Ensuring Government Spending Delivers Value for Australians

Ensuring Government Spending Delivers Value for Australians

Australians know what it means to tighten their belts. Families across the country are doing it every day. Mortgage holders are feeling the pressure of higher interest rates, grocery bills keep climbing, power prices remain stubbornly high and now fuel prices are skyrocketing.

At kitchen tables or in small businesses boardrooms, Australians are making tough decisions about what they can afford and where they must cut back.

Government should be doing the same.

Yet under the Albanese Labor Government we have seen a pattern of wasteful spending, poor decisions and budget blowouts that is making the cost-of-living crisis worse. When government spending runs out of control it fuels inflation and when inflation rises interest rates stay higher for longer.

Australians work hard and pay their taxes in good faith. They rightly expect that the taxes they pay, no doubt reluctantly, are spent responsibly and deliver real value for money.

In this environment, careful scrutiny of government spending has never been more important, which is why the Leader of the Opposition, Angus Taylor, has asked me to serve as the Shadow Minister for Scrutiny of Government Waste and Accountability.

This role is about asking the tough questions Australians need answered. It is about examining how your taxes are being spent and ensuring governments are held to the same standards of discipline required of every Australian household and business.

One of the most important responsibilities of any opposition is holding the government to account. That means asking the hard questions, shining a light on waste and demanding better value for every taxpayer dollar.

In the months ahead, I will focus on ensuring public funds are treated with the respect Australians expect. Because when Australians are forced to tighten their belts, government should do the same. That is what my commitment to ‘fight for us’ means. A commitment to stand up for taxpayers and hold the Albanese government accountable for every decision it makes and every dollar it spends.