Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Oxley for his question, because it is widely recognised by economists that capacity constraints in our economy do contribute to inflation and do slow growth. I note, however, that in a speech yesterday the shadow Treasurer told CEDA that infrastructure bottlenecks ‘have little to do with inflation’. Why would the shadow Treasurer say that? So desperate is the shadow Treasurer to distance himself from the inflation legacy that the Howard government left—the highest level in 16 years, caused by inaction on productivity issues such as infrastructure and skills—that he is prepared to argue that this is not an issue with regard to inflation at all. We have a shadow Treasurer who is simply in denial, and this shows just how out of touch the opposition is, because, whether it be a need for dedicated freight lines or tackling urban congestion or delays at ports, all of these do have an impact on economic—

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