Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. She gets a bonus point for asking a question about the economy on budget day—I'll give that. The truth is that the member opposite raises a range of issues. One is inflation and interest rates. Now, inflation was twice what it is now when they were in office. Inflation peaked at 2.1 per cent in the March 2022 quarter—in just one quarter—whereas now inflation is at 3.6 per cent on an annual basis, which is lower than the 3.75 per cent that was predicted in MYEFO.

You would think that, when inflation was peaking, what there would have been was a responsible budget. Instead, we got dollars flowing out everywhere that ended the big cash splash in the lead-up to the May 2022 election, which made things worse, not better.

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