people opposite didn't support that legislation. It's alright to come in here and try to rewrite history, but we know that the proof is in the pudding.

Let's talk about higher inflation. When we came into government three years ago, inflation was at 6.1 per cent. It was 6.1 per cent under you guys opposite. That's what you left behind. It now has a two in front of it. Is there still more work to be done? Of course, there is still more work to be done. We don't walk away from that. But when it comes to ensuring that we're investing in the Australian people and making sure that real wages are growing—they've grown for seven consecutive quarters—the economy is still expanding. The fundamentals of our national economy are strong. Interest rates have been cut three times in the last six months. Do they still need to come down? Yes, they do, but it's saving people real money and leaving more money in their wallet with interest rates coming down.

More than 1.1 million jobs have been created since we came to government. That's a record for any government in a single term. That's the reality of it, not the false, crocodile tears and rewriting of history by those opposite. The average unemployment rate is the lowest of any government in 50 years. These are the facts. You can't run away from them. The reality is that we have been delivering. We've delivered on all our election commitments. In our last term of government, we turned two Liberal deficits into two Labor surpluses and also halved the deficit in our third year. That's what a Labor government has done. Those opposite like to paint the picture that they're the only ones who can look after and build a strong economy. That is not right. Eleven years, and they failed to deliver one surplus.

When we talk about energy policies, we know that energy prices have to come down; that's why we're investing in renewable energies. But those opposite had 22 energy policies and couldn't land one of them! And at the last election, what did they come up with? The most ineffective, most costly form of energy possible. And the Australian people spoke. Let's not forget: when Australians go to an election, they never get it wrong. Whether we end up in government or not, the Australian people never get it wrong. They saw through Mr Dutton and the former government. They had 11 years of failure. (Time expired)

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no doubt that Australians are being smashed by a cost-of-living crisis, whether it's power bills through the roof, getting price-gouged by Coles and Woolworths, the supermarket duopoly or mortgages and rents breaking the household budget. While people are struggling so severely, the billionaires, the super wealthy and the big corporations—the banks, the energy giants and the supermarket duopoly—are raking in billions of dollars in profit. The big corporations and the super wealthy have never had it so good in Australia's history.

Here is the truth of the matter: those same interests, many of them, are now seeking to sow division in our community. They are doing that because they want Australians to blame migrants and refugees for the problems of the day, instead of calling out the corporate profiteers who are bleeding people dry and their agents in this place—the Labor and Liberal parties—who are allowing them to get away with it. Too many people who sit in this Senate are doing the dirty work for big corporations and the super wealthy. We saw it on the weekend; those racist, white supremacist, Neo-Nazi rallies were literally being cheered on by some senators who sit in this place. It is a deliberate strategy to pit neighbour against neighbour so that the rich and the big corporations can keep making off like bandits.

I'll tell you one thing: when politicians scapegoat migrants and refugees, they are giving cover to a rigged economy that works for the wealthy few and the big corporations and that punishes everybody else. Many of those people who came to those rallies are being punished by this economy. It's not migrants and refugees that should be the object of their anger and ire; it is people in this place who are allowing big corporations to make off like bandits. They are protecting the powerful and the profits of the powerful by stoking hate, fear and division and causing harm to those who are being targeted. The Australian Greens stand with the communities who are targeted by racists, racism and Neo-Nazis, and we also stand with the people who have been ripped off and left behind by an economy that is rigged against them.

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

I thank Senator Hume for bringing this very important matter before the Senate today. Earlier this year the Australian Labor Party promised to deliver responsible and meaningful cost-of-living relief to Australians should they be elected. Four months later, we've seen nothing of the sort. Day after day, week after week, we hear the same story: the cost of living is a huge issue. It certainly is, and it's affecting each and every Australian. Yet this Labor government has no solution. Worse still, it seems that they don't even want to fix it. Labor is the Michael Scott of economics: thinking that by shouting loud enough they can dodge the fallout of their reckless spending. If they believe blaming everyone else will erase this damage, they're indeed as delusional as that character himself.

This government's own campaign website promised that they would provide energy bill relief while putting downward pressure on inflation. Well, on the contrary, our headline annual inflation rate has risen from 1.9 to 2.8 per cent, the highest rate we've seen in over a year. The basic laws of economics do not change. Only by improving productivity growth can we sustainably raise living standards. And what is this government doing about it? Well, they called a roundtable to discuss it.

The one thing that came out of the recent economic reform roundtable is that this government finally realised that there is a productivity crisis in this country. But simply trying to spend their way to improve productivity is not the solution either. Robert Breunig wrote in the AFR:

You can't spend your way to productivity. A solid body of evidence underwrites the argument that big government is bad for productivity. Government spending can lead to higher interest rates making borrowing more expensive for businesses and individuals. This reduces private investment.

There are real and tangible things that Labor could be doing, but they aren't. They could be cutting red tape, encouraging private sector investment and creating an environment where small businesses can thrive. Instead, they're bailing water out with one hand while pouring more into the leaky boat with the other. Business Council Chief Executive Bran Black affirmed this by stating, 'You don't fix Australia's lagging productivity and investment by taxing business more and making Australians less competitive.'

Reduced private sector spending is already contracting and continues to do so under this government's watch. We know non-mining investment is already down 1.9 per cent over the past year, and in Victoria it's dropped 5.3 per cent. Private sector capital expenditure is now at its lowest contraction since 2020. So, rather than incentivise private sector investment, this government under its watch saddles it with more red tape and union-favouring industrial relations laws. National productivity will continue to plummet if this government thinks that it can just spend its way out.

When productivity is poor we all feel poorer for it. Our standard of living drops, and people feel they have less to spend in their back pocket. This is all happening under this government. This government have had 1,197 days to deliver on their promises to the Australian people. Sadly, they're failing. But, just like Michael Scott convinced himself that he's the genius manager while the office crumbles daily around him, Labor are full of deluded optimism, convinced that their antics will somehow work out while ordinary Australians foot the bill for their mistakes. The cost-of-living crisis is only getting worse, not better. It's time for them to stop making excuses and start taking real action.

Josh Dolega (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in response to Senator Hume's matter of public importance regarding the cost of living. When Labor came to office there were huge deficits as far as the eye could see—a trillion bucks of coalition debt in a budget weighed down with nothing but rorts and waste. The Labor government, together with Australians, has made so much progress in the economy. Quarterly headline and underlying inflation is now at around four-year lows. Annual real wages have been growing, and they've been growing for seven consecutive quarters. I'll say that again: real wages are growing after a decade where wage suppression was government policy under those opposite. And the economy is still expanding.

People with home loans will have noted and felt the difference of interest rates that have been cut three times in the last six months. There was a quarter of a per cent in February, another quarter of a per cent in April and another quarter of a per cent in August. These interest rate cuts are making a huge difference for families with a mortgage. The cuts mean that a household with a $700,000 mortgage is now saving about $330 per month, or $4,000 per year.

We've created more than 1.1 million jobs since we came to government, a record for any government in a single term. I note that the average unemployment rate is the lowest of any government in 50 years.

When it comes to the Labor government budget, we've taken a disciplined and considered approach. I note my colleague Senator Polley pointed out that we've turned two Liberal deficits into two Labor surpluses, and then, in the third year, we halved the deficit. The budget position under Labor has improved by more than $207 billion. Debt is $177 billion lower in the 2024-25 year, saving $60 billion in interest costs as a consequence. Real payments growth is estimated to be averaged at 1.7 per cent per year, less than half the average under our predecessors. We have found more than $100 billion in savings, when our predecessors had none in their budget.

But the job is not finished. We know people are still under pressure, and that's why we're delivering more real, practical and ongoing help with the cost of living, including eight new changes that already came into effect on 1 July and three tax cuts for every single Australian taxpayer—one last year, one next year and another the year after that. Those opposite went to the last election opposing our tax cuts. They were going to repeal them. I think the average Australian saw through the policies of the other side for what they were, and they actually voted for higher living standards, higher wages, lower taxes and secure, well-paid jobs. That's what we're working towards every day, delivering for everyday Australians.

Today in this place we've started taking steps to make medicines cheaper for all—another key cost-of-living initiative that Australians supported at the last election. We're reducing the cost of PBS scripts from $31.60 to $25, the lowest that they've been since 2004. Labor built Medicare and the PBS, and Labor is making the system stronger and fairer.

We've delivered strong reforms to industrial relations. We made submissions to the Fair Work Commission supporting real, fair wage rises for the lowest-paid workers. We have levelled the playing field by closing loopholes for labour hire workers and casual workers, with same job, same pay. Just last week we legislated to protect penalty rates for award-reliant workers. This will ensure the wages of around three million workers do not go backwards. And, again, last week we announced that from 1 October more Australians than ever will be able to afford to buy their first home with a five per cent deposit. The five per cent deposit scheme will cut years off the time Australians require to save for a deposit. It will save people tens of thousands of dollars on lenders mortgage insurance. That's real cost-of-living relief.

We've seen an increase to super. We have supported parents, with more paid parental leave. Parents are getting super on paid parental leave.

How could I not mention that in the first sitting fortnight we legislated to slash student debt by 20 per cent. We've also raised the repayment threshold and lowered the payment rates. (Time expired)

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

The Labor Albanese government has made bold promises—cheaper power, stronger economy, more housing—but Australians are left with broken trust and rising costs. I'm calling bullshit. Take energy. Labor promised a $275—

Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Whitten, that commentary isn't parliamentary. If you could please withdraw.

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

Sorry, Acting Deputy President. I withdraw. Labor promised a $275 cut to power. Instead, families are paying $1,500 more per year. People are switching off heaters and appliances just to stay afloat.

This is the same government that claimed it would boost productivity and resilience, but we're now facing the largest drop in disposable income in the developed world. Wages are flat, inflation is biting and everyday essentials—food, fuel and electricity—keep climbing. Australians are having to choose between rent, groceries, school costs and mortgage payments.

This is the same government that promised to help more Australians own their own homes. We're in a rent crisis. Rents are soaring, repayments are blowing out, and homeownership is slipping out of reach for young Australians. Some families are even being pushed onto the streets, not through bad choices but because the government has failed to act and failed them.

This is the same government that has presided over 12 interest rate rises while having the tools to ease pressure. They pointed fingers instead until rates fell slightly, and then they took the credit. That's not leadership; that's spin.

This is the same government that promised a renewables-only policy. Not only has that driven up electricity prices; it's putting our environment and farmland at risk, all in the name of saving it. Australians deserve leadership that delivers not just headlines.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Energy insecurity leads to economic insecurity. Affordable, reliable energy underpins our national economy and supports productivity. Manufacturing, industry, agriculture and small businesses sit next to emerging technologies like AI in their demand and in their need for reliable, affordable energy.

That's why Australians are alarmed and concerned that electricity prices have risen by 30 per cent under Labor's watch. Remember that it was Prime Minister Albanese who promised savings of $275 on household electricity costs. Families today are now having to live with soaring energy costs of up to $1,300. Don't believe me? You can believe Anglicare Australia. Anglicare Australia's June 2025 Cost of living index said:

For the majority of the households we modelled, energy bills are simply unaffordable.

'Energy bills are simply now unaffordable,' is what Anglicare Australia are telling people as a result of the conversations they've had with Australian households.

And nowhere is the cost-of-living experience being felt with more difficulty than in my home state of Western Australia. There are three compelling data points: business insolvencies, slowing employment growth and inflation. In the 2024-25 financial year, 929 Western Australian businesses went insolvent. That's a 26 per cent increase on just a year before and a 149 per cent increase in business insolvencies compared to 2021-22. Think about that—929 business insolvencies in the last financial year compared to just 372 in 2021-22.

Perth has experienced the largest increase in annual inflation of any Australian city. The annual inflation rate for Perth families sits at 2.7 per cent, the highest of any Australian city. Western Australians have been forced to find money to support a 116 per cent increase in their electricity costs, a 2½ per cent increase in their hospital and medical costs and a 3.8 per cent increase in their motor vehicle maintenance costs, and, of course, rents are up by almost two per cent.

The one thing that has protected Australians from cost-of-living pressures is their feeling that they are saved by job security. For many years, people have thought, 'I can deal with the cost-of-living pressure because I have job security.' Well, guess what has changed in Western Australia? Western Australians are now facing increasing levels of job insecurity. In the six months to 2025, there were just 10,000 jobs created in Western Australia. Compare that to the 43,000 jobs that were created in the same period one year before that. What does that mean? It means job growth is slowing and job insecurity is increasing.

Life has become difficult for many, many Western Australian families under Labor. They know the country is going backwards. They can feel the country going backwards, and the data reveals it. Almost a thousand WA small businesses lost, jobs evaporating, families under cost-of-living pressures and energy costs rising: this is Labor's legacy on Western Australian businesses and Western Australian families. Perth tops every city when it comes to inflation. Insolvencies have increased by 26 per cent from a year ago and by almost 150 per cent in just four years, and job growth is in decline.

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time for the discussion has now expired.