Shadow Portfolio — 20 August 2026

The Member for Chaffey mounted a two-pronged attack on the government during House debate on 19 August, blaming Labor's budget measures for housing sector disruption and citing a comprehensive small-business survey to argue that regional communities face mounting economic pressure. The contributions connect housing affordability, regional small-business viability, and coalition policy alternatives into a single critique of the government's economic management.

**Housing affordability critique**

The Member for Chaffey told the House that "Labor's budget measures have thrown the housing sector into chaos, leading to fewer homes and higher rents" [TA-260819-house-e023dad986e7:s051]. He cited Ray White Real Estate's warning that investors would need to raise rents by approximately 30% to cover their losses, and pointed to declining mortgage applications and housing availability.

The Member referenced families in Bourke, a couple in Narrabri, and a single mother as constituents unable to afford rent or home ownership [TA-260819-house-e023dad986e7:s051].

**Regional small-business survey**

The Member introduced the Small Business Perspectives report 2026, which surveyed 572 small businesses across rural, regional and remote areas [TA-260819-house-e023dad986e7:s119]. The report documented costs rising 87% over the past year, profits falling 73%, and 87% of businesses struggling to recruit. It identified housing access, child care and connectivity gaps as compounding challenges, with 52% of businesses rating local housing access as poor, 77% of owners reporting stress, and only 18% confident profits would rise next year.

The report recommended simpler regulation, faster visa processing, coordinated housing and child-care responses, insurance reforms, and a modern connectivity system [TA-260819-house-e023dad986e7:s119].

**Coalition policy positioning**

The Member said the coalition will oppose higher taxes on houses and small businesses and will pursue lower taxes, cheaper power, less migration, and more homes [TA-260819-house-e023dad986e7:s119]. This frames housing affordability and regional small-business support as central to the opposition's economic agenda, combining tax cuts, increased home supply, and regulatory simplification.

**Continuity and gaps**

Today's remarks extend the opposition's sustained focus on regional equity, following an earlier motion on local-government funding. The opposition maintains its critique of the Labor budget's impact on regional communities, broadening the argument from housing affordability to small-business viability [TA-260819-house-e023dad986e7:s119]. The records present only the opposition member's contributions; no government response to these claims is captured in the available material.