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

The member for Reid is terrific, and that's an important question. When that side of the House is focused on long lunches, cuts, conflict and culture wars, this side of the House has maintained a focus on the cost of living. Because of that focus, inflation is down, wages are up and unemployment is low. We've delivered two surpluses and we're rolling out cost-of-living help. We're making substantial and now sustained progress in the fight against inflation, but we know that people are still under pressure, and that's why there is still more to do.

We also know that the same Australians would be thousands of dollars worse off today if the opposition leader had his way on tax cuts, on wages, on energy rebates and on cost-of-living help. We also know they'd be worse off still if he wins the election and goes after Medicare again, goes after wages again and pushes up electricity prices with his nuclear madness. That's why two revelations in the last few days are very important. The first one is that the long lunches policy would cost Australian workers more than $10 billion a year to subsidise long lunches and entertainment if every business claimed what they were entitled to. He wants lower wages for workers and longer lunches for bosses and he wants taxpayers to foot the bill.

The second revelation is he has big cuts in mind but he won't tell Australians what they are until after the election. We know that from his Insiders interview. His secret cuts and his warped priorities should send a shiver up the spine of every worker, of every student, of every family, of every pensioner in this country.

See this speech in context