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

When we came to office, real incomes were going backwards, inflation was going up, rising—it had a six in front of it—and indeed we had people's living standards going backwards. And we had deficits—a $78 billion deficit—that we inherited in the March 2022 budget. Let's go through the figures of then and now that are raised by the Leader of the Opposition. Inflation in that March 2022 quarter was 2.1 per cent. In the quarter that has just passed, headline was 0.2 and underlying was 0.5. Inflation was 2.4 on an annual basis, under the two-to-three range that the RBA aimed for—in the bottom half of that range. That was achieved without seeing the massive spike in unemployment that we have seen in comparable economies. Unemployment is four per cent—up from 3.9 to four—on the latest figures. What we have seen, also, is that wages have increased four quarters in a row. Inflation up, wages down, unemployment low—that is what has been achieved through the hard work of Australians.

We also have received, during that period, two—not one but two—budget surpluses, back-to-back surpluses. Those opposite didn't worry about inflation. At a time when you had that inflation rising, rising, rising and interest rates had begun to rise, what was their response? The March 2022 budget. That produced a $78 billion predicted deficit and deficits each year all the way through—his debut!

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