STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr PIKE (Bowman) (13:48): Sometimes I feel like I'm in an alternative universe when I enter this chamber. At home I hear from locals within the Redlands about the pressures they're facing—higher interest rates, inflation—and then I come in here and I hear from the government how wonderful their policies are and how it's all working perfectly, and, if it's not working perfectly, it's someone else's fault.

That's why I was relieved to read this morning in the Nine papers that some Labor MPs actually agree. One Labor MP said that the Treasurer's language was rationalising Australia's economic decline. A second Labor MP said: … a lot of what we have done is thrown cost-of-living relief at voters, which has an inflationary impact … And a third Labor MP said: People are getting quite worried.

Small business is doing it very tough and we aren't doing enough for them. … we're making enemies with the CGT changes. I've got to ask: how come these Labor MPs have the courage to go up to the press gallery and tell them the truth but don't have the guts to come in here, stand in their backbench seats and tell the truth to the Australian people? Instead, whenever they speak in this chamber, they're just puppeteering and parroting the talking points of this Labor Treasurer.

The reality is that Labor's addiction to spending is keeping pressure on inflation and interest rates, and Australians are paying the price with falling standards of living and lower real wages.