MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

Ms PRICE (Durack) (15:48): I rise to speak in support of the MPI moved by the member for Page. It is a fact that, under Labor, Australia has experienced the worst collapse in living standards in the developed world, and it is a fact that inflation is still running out of control, well above the Reserve Bank's target band. It is not just key economic indicators telling us that Labor's economic mismanagement is making life harder for regional Western Australians; it is those very people—in their thousands—telling me in their own words that Labor is making life worse for them, not better.

Throughout the Pilbara, during the winter recess, I heard directly from many regional Western Australian families, mothers and grandmothers in particular, who are worried about their children's future. In every conversation I had with a mother, the same themes and concerns came up: How will my child be able to afford a home? How will they be able to build wealth?

How will my child be able to afford to have children themselves? These are the concerns of everyday Australian families. They are struggling under the weight of Labor's higher taxes and high inflation and interest rates—the end of aspiration—and working harder for less.

We, in this place, must remember that we are not just making decisions for the next three years; we are making decisions for at least the next 30 years. On this side of the House, we understand this responsibility and we accept the honour of this. Our plan will fix the economy and protect our way of life for generations to come, so that our children can have the same, or better, opportunities to get ahead as past generations had.

For too long, governments of both sides have merely looked only to the next election—often, creating policies merely to win votes, not to secure Australia and our future. Only the coalition has the leadership, the team and a plan to fix our economy and protect our way of life. Our priorities—lower taxes, cheaper power, less migration, more homes and putting Australians first—are the change that our country needs.

While Labor voted again for higher taxes—earlier, only today—on this side, we are committed to bigger and better tax cuts every single year, under our tax-back guarantee, ending Labor's thief-in-the-night inflation tax by indexing tax brackets to inflation. Let's face it: this government has failed on housing policy. Homeownership is no longer in reach, and it's the primary concern of many parents, right around the country.

We have fewer homes and higher rents, and confidence in the market has been smashed under this Prime Minister. As the party of aspiration and everyday Australians, the Liberal Party will put homeownership at the centre of the Australian dream again. We'll do this by capping migration at the number of homes built, to try and fix the 400,000 housing shortfall we have experienced under this government.

Australia is simply not building enough homes—that is clear—and the situation is not going to improve while the member for Grayndler is sitting in the Prime Minister's chair. Instead, I support—and I think my colleagues here, on this side of the House, support—a $5 billion housing infrastructure fund to help build up to 400,000 new homes; the five per cent deposit scheme being reserved for Australians only; slashing red tape, to cut the cost of a new home by $70,000; scrapping Labor's housing bureaucracy; and repealing Labor's housing taxes.

So my message to all Australians is this. This is not as good as it gets, and I'm not going to cop it and neither should you. I'm fighting to put you first, to establish a future generation fund to pay down Labor's trillion dollars of debt, because the last thing I want is for your children and your grandchildren to inherit this economic mess that is being created by those sitting opposite.

To those regional Western Australians hurting under this government's economic mismanagement, and those worried about their children's future: I hear you, and so do my colleagues. We know that Labor is making you poorer, not richer. The coalition is determined to have the policies for the next election and beyond.

We're going to make our country a place where dreams do come true, where owning a home is possible and where hard work and ambition are rewarded. (Time expired)