Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

Unfortunately, these people are in control of the Senate. They are using their control of the Senate to vent their frustrations and to lay waste to the government’s fiscal strategy and the position that is being taken to put downward pressure on inflation and interest rates. The government is committed to ensuring that we tackle the inflation problem and that we put downward pressure on interest rates. The random acts of sabotage and disruption that the opposition are engaged in in the Senate will do nothing other than erode the efforts of the government to put downward pressure on inflation and interest rates.

The opposition that at first refused to acknowledge there was a problem, and then said that the problem was caused by the incoming government, now does not quite know what the issue is or what the circumstances are and is trying to destroy the government’s fiscal strategy. It is long overdue for the opposition to decide what its position is on the fiscal settings, what it thinks should be done with respect to inflation and interest rates and to allow the government’s fiscal position to take effect in order to do the job that the Australian people want—and that is to put downward pressure on inflation and interest rates.

See this speech in context