MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

Mr REBELLO (McPherson) (16:05): I rise today to speak to this matter of public importance moved by the shadow treasurer. This matter of public importance goes to something that is absolutely critical not only for Australians right now but for Australians to come—the future generations—because this is about the government's failure to control its addiction to spending.

Yes, we are seeing those consequences in the form of higher interest rates. We're seeing the consequences in the form of higher prices. But something that I would like to add to this debate is the fact that we are going to see the consequences of this government's failure to rein in its continuous expenditure for years to come.

We have now hit a trillion dollars of debt, and it is the next generation that is going to have to pay that off. I look to the galleries today. We have St Joseph's from Murray Bridge here as guests of the member for Barker.

It is that generation of young people in this country who want an optimistic and hopeful future where they can go out into their communities, generate wealth and contribute to this economy and to the future of Australia. But a consequence of what this government is doing is that it is denying people like them the opportunity to do so, and that is concerning. It's basic economics that, when government spending is too high, this puts upwards pressure on inflation in this country, and we've seen that through the 16 interest rate rises that this country has had to endure over the time that this government has been in office.

We have a situation now where we have an interest rate of 4.6 per cent. The last time we had that was in 2011, 15 years ago. Australians—individuals and businesses—are hurting, and we all know that businesses have not hurt this much for some time.

I just had the privilege of visiting the Amazon showcase at Parliament House. I had a chat to some of the local businesses, including King Brown Pomade, a fantastic local business from my electorate at Burleigh Heads. I spoke to the business owners about some of the pressures that they're facing here in Australia at the moment.

We've seen small businesses that have been blindsided by the decisions that this government has made. The worst bit is that we have a Minister for Small Business who has no concept of the reality of the decisions that she is imposing on people across this economy who are trying to do the right thing. They're trying to generate wealth.

They're trying to employ Australians. They're trying to create products or provide services. And that is something that is quite concerning for all Australians who want to do the right thing, such as our next generation, including those in the gallery today.

It is time that this parliament stopped, took stock and started to think about the consequences of this government's actions, because the continuous fuelling of this inflation fire is doing nothing but hurt Australians. And the worst bit is that everybody in this country seems to get it, apart from those on that side—those sitting on the government benches. The standard of fiscal responsibility that we expect of the people whom we govern should be the same standard that this government holds itself to, and that is not what we are seeing today.

So this is a matter of public importance. It's a matter of public importance for the future generations who are going to be saddled with the $1 trillion debt bomb that this government has left—it will be $1.2 trillion by the next election. It is a matter of public importance for every single business I have to speak to, for the member for Berowra to speak to in his electorate, for the member for Grey to speak to in his electorate and for the member for Capricornia to speak to in her electorate.

But, Mr Speaker, it is important for all Australians right now, and that is why the shadow treasurer has put this forward on the Notice Paper. It's time those opposite sat up and listened to what we are saying. But don't just listen to us; listen to the voices of the thousands of small businesses across this country, to whom we are giving a voice in their parliament.