James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Special Minister of State) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

While I live on the Darling Downs—we have a bit of weather; we've had some rain recently, we've had a bit of wind, and sometimes we'd like some more rain—our weather is nothing compared to what the far north of Queensland, the gulf and the peninsula, have received from the weather gods over the past few months, from monsoonal flooding to an ex-cyclone to more flooding. That part of my state has really done it tough. Primary producers have suffered. Livestock losses are projected to exceed 100,000 head. Families have seen their homes inundated, with floodwaters destroying personal belongings—a lifetime's worth of memories washed away. Of course, there's been extensive damage to critical roads, bridges and rail lines—infrastructure that these communities rely on. Most recently, the community of Einasleigh was hit particularly hard, experiencing flooding at levels not seen in living memory. The floodwaters ravaged this community, damaging homes, roads and, in particular, the pub—a pub that actually has appeared in my country pub calendar. Just days after the Wellby family took ownership of the Einasleigh Hotel, it was inundated by over a metre of water running through the front bar. You should google the pub to see these quite distressing images.

The destruction witnessed across Queensland is truly heartbreaking, and recovery from these weather events will take some time. As a Queensland senator, one thing has stood out clearly: the rapid response of the Crisafulli LNP government to the needs of those affected communities and the response of local members like Phil Thompson and Andrew Willcox and, in particular, my fellow senator Susan McDonald. The Queensland Premier, his ministers and my colleagues have been on the ground, standing side by side with those impacted, listening to their concerns and making sure actions happen. Support has been rolled out across the region, including financial assistance measures. Queensland will rebuild, as we always do.

Today the Reserve Bank raised interest rates to 3.85 per cent, a direct result of Labor's woeful mismanagement of our economy. The RBA's decision reflects headline inflation's rise to 3.8 per cent, well above the two-to-three per cent range. This rate rise will cost the average Australian mortgage holder more than $100 a month at a time when they can least afford it. The average mortgage holder is now paying an extra $23,000 a year in interest since Labor was elected. Respected economists across Australia have made it clear that this rate rise and untamed inflation are due to government spending courtesy of Treasurer Jim Chalmers. This excessive spending continues to fuel inflationary pressures and crowd out private sector activity. The worst is yet to come, with headline inflation set to rise higher to 4.2 per cent by June. What does the Treasurer have to say for himself as Australian families suffer because of the economic incompetence of the government? 'It's not my fault.' What does the Prime Minister say? Well, he doesn't say anything, because he's at the tennis. Rather than roll up his sleeves and get to fixing the economy, the Treasurer and the Prime Minister are spectacularly attempting to claim their relentless spending has nothing to do with inflation.

Meanwhile, Australia's inflation rate is higher than every major advanced economy, government spending continues to grow, gas is up 42 per cent, electricity is up almost 40 per cent and the cost of freight and everyday goods continues to skyrocket. In the current financial year alone, Labor has added an additional $50 billion of new spending decisions, almost the value of the entire national defence budget. This is Labor, Jim Chalmers and the Prime Minister's cost-of-living crisis. The Treasurer and the Prime Minister can deny it all they like, but when they spend, Australians pay. Under Labor, you always pay more.