Cost of living pressure front and centre as Ley visits Leongatha

By Rick Koenig

FEDERAL Opposition Leader Sussan Ley visited Leongatha on Tuesday to discuss the mounting pressures of the cost-of-living crisis in the lead-up to Christmas.

The Liberal Party Leader was joined by Federal Monash MP Mary Aldred for a roundtable discussion at Henrietta's Cafe, where community members discussed the ongoing impact increased energy bills and other expenses were having on businesses and families.

Ms Ley told The Sentinel-Times she was in South Gippsland to understand the pressures facing the region and to discuss the Coalition's new affordable energy plan.

"When electricity is unaffordable, when power is unaffordable, everything is unaffordable," Ms Ley said.

"Talking to families in Leongatha today, I'm getting a real sense that in the lead up to Christmas, there's a lot of pressure on families here."

Ms Ley said she had spoken with parents who were struggling to pay for their children to play sport while also juggling the costs of Christmas and holidays.

"It's all adding up to a lot of pressure and we want to find ways to take that pressure away from families and affordable energy is number one," she said.

Last month, the Coalition controversially dropped its net zero by 2050 in a bid to make energy more affordable without committing to a firm carbon emissions target.

Federal Monash MP Mary Aldred said she wanted to show Ms Ley the impact cost-of-living was having on the community.

"One of the things that people most regularly raise with me is the cost of living for families and the cost of doing business," she said.

"I wanted to take Sussan to a couple of businesses that I'm really proud of, that make terrific products – but they're really struggling right now with input costs rising and electricity and gas prices rising.

"Families locally are doing it very hard at the moment, Sussan appreciates that, which is why she's focusing so much on cost-of-living relief and having a strong plan to tackle that."

Ms Aldred said Ms Ley came from a regional area herself and knew "how important communities like ours are to the rest of Australia."

Ms Ley's Leongatha visit was part of a mini Gippsland tour, with the Liberal Leader meeting with local manufacturers in Warragul earlier in the day.