Mr WOLAHAN (Menzies) (16:26): There are times in our lives when we stop. We pause and ask: what was the point of it all? We usually do that at significant moments in history or in our lives. The member for Canning and I asked ourselves that question at the end of the Afghanistan war: what was the point of it all? When you do that, you do a serious stocktake of what occurred and what we learned from it. Right now, Australians are standing at a crossroads, looking at this Prime Minister and this government and they're saying, 'What was the point of it all?' When I listen through the various speeches given by the members, with due respect them as friends and colleagues, I also ask: what was the point of it all? We have heard lovely speeches given for the people who keep this place ticking—our staff, families and friends, as we should. We did that because Christmas is coming. We owe a great debt to the Australian people. We want them to know that, in this place, we're thinking of them as well with Christmas around the corner. Many families will be having a Christmas they didn't have three years ago. They will be poorer, more stressed, harder-working and less happy. That is on this government because, when you look at the numbers, Australians are going backwards. Everyone is going backwards, bar a few exceptions. Recently our leader came to a foodbank in my electorate. Went there for two reasons—one was to thank the volunteers and donors for all that they do. We were at Carenet in Templestowe, and I want to thank Kellie Wishart and her team. Templestowe is not an area, if you're from Melbourne, that you would imagine needing a foodbank. It is generally considered a wealthy area, with high incomes and high asset prices, yet in that area they're giving out 4,000 kilograms a week of food. Our first task was to thank the volunteers for their work. The second task, many people asked about in the comments in the leader's posts and in mine. They asked: what are you going to give them? That's not the right question. The question is: what are we going to do to make the need for this foodbank disappear? We are prosperous nation, and it is a great shame on us that so many Australians are turning up to foodbanks. How is it happening that, in 2024, Australians in metropolitan Melbourne are putting food on the table from foodbanks? I went to that foodbank on a previous occasion. As I stood there talking to Kellie Wishart, some people were coming in and I recognised some of them. They felt embarrassed, but they shouldn't have because I know that they are hardworking and they have had circumstances in their lives—whether it be unemployment, a separation or illness—that has meant they are struggling and need that help. Families this Christmas will go to pay the food bill, with the average food bill for a family of four about $400 a week. It has gone up 10 per cent. At Christmas, when you want to put a bit of extra food on the table, it can be double that cost. Housing is up; rents are up. When we listen to the interjections or the speeches, all we hear is, 'Yes, we've caused this great problem that we're not interested in solving, but here is our little bit of help for the symptoms.' There is no interest in the cause. They are only focused on the symptoms and helping to start a fire that they are not interested in putting out. Here is my little bucket of water to help put it out—that is the focus of this government. It's all symptoms, no cause. Families paying off a mortgage are in dire straits. A family with an average mortgage is $35,000 worse off. That's for the average mortgage. The closer you get to metropolitan Melbourne—I see that the member for Higgins is here—you know that the average mortgage is way higher than that. Families who are on average wages see no hope, and many are at the brink. Again, we hear the government talk about average wages. They never talk about real wages, and how much money is actually left in people's pockets at the end of all the costs they have to pay that are going up and the rising income taxes through bracket creep. So Australians at this crossroads are saying, 'What was the point of it all?' They will pass judgement soon. (Time expired)