MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

Senator SCARR (Queensland) (16:15): Perhaps one of the most damning facts of all is that the level of consumer confidence in this country is the lowest it's been for 50 years. That really is a damning statistic. One of the fundamental obligations of a federal government is to provide the Australian people with confidence—confidence to employ their fellow Australians, to spend and invest money and to live their lives as they deserve to in our beautiful country—and yet the level of confidence in Australia is at its lowest level in 50 years.

We're actually hearing that from everyday Australians, certainly from those in my home state of Queensland. It's hard for the Australian people to have confidence in the Labor government, because of the mixed messages the Labor government has been giving with respect to the supply of oil during this oil crisis. As the number of petrol stations that were running out of fuel of different types increased, from 600 to 700 to now over 800, we had Minister O'Neil last week—it's hard to believe this—saying that there was more fuel supply in Australia than there was before the crisis.

What sort of parallel universe is Minister O'Neil living in? I don't know if she's changed her position. I'm certain she won't be quoted in the Prime Minister's address this evening.

I'm sure he won't be quoting Minister O'Neil in that regard. Senator Sharma: Australians have never had it so good! Senator SCARR: Absolutely not.

At the same time, we have farmers who are sleeping next to their equipment because they're concerned people are so desperate for diesel that they'll come onto their property and take it. How did we get into this situation? It's quite extraordinary.

As Senator Sharma correctly observed, the fact of the matter is that probably one of the best indicators of the standard of living of average Australians is household disposable income—that's how much income people have in their pockets to spend on the things they need—and in real terms, after considering the impact of inflation, there has been a seven per cent decline in household disposable income, from mid-2022 to mid-2025, and it just keeps going down under the Labor government.

There is no-one the Labor government can blame except themselves. And, at the same time as real household disposable income has been declining by that material amount—this is quite extraordinary—we've seen an increase in income tax paid by the Australian people, from $242 billion in 2022, which is an extraordinary figure in itself, to $325 billion. That's an increase of $83 billion in three years.

I think, Senator Sharma, 36 per cent— Senator Sharma: Thirty-four per cent. Senator SCARR: Thirty-four per cent—thank you. It is a 34 per cent increase in three years.

That's extraordinary. So there's this wave of income tax revenue, this tsunami of income tax revenue, that the government has been receiving, but, at the same time, it's been spending like a drunken sailor, and we have this huge inflationary impact which is hurting the Australian people and has fed into the 14 interest rate increases we've had under the Labor government.

Earlier today, I quoted from the chief economist at Westpac, who's predicting an extra three interest rate increases for the balance of the year. Interest payments are $27,000 a year more for Australians with an average mortgage—an extra $27,000 in interest payments under Labor, paid by an average Australian family with a mortgage. It's an extraordinary amount.

Inflation keeps going up. Australians are just being hit from all sides in a cost-of-living crisis. We're getting these mixed messages from the Labor government, and the Prime Minister has the audacity to give a national address after parliament rises.