Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to the Sensis consumer report released today, which shows that consumers expect the greatest expenditure increases to be in groceries and bills and that high and rising costs of living are the biggest reason why consumers are worried about the future in every state and territory. I also refer the Treasurer to yesterday’s minutes of the recent Reserve Bank board meeting, which said that ‘should expectations of high ongoing inflation begin to affect wage and price setting’ behaviour the neutral stance of monetary policy ‘would need to be reviewed’. Does the Treasurer accept that he has dashed confidence and provoked job insecurity by exacerbating inflationary expectations and egging the Reserve Bank on to hike interest rates with his intemperate refrain, ‘The inflation genie is out of the bottle’?

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