Cost-of-Living | One Meal
Transcript
Date: 14 February 2024
TRANSCRIPT
Ms WARE (Hughes): The cost of living is biting hard in my electorate of Hughes, as it is throughout Australia. I'm absolutely certain about this. I recently conducted an online survey throughout my electorate about the cost of living and, Deputy Speaker Claydon, I'm going to share with you what that revealed. Eighty-eight per cent of my electorate are finding it harder than normal to find the money to support their household, 54 per cent are facing mortgage stress, 74 per cent are struggling to afford groceries, 56 per cent have seen a 25 to 50 per cent rise in their energy bills and 64 per cent say that the cost of petrol is impacting their commute to work. Paying more than $2 a litre for petrol is really impacting. The average mortgage holder in Hughes is now paying more than $25,000 per year more than they were under the coalition government. The average renter is paying more than $100 per week more.
That is why I am so grateful to the people in my community who are helping those in need—people such as One Meal, which is a community meal service, providing a nutritious meal once a week for people in need. I recently helped One Meal at Engadine, and I've been in touch with the One Meal people at Sutherland. I thank those volunteers for the awesome work that they are doing in our community. Many people that are now attending One Meal in my electorate are people who have never, ever before attended a food bank. These are families. I implore this government to do something about the cost of living in my electorate and throughout— (Time expired)