David Littleproud
Maranoa · National Party · Australia
“In those communities we enjoyed relatively normal insurance premiums for 10 years—around $2,000 or $3,000 to insure a home in those communities.”
“I would say to the Queensland government to go out; do not rely on the department that has allowed this planning monstrosity to take place to continue to advise you. Get in the car. It's less than three hours from Brisbane. Go and sit in the Duff and Franz front yards, look at this and understand the impact on nonhosts.”
“How can we let the insurance industry determine how the modelling of our premiums is determined, at whim and without any transparency or public oversight?”
“I want to bring to the parliament's attention a matter I raised previously, the Wambo Wind Farm and the human toll that it's taking on the Duffs and the Franzes—the Franzes in particular. They are 80-year-old retirees who have farmed, and want to continue to farm, next to their son.”
“A survey by the local council there said that 37 per cent of residents no longer have insurance—that's insurance for anything; forget just for floods. They can't get insurance on their homes for anything. Overlay that with a young couple that wants to go and get their first mortgage.”
“I rise to update the House on the unfolding insurance crisis in western Queensland. Just to recap, back in 2011-12, St George, Charleville and Roma had huge floods that inundated our communities. There was no protection. There were no levee banks.”
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“Our agencies are some of the best in the world in giving that advice—in wargaming exactly what this would mean for our country and for our economy, particularly after the lessons of COVID and toilet paper. For something as serious as fuel, I find it galling that now we have a catch-up about a supply issue. First there's no crisis; then there's a crisis. Then we're going to send in the ACCC, who you wouldn't trust to actually pull any of this into line because they didn't understand the market—the regional market that's driven by wholesalers. They could have rung any one of these fuel distributors in regional Australia, and they would have got a lesson in the fuel market in less than five minutes.”
“Despite the warning signs, despite what should have been said at National Security Committee—advice of the threat to our supply chains of something as serious as a conflict in the Middle East, as serious as keeping the fuel flowing into areas that keep our economy going in terms of not only food but also resources to be able to get to a port and to pay the bills. This is a government that is now trying to catch up. They're having to catch up because they didn't appreciate the gravity or severity of the crisis that was in front of this country. And I suspect they were advised of that. I have every confidence in our agencies and that that advice would have been provided to this government from 28 February on.”
“They had nothing in supply, which meant they couldn't turn them on. They couldn't harvest. They couldn't sow. That is going to have a flow-on effect on each one of us—when the food doesn't turn up in your supermarket. Lo and behold, the government realises maybe we do have a supply issue and a distribution problem. Despite the fact that the minister had at his fingertips from 28 February, when this crisis started, the knowledge of exactly where the supply was and where it needed to go, and he had powers to move that fuel, he did nothing. He has sat on his hands and watched this transform. Lo and behold, the Prime Minister had to step in and take over because the Minister for Climate Change and Energy has been shown to be incompetent in managing a crisis.”
“They could see that there was issues, but then the supply issues would have been something if they understood the market, if it was being constrained—someone was constraining it if we didn't have a supply issue. You can increase the penalties, but, if the ACCC aren't doing their job as they should, then they're not worth the paper they're written on. I've got to say regional Australians have become very cynical about the effectiveness of the ACCC. They see them as being as effective as the Bureau of Meteorology. That is the reality of the lived experience and the frustration and the fear that regional Australians are feeling out there because we do not have our fuel. Our farmers are not able to turn an engine. For some farmers in my own electorate, the only fuel they had on farm was what was left in their tractors and headers.”
“What we'll do is we'll come to parliament and we'll increase the penalties from the ACCC—up to $100 million for those companies that were undertaking anticompetitive behaviour.' Well, penalties are not the issue. The ACCC could have and should have already started an investigation into the secondary wholesale market, but they too seem to be asleep at the wheel. They too don't seem to understand the fuel market enough to have already leant in and to have started an investigation to make sure that, when they drove past a fuel station, prices went up straightaway, particularly when they could get on any app and look anywhere in Australia, including regional Australia. They may not have understood.”
“We were assured there was no supply issue; this was a distribution issue. I would have thought that the advice to the government from the National Security Committee on 28 February was that these contingencies needed to be wargamed, these contingencies needed to be worked through, because this would have a serious impact on Australia's supply chains. If we learnt nothing from COVID about toilet paper—I would have thought fuel would have been one of those commodities that a conflict in the Middle East would have triggered National Security Committee to say, 'We might have a problem, Australia. We might need to manage this supply.' Two weeks later the government decides, 'Yes, we'd better do something about this.”
“The fact the Treasurer did not twig to this shows he didn't understand the market, but he had an energy minister who was oblivious to all of this. The galling part of this was that you had an energy minister that was also oblivious to the powers he had and to what was at his fingertips—from 28 February, when the bombs started dropping in Iran, what he had available to manage the situation. Because of legislation that we put in when we were in power as a coalition, he actually had at his fingertips, at his disposal, the knowledge of where every litre of fuel was in this country. He could have known exactly where it was and where there were shortfalls and where fuel was not being delivered, particularly in regional Australia. What he also had was the power to lean in and ensure that that fuel was being distributed to where it needed to be.”
“But the reality is that if you don't have fuel, you don't have food. This government have been exposed for not having a plan since 28 February, when they should have had advice not just about the military impact this would have but also the supply chain impact. If they didn't, they need to tell us why they didn't think about it. The reality is when the market out in regional Australia was being constrained by these big four in holding back supply, not only was this about a commercial decision of hedging against a price shock of the price going down but I would have thought it would have been a trigger for the ACCC to say, 'If they are constraining supply, they are pushing up prices.' And the farmers were seeing that was pushing up prices straight away—if they could get fuel!”
“What the big four were saying was: 'We are going to actually withhold supply out of the market because what we're worried about is another price shock. If President Trump stops dropping bombs and there's a drop in the price, we will hedge against that drop. We will constrain the amount of supply we put out into the market so that we don't lose as much money, even though we are making money on the way up.' That is what was happening to the distributors across my electorate. They were being turned away at the Port of Brisbane; they were unable to go and get that fuel and take it out on farm. That was where the Treasurer and the ACCC and this government were asleep at the wheel, because they worked on the fact that as long as fuel was going to the service stations in capital cities, it would all be okay. Australia will be calm.”
“Underneath that, the reality was they forgot about the real supply chains that underpin our economy, and that comes from regional Australia. What they didn't understand was the secondary wholesale markets that supply regional Australians. The big four don't supply regional Australians—not only our service stations but also our farmers—with bulk supplies. The distributors, who go out on farm and put fuel into the tanks on farm to allow machinery to be able to operate, had their supply constrained. What these big fuel companies, the big four, were doing was supplying these smaller distributors and their pricing—for many of those they actually pay the price of the monthly average of the month before.”
“I find it difficult to understand how a government—which has a plan now, despite the fact on 28 February the world changed—didn't take or heed the advice of the National Security Committee not just about the military risks but about the supply chain risks that were coming down the line. In fact, they assured us there was no crisis; fuel was going to continue to flow and we had no supply issue whatsoever. The reality was it was different to what we experienced, the lived experience of many Australians. What this government did was work in the superficial. It made sure that fuel went to the big service stations in capital cities so that there was calm and there was no need for panic buying, and so Australians thought there was no issue.”
“While we support the Treasury Laws Amendment (Fuel Excise Relief) Bill 2026, this looks more like a response to a Newspoll than an appropriate plan for a national crisis. We were told there was no crisis when President Trump initiated this war on 28 February, but I would have thought the appropriate response would have been to convene the National Security Committee and bring the energy minister into that meeting. The advice to government on 28 February would have been about not only the conflict in the Middle East but also the flow-on effects it would have on the supply of fuel into this country and the supply chains here.”
“And a treasurer that understood the secondary wholesale market, that understood the big fuel companies were holding back, hedging against future price shocks, as well as—lo and behold—lifting overall prices, would have seen a government look coherent and actually in tune with how Australia actually operates. If you do not have fuel, you do not have food and you do not have an economy, and that is what the Albanese government has rendered Australia to.”
“I can tell you, in my hometown of Allora, they were asking me to only take 40 litres at the bowser. We're seeing that now right across this country. They don't have to mandate the number of litres that you can take at service stations, because Australians are having to do it themselves despite there being a secure supply. This is why this plan is full of nonsense rather than hard facts about a minister using the powers he had from the very moment this crisis hit. If he was listening to the advice that was coming from the experts saying that there were going to be global supply issues and, therefore, that there would be local supply issues, he would have known, intrinsically. He would have known where those litres were. He would have known where to push them to. That is what a good minister would do.”
“In fact, regional Australia has no confidence in the ACCC. They have about as much credence as the Bureau of Meteorology! That is how much credence and hope we have in the ACCC being able to hold these big fuel companies to account and to make sure regional Australia (1) gets its supply and (2) is treated with a fair price. We have no confidence in this government nor in the ACCC. You can lift the penalties until the cows come home, but it will do nothing. It will do nothing at all. This is the reality: we have had a minister and a government that have not understood the supply chains globally, and, more importantly, have not understood the supply chains here in our country. We're now finding out that there is rationing happening, not just in regional Australia.”
“That was the reality he could have actually undertaken straightaway, and then he could have utilised his powers to move those litres of fuel. He simply said, 'It is all about the people of Australia going out there and taking more fuel than they need.' Well, he didn't create the environment, because he had no plan. Then he said, 'All we'll do is we'll give the ACCC some more powers.' Well, the ACCC already had the powers, and he was going to increase the penalties. He's going to increase the penalties to $100 million. Bully for him! But, unless the ACCC was charged with the responsibility of going out there and undertaking investigations into these wholesale markets, where we're being taken advantage of by the big four, then nothing was going to happen. You can lift the penalties as much as you want, but the ACCC has done nothing.”
“Texas, with 800 people, ran out of fuel. Allora ran out of fuel. Wallangarra ran out of fuel. But that's okay because the people of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were still able to fill up for a while—that is, until now, when, low and behold, there is a supply issue! The fact is that this minister, from the very moment—because of the legislation that we put in place as a coalition government—knew where every litre of fuel was in this country when this crisis started. When he knew that there were bombs dropped in Iran and that there were going to be global supply issues, he did not understand that he had the powers to make sure he knew where every litre of fuel was. The people of Grey and the people of Maranoa and the people across regional Australia are not the second-class citizens that this government has treated us as.”
“The fact is that they had no understanding of the supply issues that were about to hit this country, because they worked in the superficial. They worked on the advice of the big four fuel companies that said, 'We'll keep putting fuel into the capital cities to make sure there is no panic.' And they didn't understand the market itself—didn't understand that there are two markets: while the big four fuel companies in this country control 80 per cent of the market, there is a secondary market, where smaller wholesale players actually undertake to supply us in regional Australia, like the seat of Grey. The lived experience of the people of Grey is not just their farmers not being able to fill their tanks but also their communities. I myself had the same. The town of Dalby, with 12,000 people, ran out of fuel.”
“I second the motion, and let me explain to the member for Moreton that, if the government had a plan, you wouldn't have over 500 fuel stations without fuel. You wouldn't have farmers without the ability to bring in bulk supplies to plant or harvest their crops, as we sit at this moment. Just for your information, Member for Moreton, I've been at a cabinet table. When you talk about something of national security, which is what fuel is, and when you understand the geopolitical issues that arise—particularly when you see a war unleashed in the Middle East, where much of the fuel in this global community is derived—there is advice given to the government straightaway around the threats that will be coming our way. But the fact is that there was no plan.”
“They have lost faith in this government, who have let a crisis take hold, destroyed regional Australia and destroyed our supply chains and are destroying our economy.”
“The minister himself has had, since day one, the ability to know where every litre of fuel is in this country, and yet, despite the fact that he knew that there were gaps in the supply chain around this country, he did nothing about it. He did zero. He didn't care. He worked in the superficial of making sure a few servos in the cities kept their fuel, but those in regional Australia got nothing. His big plan, with Jim Chalmers, the Treasurer, is to also increase penalties from the ACCC. If these merchants were doing the wrong thing, why hasn't the ACCC already started an investigation, despite the size of the penalty, and done something about it? The ACCC is about as useful as the Bureau of Meteorology. Australians have lost faith in their institutions.”
“This afternoon we've seen the self-congratulation of the Albanese government for taking up the coalition's idea of cutting excise and helping our heavy transport industry by removing the road-user charge. They've been asleep at the wheel. For the last three weeks, they've done three-fifths of bugger all to help this fuel crisis. There was no crisis three weeks ago, and, all of a sudden, they've found one. They've found one because ultimately people have seen their service stations run out of fuel not just in regional areas but also in capital cities. We are living in third-world circumstances. This is a government that has had all the tools at their disposal.”
“On behalf of the opposition, can I genuinely thank the minister for her efforts in coordinating across three jurisdictions, across my home state of Queensland. I know both the Queensland government and Northern Territory government, from contact I've had, genuinely appreciate your forward-leaning attitude towards making sure that the disaster has been appropriately dealt with. I know in Western Australia, from talking to the member for Durack, how quickly we were to reach out on that. And to our first responders who are here today, we should never forget that in a society where we always talk about heroes being on social media. Let me tell you, the men and women who put uniforms on and who are prepared to defend us and protect us and our hour of need are the real heroes. I thank you.”
“He's gone missing in action, this government has gone missing in action and regional Australia is paying the price of an inept government and an inept minister that should be held to account. If he can't, he should be sacked today. If the Prime Minister's got any guts, he'll do it today.”
“We have the Stockman's Hall of Fame, the Qantas Founders Museum and the dinosaur museum up in Winton. Normally, 60,000 people visit that between Easter and October. Well, let me give you six to four on this, Minister. There will be no-one going out there. There will be no money spent in western Queensland, because they can't afford it, let alone get the supply to get to the next town. This is where you have a minister that is out of his depth, that has no understanding of what his role is and the powers that he has at his disposal. He has failed to use them. And we have a prime minister that is complicit in the inability to step up and lead our nation. This is a moment for this Prime Minister. He missed it with Bondi and now he's missing it with fuel.”
“This is the stark reality of a government that has been asleep at the wheel, that has no understanding of our supply chains and our economy, because they don't care and they don't understand. Let me tell you: there are people in regional Australia today that are frightened and frustrated because we have a government and a minister that is living in ideology rather than practical reality. This is about making sure they use the levers they've got. The minister knows to the litre where every litre of fuel is at the moment, and yet he is not using his powers to direct it to where it's needed, and that is regional Australia. Let me tell you: not only are farmers and miners going to hurt, but we in western Queensland are about to go into our peak tourist season.”
“You want to go to Allora where Bartranz, a locally owned company that supplies fuel to many of the primary producers there, who are trying to harvest sorghum at the moment. There's no fuel, not only for the service station but for the farmers. This is a disconnect between this government and the real world. They've worked in the superficial rather than in the reality of the lived experience or by understanding our supply chains, how our economy works or how regional Australia works. Let me tell you: if we don't have the fuel, you don't have the food. If we don't have the fuel, we don't have those iron ore and coal exports going to a port to pay the bills for you to sit here.”
“Three weeks ago, the Albanese government told us there was no fuel crisis, there was no problem, we were all going to be able to get on our way, and we didn't need to panic buy. It was all good. Even yesterday the Minister for Climate Change and Energy tells us that the supply is there and we've got it. Well, the good people of Maranoa would tell you different. If you want to know the lived experience of people in Maranoa, go to the town of Texas. Eight-hundred people live in Texas, and they have a fuel station that has no fuel. Their closest fuel station is 80 kilometres away. Go to Wallangarra on the border of New South Wales. Again, 70 people live there, but it's on the New England highway. There's no fuel. You want to go to Leyburn, just down the road from where I live? There's no fuel.”
“My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Based in Allora, Queensland, independent fuel distributor Bartranz Petroleum are receiving just 10 per cent of their normal fuel volumes. In their words, this is affecting all distributors. Some smaller distributors have no allocation. Our focus is the very critical agriculture sector. Crops need harvesting; crops need planting. Minister, when can the farmers of Allora expect to have their normal fuel supplies returned?”
“On this front, the NAIF is perfectly poised to encourage and support investors in converting risk and opportunity into jobs, fostering sustainable communities, delivering transformational infrastructure and helping to secure a strong and more robust overall economy for both the North and the whole of Australia. We should all continue to support the vital work of the NAIF. That's why the federal coalition will be supporting this legislation. I thank the House. Debate adjourned.”
“Proudly, the NAIF has a track record of delivering tremendous outcomes which have made a real and enduring difference on the ground. Since the former coalition government established the NAIF in 2016, as of December 2025 it has supported 33 projects. This is underpinned by $4.3 billion worth of commitments, with the ultimate public benefit to northern Australia forecast to be $33 billion, or $7.60 in forecast public benefit for every dollar of the NAIF finance. Crucially, the NAIF also supports over 18,000 jobs across the North. Northern Australia has always been an exciting and challenging frontier, with incredible and immense opportunities.”
“The NAIF has financed projects in the sectors of agriculture, water, energy, resources, social, infrastructure and transport, and logistics across Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It's delivered enormous public benefit through new employment opportunities, regional economic wealth and population growth and has contributed to an overall confidence across half of our country, which delivers boundless economic results for all Australians. We recognise how the NAIF alleviates economic and social disadvantage and improves the lives of Indigenous people and communities. The NAIF implements key infrastructure projects and contributes to realising the Critical Minerals Strategy for 2023 to 2030.”
“Significantly, the review determined that stakeholders see the NAIF as part of the northern Australia ecosystem. Given the laudatory feedback received from stakeholders, the review panel assessed the NAIF's current legislative time limit, with the window for making investment decisions ending on 30 June 2026. On this point, the panel's very first recommendation to government was that the government remove the existing time limit to allow the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to make investment decisions in perpetuity. The federal coalition has always recognised the unlimited potential of providing sustainable and resilient economic development in the North.”
“The panel concluded that northern Australia, which is home to just 5.1 per cent of Australia's population and comprises more than half its total landmass, produces a gross regional product that is significantly above per capita rates for the rest of the country. The panel acknowledged that since 2016, when the former coalition government initially set up the NAIF, it was provided crucial financial assistance, which has bridged gaps in commercial financing to build infrastructure across the North which supports sustainable economic and social outcomes. Importantly, on the extensive consultations with stakeholders that were undertaken across northern Australia, the review panel reported that the NAIF was a known and trusted entity in supporting development and is seen as a key part of northern Australia's economy.”
“I'm pleased to rise and deliver this response on behalf of the federal coalition to affirm our support for the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Amendment Bill 2026, extending the NAIF for a further 10 years, from 30 June 2026 to 30 June 2036. This is a bill which stems from the independent review into the NAIF chaired by the Hon. Warren Snowdon and assisted by Professor Peter Yu and Dr Lisa Caffery and tabled in parliament on 27 August last year. Just as the federal coalition recognised the significant economic contribution of northern Australia to our nation when we first established the NAIF in 2016, so too did this independent review panel.”
“My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. Was the minister or his office aware of intelligence advice that at least one of the ISIS sympathisers posed a security threat to Australians when he met with Dr Jamal Rifi and Save the Children in June 2025?”
“That's the commonsense that I challenge this government on—to walk away from the ideology that might give them the kudos on an international stage but leads them to forget the average, everyday Australian that feels this every day and that has the shame of not being able to take their kids on a holiday, to send them to the school they want or even to put dinner on a table. Australians are better than that, and they deserve a better government than that.”
“There are Australian families that will not be able to put food on the table tonight. In a country as rich as this, that is an embarrassment. It is an embarrassment on this place that we have not had the courage to look ourselves in the eye and look the problem square in the face and say, 'There are solutions right here in the here and now and in the long term. We are energy rich. If we open our minds up to the opportunities and solutions across every spectrum then that will make sure that young Australians can have hope one day to own a home.' Young Australians might then feel as though they can actually have a lifestyle that we've taken for granted for so many years.”
“We've said, 'Well, let's keep pace with what the rest of the world's doing.' While the rest of the world, the OECD, are only reducing their emissions by 1.7 per cent every year, the Albanese government is asking the Australian people to reduce their emissions by 4.7 per cent per year. They are streaking ahead and that means the cost of it gets put into your energy bill through the safeguards mechanism, because that is a tax on energy generators that they have to pass on to you. There are simple solutions. I challenge this government today: if you were in touch with the everyday Australian out there, you would understand the hurt families feel when they are paying an extra $23,000 just on their mortgage, and that is before you start talking about their education costs, about their insurance, about their food.”
“They had a red-hot crack. They got to 77 per cent renewables and they lost their grid because they didn't have this thing called baseload power. You need baseload power to ensure that when there's a wind drought or a sun drought that the grid can continue effectively and will not have to be restarted. That's why they lost their grid for a period of time. That is where we are opening ourselves up to sovereign risk. They are connected to continental Europe but we'll have nothing. We will have zero redundancy built into our grid. We're not saying we should walk away from emissions but we're saying we'll do what the rest of the world is doing. We are currently around 1.1 per cent of global emissions. That's actually including India and China. If we were to take them out, we'd be under one per cent.”
“The reality is if you increase supply then the prices will come down and that is the opportunity for expanding the capacity investment scheme right across to any technology model of energy. It would also say to the Australian Energy Market Operator that you will change your mandate from sourcing energy predicated on a renewable energy target or on a reductions emissions target to one that sources the most affordable and cheap energies. They are three quick ways that this government, with a stroke of a pen, could fix today. That's the reality of what this government has missed because of an ideology of effectively getting an energy grid that will be over 90 per cent renewables. We're not against renewables; we're just saying you have to get the balance right. If you want to look at a world example, look at Portugal and Spain.”
“So I challenge the government today, if they are serious about reducing energy bills—we've forgotten about the $275 that was promised to come last year that is never going to happen—then they need to be honest, look the Australian people in the eye and get rid of the safeguards mechanism today. That will drive prices down immediately. We also need to ensure that the capacity investment scheme that is skewed to bringing new generation of renewable energy—not whatever energy that can be brought onto this grid—should be expanded to every source. We should have a technology agnostic approach to ensure we get supply into the grid. That's just simple economics. I learnt in grade 8 at Chinchilla State High that it's all about demand and supply.”
“We could also have a policy on energy that will actually drive down prices. Let me tell you, there are three quick ways we can do that in the here and now. In fact, the Prime Minister today could sign to scrap the safeguards mechanism penalty that is imposed on energy generators. This government is taxing energy generators every year to reach unsustainable emissions reductions targets of nearly five per cent every year. The safeguards mechanism was about using technology to reduce emissions. If the technology doesn't exist, lo and behold, what you have to do is buy offsets. Offsets are a cost and that cost goes onto your energy bill. The good generators and distributors are not going to wear that; they're going to pass that on to the Australian consumer.”
“That is what this treasurer has missed and what this government has missed because of an ideology—an ideology that you are all paying for. The reality is that we were told of this green dream of an all-renewables approach. Let me tell you that it was meant to be cheaper and it was meant to be greener. The reality is, since the energy minister and the government have taken over, all we have seen is a continual increase in energy prices flowing right through to your grocery bill, right through to the construction of homes. So if you're not prepared to tackle the fundamentals then unfortunately you're going to continue to drive up inflation and you are not going to fix the problems of this country. We could have a targeted migration approach. We could pull a lever and reduce the mass migration that we are seeing.”
“For him, after four years, to try and walk away from his track record of 13 interest rate rises that have cost Australians an extra $23,000, taking it out of their pockets and putting it into the banks' pockets, shows that this treasurer is out of touch with what real Australians are feeling. There will be Australians tonight that can't afford to put dinner on the table. And the reality is this: energy is the economy. If we are going to fix the fundamentals of what is driving inflation, what we can do as legislators is ensure that we are pulling the proper levers to bring down those energy costs and ensure that, right through the economy, whether you're buying food or building a home, you can drive down those costs, put downward pressure on inflation and therefore take the pressure off the Reserve Bank.”
“It's about pulling the right levers that will ensure that we give hope to young Australians and to every Australian that we can all enjoy the opportunity of homeownership or simply of having a roof over our head. That is a government that has lost sight. Instead, over the last three years, they've prioritised dog groomers and martial arts instructors over the tilers, roofers and plumbers that might be able to build the supply that we need. That's just common sense. That's what has been lost by this government: understanding what the fundamentals are that drive our nation's economy and what they can do without having to spend your money. That is what real leadership should be, and that's where the Treasurer has missed this opportunity.”
“This government has brought over a million new people into this country without even having an understanding of the priorities of who they are bringing into this country. We are giving the greatest gift we can give to any person on this planet: a ticket to Australia. So why wouldn't we prioritise the people that have the skills that we need to build homes, to ensure that we address the supply of housing and say to young people that they can hope to own a home one day and may actually be able to afford rent. That is what real governments would do. That's what a treasurer would do: understand that it's not just about spending money; it's about pulling the levers.”
“In fact, our real wages in this country have reduced to 2011 levels. It will take 19 years for Australian families and Australians to get their real wages back to where they were previous to that. That shows the anaemic growth that this treasurer has presided over, thinking that big government can do it all and that the government knows best with Australian taxpayers' money. But all they have done is forgotten the fundamentals. And this has driven inflation, whether it be in education by over 17 per cent, electricity by 40 per cent, insurance by 39 per cent, food by 16 per cent or rent by 22 per cent—22 per cent not just for rent but also for the lift in housing costs that has also been exacerbated not by spending but by a migration policy that has increased demand while supply has been flat.”
“In the last 24 hours, we've seen a treasurer that has refused to accept any culpability for not just yesterday's rate rise but also the 12 that have preceded that over the long four years that he has been the Treasurer of this country. That has added an extra $23,000 to the mortgage bills of Australian families and Australians right across this country. Their standard of living is being torn apart by a treasurer that has forgotten the fundamentals. While writing a 6,000-word essay, he has forgotten about what actually drives inflation—about his responsibility in spending and the influence of that on inflation. In the last six months, those on that side have spent $50 billion out of government coffers. That is fuelling this inflation, putting pressure on Australian families and driving down their standard of living.”
“My question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, after today's interest rate hike, mortgage holders are paying more because inflation is staying higher for longer. Treasurer, when will you apologise to all mortgage holders in Australia?”