Senator HUGHES (New South Wales) (18:01): The last six months have been interesting and embarrassing at times, but I really do think that today we've seen a new low bar set. It is just extraordinary to hear question time answers and other contributions made by those now in government where they are almost in denial of a cost-of-living crisis. The Assistant Treasurer has now declared that the RBA is going to stop raising interest rates, so the crisis is over—no need to look here! There's constant blaming, whining, carry-on, looking back to the past and passing the buck as Australians feel the pinch more and more every single day. I think it is really time for those opposite to grow up and understand they're in government, and that that means actually making decisions that are going to be better for Australians, not worse. Obviously that memo got missed, because every single Australian, since the Albanese government has come to power, is now worse off. Stage 3 of the tax cuts that were legislated are almost at 'Voldemort status'—like the $275, 'the number that shall not be named'. They're not quite at Voldemort status but they are getting very, very close. We were told 97 times that power bills were going to go down by $275, but we know that they're going to go up, and they're probably going to go up by more than $275. So the stage 3 tax cuts are going to be required. All those tradies who are going to see, on an income of $80,000, almost $2,000 back in their pocket each year are going to need it, because their mortgages have gone up eight times since this Labor government came to power. You can compare that to the last Liberal government, when there was one increase. We now have interest rates and a cash rate at the highest they've been in 10 years, but we're not seeing this government pull any policy levers that are moving towards reducing inflation. Every step they take, every move they make, they are making a bad situation worse— Senator Scarr: The Police! Senator HUGHES: I think I was a bit of a lyricist there, Senator Scarr! Every time they make a decision they make the situation worse. We've got this Frankenstein energy legislation that came in last year, about which everyone, including the ACCC, has said time and time again, 'This is going to push up power prices.' Guess what, guys? That contributes to inflationary pressures, which then leads to the RBA taking action on interest rates. There is actually some rhyme and reason to why these things occur. They do follow suit. We know the Labor Party is just obsessed with a carbon tax and it is now proposing one at three times the level that the Gillard government tried to legislate and put into place. I am just amazed that those in government are completely unaware of the impact that is going to have on businesses and on manufacturing. Look around this building. We are all sitting in a building here. It has an awful lot of concrete in it. Concrete uses a product called clinker to be produced. It is all about to go offshore because, if this carbon tax comes into play, there will be no Australian cement manufacturers. That would mean we would lose our sovereignty. We would put ourselves at risk. It's one of the most common products. It's used in every building and every road. How are you going to get over a river? That was put to me yesterday when we were looking at some of this stuff. How will you build a bridge? We know that they don't want to build some of that stuff if it's in a Liberal seat or in Mayo, but others will still want to build things. They are about to implement a carbon tax that will send all this manufacturing offshore. We are talking about hundreds of jobs that will be lost. It is going to increase the cost of absolutely everything. And that's just one industry. We also know that this new gas supply issue is seeing investments go offshore, and there is a high likelihood we will see blackouts this year. This is something that's going to have ramifications for decades as investment is leaving this country. It is going elsewhere because those in the resources sector know that this government cannot be trusted to put policy settings in place that will allow them to safely invest in Australia and continue to grow our nation.