Senator Dave Sharma
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has delivered his fifth federal Budget. For many Australians — including the vibrant and hardworking Australian Indian community — this moment is more than just a fiscal update. It is a test of whether the government truly understands the pressures facing ordinary families, small businesses, professionals, and aspiring homeowners.
After four years of the Albanese government, many Australians are asking a simple question: are we better off today under Labour.
For too many households, the answer is no.
Across the country, living standards have fallen sharply. Families are paying more for essentials, more for electricity, more for groceries, more for mortgages, and more in taxes — all while wage growth struggles to keep pace with the rising cost of living.
I know that the Australian Indian community knows these pressures firsthand. This is a community built on hard work, entrepreneurship, education, and aspiration. Many migrated here seeking opportunity, stability, and the promise that effort would be rewarded. But today, that promise feels increasingly uncertain.
Young professionals are finding it harder to buy their first home. Small business owners are battling rising operating costs and excessive regulation. Families are working longer hours yet feeling financially stretched. Parents worry about whether their children will enjoy the same opportunities that previous generations did.
Inflation remains stubbornly high, and Australians continue to feel the impact every time they visit the supermarket or open a utility bill. Mortgage holders have endured repeated interest rate rises, adding enormous pressure to household budgets. Meanwhile, government debt continues to climb, leaving future generations to shoulder the burden.
Rather than addressing the structural problems in the economy, the government appears prepared to continue down the same path of higher spending, greater intervention, and heavier taxation.
Australians deserve better.
Economic growth is the foundation upon which strong communities are built. Growth creates jobs, supports families, funds essential services, and gives young people confidence about their future.
For the Australian Indian community in particular, economic opportunity matters deeply. Indian Australians are overrepresented in small business, technology, healthcare, education, hospitality, and professional services.
What Australians need now is a government focused on restoring confidence in the private sector, encouraging investment, reducing unnecessary red tape, and rewarding hard work and risk-taking once again.
We need policies that make housing more affordable by increasing supply. We need tax settings that encourage aspiration rather than punish success. We need responsible spending that helps bring inflation under control instead of fuelling it further.
Most importantly, we need leadership that understands that prosperity cannot be created through government spending. A strong economy is built by the millions of Australians who work, innovate, invest, and contribute every single day.
Contributing Author: Dave Sharma is Shadow Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Shadow Assistant Minister for International Development and the Indo-Pacific, and Senator for New South Wales
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