Mr STEVENS (Sturt) (10:58): That was an extraordinary attack on the small business sector of this nation and on the family business sector of this nation, which, regrettably, doesn't come as a surprise to those of us on this side of the House. It's good to have it very clearly on the record, particularly for future television commercials and the like, that the Labor Party believe that supporting the small business sector is some kind of rort and some kind of coalition support for our mates. It really says it all that the small business sector and the family business sector are regarded by the government as sectors, when they are supported by the coalition, where there is some kind of rort. It's also interesting to hear that the government are now completely against all of the economic stimulus measures that we put in place through the COVID period. That is absolutely remarkable. Again, I appreciate having that on the record. It's good to know that the Labor Party are against JobKeeper. They're against supporting the small business sector and the family business sector—that's one great big 'rort'! It's excellent to have that on the record, because we look forward to making that point to the millions of small businesses and the millions of family businesses in the country. They have just been told by the speaker for the government that supporting them in tough economic times and tough health times was some kind of rort, and that the support and stimulus is not something that the now government, the Labor Party, supported and would have done at the time. I appreciate having that on the record. Secondly, I say to the people of Australia that it is a difficult time for them, and we on this side understand it. This motion seems to be proud of the fact that real wages are going backwards. In fact, in his contribution, the previous speaker said that we've got record wages growth. Wages growth is at 3.3 per cent and inflation is at 7.8 per cent. The ABS says that, in fact, real wages are going backwards—that the cost of meeting household bills is growing at double the rate that your wages are. The poor average family in this country is going backwards, and the government is bragging about it and saying that they're proud of it. They're proud of the fact that real wages are going backwards. This motion even talks about wages growth as if they weren't aware of that fact. They aren't aware of the fact that to get real wages growth you have to compare wages growth to inflationary growth, and, when wages are growing at a lower amount than inflation, the real purchasing power of the average family is going backwards. Mr Rae: When did you guys work that out? The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Dr Free lander ): Member for Hawke! This is not a two-way conversation. Mr STEVENS: That means families in this country at the moment are having to make really difficult decisions to reduce their household budget, because their wages are growing at a slower rate than the costs to their family are increasing. That is an indisputable reality. I'd be shocked if we now have a government that doesn't believe the Australian Bureau of Statistics anymore and rejects the indisputable reality of the situation of real wage decline in this economy under the Labor Party. Mortgages are going up; power prices are going up. People are having to make difficult decisions, like maybe cancelling a family holiday they take every year because they just can't afford to do that right now, and they can't undertake that kind of discretionary expenditure because the rest of their costs are going up under Labor. In the budget that Labor handed down in October they confirmed electricity and gas prices were going up by 56 per cent and 42 per cent in those two cases. That makes life so much more difficult, not just for the people that are struggling now but for those that are going to have to meet these increased costs into the future. Those projections of electricity and gas prices going up in double digits haven't hit households yet. While their real wages are going backwards and inflation is currently at 7.8 per cent, you have utility costs going up at an even higher rate. That means for the average family in this country right now it is only going to get worse, and that is the reality of the statistics that the government themselves have put out in their own budget. So it is a very difficult time for families. Cost of living is exploding in this country while real wages are going backwards. That is not something to celebrate or to come into this chamber to brag about. It is something to be ashamed of, and it is something that needs a plan to address. Rather than bragging about the deteriorating wealth of the average Australian, come up with a plan to do something about it. At least, when we get elected in a few years time, we'll have that plan, and the people of this country will again see their economic future is something to look forward to rather than something to be frightened of under this government.