Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I withdraw. If the shadow Treasurer was being accurate, he would acknowledge in his question that only this side of the House is trying to help people with the cost of living, and every time we try to help people those opposite oppose us. That is a matter now of public parliamentary record. When we wanted to give tax cuts to every taxpayer, they called for an election over it. When we said we wanted to give household energy bill relief, they opposed it. On one occasion in the first round they voted against it. They opposed our efforts for people with student debt to keep more of what they earn. That's a factual point. I don't think it's an especially controversial point to make if I'm being asked about the pressures that people are under.

More than acknowledging that Australians are under pressure, this side of the House is doing something about it. We are making sure that we make room in the budget when we clean up the budget left to us by those opposite to provide the kind of cost-of-living help that Australians desperately need and deserve as they deal with this inflation challenge which didn't just show up in May of 2022. In May 2022, inflation was more than double what it is now on our watch. If the shadow Treasurer were accurate, he would acknowledge that point as well, but he's not very good when it comes to accuracy and, to be fair to him, it's something that afflicts a number of those opposite. The shadow finance minister said yesterday that there were 27,000 taxpayers in Australia, when there are 13.5 million taxpayers in Australia. Last month she said inflation hadn't gone down in over two years, when it has more than halved.

Yesterday, the shadow Treasurer said that next year was 2015. He was like that Ron Burgundy character in Anchorman, reading out the cue cards that he didn't understand. He either fails to acknowledge, or he fails to understand, that interest rates started rising on their watch, that inflation has come down substantially on our watch and that the budget is in better nick because of our efforts. That has meant a $172 billion turnaround, It has meant $150 billion less debt and $80 billion less in debt interest repayments. It has meant that we are making progress in cleaning up the mess that they left us in the economy and in the budget. We know that the job's not finished yet, and we know that people are still doing it tough. That's why it beggars belief that those opposite don't want to help people who are under pressure. This again goes to the reckless arrogance of this opposition leader and that opposition over there who want to let people who are doing it tough do it that much tougher. (Time expired)

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