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

As I said at the beginning, if the shadow Treasurer has that view, why is he voting for even higher migration with the position that they've announced on the student caps? They've got to make up their mind. They say they want lower migration, but they're voting for higher migration, and that's because they put their own political interests ahead of the national economic interest. I went through the things Governor Bullock has said about the government's policy and how it relates to inflation: the right attitude, helpful; two surpluses; and the like. The government has been clear. Those opposite haven't been clear. The reason those opposite are saying of the shadow Treasurer that he's vacated the field and is not providing direction and is just throwing rocks is that he has no coherent, credible or costed alternatives.

So, to learn what they think about the budget and inflation, we've got to go to the Liberals' deputy leader, who said today, about free TAFE, 'Remember this: it's a key principle and tenet of the Liberal Party that if you don't pay for something you don't value it.' The reason this is relevant—

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