PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Mr FRENCH (Moore) (12:30): I rise to speak on the motion moved by the member for McPherson. I want to start by acknowledging something important. Australians are doing it tough.
Families are struggling with mortgage repayments, groceries, insurance and electricity bills. I hear it from people across my electorate in Moore. Parents are worried about making ends meet.
Pensioners are watching every dollar. Young Australians are wondering whether they'll ever afford a home. These pressures are real, and nobody on this side of the House is pretending otherwise.
But that doesn't mean accepting the coalition's version of economic history. Listening to those opposite, you'd think Australia's economic problems started the day Labor came into office. Apparently before May 2022 everything was wonderful—housing was affordable, groceries were cheap, electricity was practically free and the Liberal Party were shining examples of responsible economic management!
The revision of history going on on that side of the chamber would make George Orwell blush. The coalition spent nine years in government. They doubled the Commonwealth debt before COVID.
They left inflation above six per cent and rising, and they presided over some of the weakest productivity growth in decades. But apparently that has nothing to do with them. I particularly enjoyed the member for McPherson's demand that Labor restore economic discipline!
This is from a coalition that accumulated more than $600 billion in debt while in government and now has more than $110 billion in unfunded commitments. The coalition is trying to have a bob each way. When they're in government, they say debt is necessary.
When they're in opposition, they say debt is a national emergency. When you ask how they'll fund their promises, suddenly they don't want to talk about debt. Apparently economic discipline is only something they believe in when someone else is running the economy.
But let's talk about inflation. The conflict in the Middle East is pushing up global oil prices. That increases the cost of fuel, transport and everyday goods.
The Prime Minister does not personally set the global oil price. If he did, I'd certainly have a few suggestions about the price of diesel. When global fuel prices drive inflation, there's a legitimate question about how much raising mortgage repayments can address the problem.
The independent Reserve Bank has a difficult job, but interest rates alone cannot fix every problem in the global economy. That's why government must provide relief while managing the budget responsibly, and that's what Labor is doing. We're delivering tax cuts for working Australians.
We've reduced the price of PBS medicines to $25. We're expanding bulk-billing and strengthening Medicare. We're helping families with childcare costs.
We're backing higher wages for Australia's lowest-paid workers. These policies won't make every household pressure disappear overnight, but they'll make a practical difference to people's budgets. Under Labor, we've found almost $180 billion in savings and reprioritisation.
We've delivered a budget position substantially better than the one we inherited. The average real spending growth has been less than half of the rate of our predecessors. Meanwhile, those opposite have more than $110 billion in unfunded commitments.
When Labor spends money helping Australians, it's inflationary. But, when the coalition makes promises it hasn't funded, that's responsible economic management? That's not economic theory; that is just Liberal Party accounting.
And, when the numbers don't add up, it's somehow always Labor's fault. Australians struggling with their mortgages aren't particularly interested in politicians trading economic statistics. They want to know their government understands what's happening in their household.
They want wages that keep up with living costs. They want affordable health care, housing and child care, and they want an economy that works for people who get up every morning and go to work. That's what we're focused on.
I would welcome a serious debate with the coalition about how we achieve those outcomes, but instead we get another motion demanding economic discipline from the people who left us with enormous debt. Australians deserve better than politicians pretending these economic challenges are simple. Inflation is too high, housing is too expensive and too many households are under genuine financial pressure.
Fixing these problems takes responsible decisions, practical relief and sustained economic reform. That's the work Labor is doing. If those opposite want to lecture Australians about economic discipline, they might start by explaining how they'll pay for their own promises.
Australians are doing it tough, and they deserve more than another unfunded promise from the people who left us the bill.