Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's been relayed to me that there is no lonelier, no more introspective time in politics as your first budget night in opposition. It is in that moment the irrelevance sets in. And I can't imagine it gets any easier when a budget is as well-delivered and as well-received as ours has been over this past fortnight.

Time and time again, these matters of public importance provide a welcome opportunity to communicate to the country, and in particular to the great electorate of Hasluck, the measures this government is taking to reduce the cost-of-living pressures and to outline why most credible economic experts are saying the Treasurer's budget approach will not exacerbate inflation. Just the opposite. The member for Hume might be the only person who just doesn't get it.

Of course, we are not just trying to improve the lives of people living in the electorate of Hasluck. The electors of Hume likewise will benefit. Hume is not unlike Hasluck in that it is a peri-urban electorate taking in part of greater Sydney and then ranging across hills and valleys. I think many people in Hume will be puzzled to read their member's motion today, as all the budget positives that apply to my electors in Hasluck apply to Hume, over 3,000 kilometres away. This government governs for all Australians.

The motion talks about reducing inflation. This government is the very model of a modern approach to fiscal restraint, and the Treasurer's careful judgement is paying off. International observers such as Bloomberg noted the government is on the path of fiscal restraint with the May budget, and our own Chamber of Commerce and Industry praised the government's fiscal restraint. These are independent commentators who have said our budget straddles that line well—relief for those who need it most, targeted investment in public services and innovation, banking most of the surplus revenue, and paying down Liberal debt.

Peter Martin, a visiting fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the ANU, wrote recently in the Conversation:

… by cutting prices for many of us, the budget will help bring down inflation sooner.

And:

I'm yet to see a credible argument that inflation won't do as predicted in the budget.

Who should the people of Hasluck and Hume listen to: Bloomberg, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an ANU academic or the member for Hume?

But wait—there's more. Following the budget, Fitch Ratings affirmed Australia's triple-A credit rating and applauded the government's spending restraint, saying the nation's public finances had outperformed expectations. Fitch said:

The commitment in the Budget to save most of the revenue windfalls over the five-year budget horizon signals a commitment to prudent fiscal management.

This positive feedback for the Treasurer isn't new. The IMF, back in February, in response to the Treasurer's October budget statement, said:

New spending measures (in the October Budget) provide targeted cost-of-living relief and address structural economic issues by alleviating labour and skills shortages, promoting productivity growth, and facilitating the climate transition.

The IMF also recognised the government's spending restraint helps address the inflation challenge and makes the job of the Reserve Bank easier:

Near-term fiscal restraint will help support monetary policy in holding back excess demand.

The Reserve Bank, likewise, stated in February, in relation to energy policy that increases in wholesale costs are expected to be dampened by the Australian government's energy price relief plan.

So what was there in the May budget—which the member for Hume might need to read more carefully, as he doesn't seem to have understood the government's fiscal approach in the way academics, economists, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ratings agencies, the IMF and the Reserve Bank do? Many things are there; my colleagues have covered that ground. Saliently, more than five million households and one million small businesses will receive energy price relief. Combined with the earlier market intervention—which the coalition voted against and apparently would repeal if they could—these measures are expected to reduce inflation by three-quarters of a percentage point in 2023-24. Just imagine what would happen to inflation in this country if the coalition circus came to town!

The Albanese Labor government is listening to the country, from Hasluck to Hume, and we are working to deliver a better future for all Australians.

See this speech in context