Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Shadow Treasurer) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance, Senator Gallagher. After four years of the Albanese government, Australians are paying 42 per cent more for insurance, 38 per cent more for electricity, 37 per cent more for gas, 23 per cent more for rent, 21 per cent more for education and 17 per cent more for food and health. On top of that, interest rates have increased 15 times under Labor, leaving Australians with a typical mortgage around $29,000 a year worse off. Minister, how can the Prime Minister claim his economic plan is working when Australian families are paying more for everything—they're paying tens of thousands of dollars more on their mortgage—and are worse off today than they were four years ago?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for the question. This government, since the day we were elected, has inherited a whole range of challenges, which I just alluded to in my previous question, and we have been addressing those methodically. At the same time, we've been cleaning up the budget, getting rid of the rorts and waste, repairing the budget and delivering those two surpluses that those opposite promised and never delivered. We're reducing debt, reducing interest on the debt, delivering those surpluses, reducing the deficits and fixing up all these areas of neglect that the Commonwealth had just walked away from in—for example—housing, infrastructure, aged care and health. In almost every area I think of, the Commonwealth had vacated the field.

What Australians see is their government dealing with all of these national and important challenges and, at the same time, keeping our eyes focused on them. What they see when they look over there is three parties fighting each other like an episode of The Hunger Games. No-one's quite sure who's going to come out in the final episode and be the person who remains alive—it's very unclear at this point—although we have some suspicion that it's at that end of the table from the way it's going at the moment. But what Australians know is that they have a government that cares about addressing cost of living, fixing the budget, dealing with all of those national and important challenges, tackling hard reform where it's the right thing to do, standing against those advocates for the status quo and delivering real change for all Australians. That's the approach we've taken in the last four years and that's the approach we'll continue.

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

Senator Dean Smith, first supplementary?

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Shadow Treasurer) | Link to this | Hansard source

Before the election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised Australians life would be cheaper under Labor. Minister, after four years of Labor, why have you made life more difficult for Australians?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for the question. You'll remember that in the election campaign you were campaigning to raise taxes, have bigger deficits and have higher debt, which would have all led to higher costs for the Australian people. You don't talk about it very often these days, but remember that great plan to build $600 billion worth of nuclear power stations around the country that were going to be funded off the budget? Remember that? They were going to be funded off the budget, and there were going to be tax increases for everyone because you went to repeal the tax cuts that we had passed.

The Prime Minister was quite correct in that that would have led to higher costs on households and on individuals under the plan that you were offering the Australian people. And the Australian people said no to that plan. They had a look at it. They knew what you were offering. They knew you would make cuts in order to deliver that. And they said no.

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

Senator Smith, second supplementary?

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Shadow Treasurer) | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians are paying more for the basics, more to keep a roof over their head and more in tax because of bracket creep. Minister, isn't the truth that, after four years of Labor, Australians are working harder but paying more and falling further behind?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, the answer to that is no. You voted against tax cuts. You voted against every single piece of cost-of-living help that we have brought to this chamber. You have voted against it, and I think the Australian people recognise that they have a government that is going to make the right decisions to invest in them and support them with cost-of-living pressures. They saw what you and your party were offering, Senator Smith—they watched The Hunger Games continue—and they know that the decision they took in 2025 was the right one.