Bundaberg residents are feeling the pinch with energy bills, car rego, water bills and licence fees all rising.
New Australian Bureau of Statistics data reveals Queenslanders suffered the largest cost increases of any state in the past three months.
Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett said all these state government controlled costs have skyrocketed and they’re directly impacting hip pockets.
“Groceries are more expensive, mortgage repayments and rents have jumped, and fuel seems to be more expensive every time you fill up,” he said.
“What we don’t need is a government piling on additional costs to make it even harder to make ends meet.
“Locally, one of the most insidious issues of all is Labor’s new payroll tax regime on doctors.
“This will see the end of bulk billing which will have severe impacts to vulnerable people in our community.”
ABS data for the first quarter of 2023 reveals under the Palaszczuk Labor Government Queenslanders are enduring far steeper cost increases.
In the first three months of this year, Queenslanders copped the biggest cost rises in the country with a:
- 32% increase in electricity bills;
- 3.4% increase in housing costs; and
- 5.4% increase in healthcare costs.
Since 2015:
- Car rego up 28% – even the cost to register a 5m tinnie is up 25%
- Driver licences up 25%
- Bulk water charges up 45%
- Power prices up 162%
Mr Bennett said cost-of-living is worse under the Palaszczuk Labor Government because they are in chaos and crisis.
“This State Government always wastes taxpayers’ money on blowouts, they have made the cost-of-living crisis worse,” he said.
“The LNP is focused on the needs of local families.
“When local mum and community advocate Carmen McEneany raised the issue around unfair learner licence fees, I listened.
“We started a campaign that eventually saw the Labor Government roll over.
“Today the cost of a learner’s licence has been reduced by $100.
“Thank you Carmen for standing up for our community.”
Ms McEneany said she hopes the recent learner licence fee reduction will help Queensland families.
“As a mum with three kids, I was so shocked that the learner licence fee was going to cost this much money.
“It’s nearly half my weekly grocery budget!
“I try to encourage my kids to save and pay for their own things now they have after school jobs, but this would have taken months for them to save for.”
Mr Bennett said the LNP has already secured important cost-of-living wins for Queensland families by forcing the Palaszczuk Labor Government stop renter tax, patients tax and reduce learner licence fees.
“We know that every dollar we spend on State Government cost increases, is a dollar we can’t spend on our own weekly budget,” he said.
“No one should have to make the choice between feeding their family and paying their car rego.
“Queenslanders can’t afford that.
“Queenslanders deserve better.”
ENDS.
27/04/2023