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

It is a budget, as the Reserve Bank governor has acknowledged—quite rightly—that actually brought in a surplus. I know that is a foreign land to those over there. They have never seen a surplus; they have never visited it. They did buy a ticket. They even got the souvenir mugs, but all they produced was merch. We have produced lower debt as a result of turning the $78 billion deficit we inherited into a $22 billion surplus. We know that inflation is lower than it was when we came to office, and we know that inflation peaked in that March quarter at 2.1 per cent—the highest it has been for a very long period of time. What we have done is make sure our measures to provide that cost-of-living support are designed in a way that will continue to put that downward pressure on inflation. That's why our Energy Price Relief Plan, just like the last one we introduced, which had an effect of reducing inflation—that's why we've designed it that way. That's why we've designed fee-free TAFE that way as well—to make a difference.

We make no apologies for the fact that more Australians than they wanted will get a tax cut next week. We make no apologies for the fact that everyone in this room here, in this chamber, will get $4,500 less than they were going to get under their plan, and we have ensured that those people who are doing it tough will get a crack. Next Monday they will get a benefit, even if they are earning under $45,000 a year—something those opposite said they'd oppose before they even saw it. Then they said they'd reverse it, and then they called for an election to be held on it. If they're so hostile to it, why did they vote for it? They don't talk about that.

We are determined to make a difference. We want an economy that works for people, not the other way around. That's why all our cost-of-living measures are designed in a way to assist the economy and to lower inflation. (Time expired)

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