Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to the Sensis consumer report released today, which shows that consumers expect the greatest expenditure increases to be in groceries and bills and that high and rising costs of living are the biggest reason why consumers are worried about the future in every state and territory. I also refer the Treasurer to yesterday’s minutes of the recent Reserve Bank board meeting, which said that ‘should expectations of high ongoing inflation begin to affect wage and price setting’ behaviour the neutral stance of monetary policy ‘would need to be reviewed’. Does the Treasurer accept that he has dashed confidence and provoked job insecurity by exacerbating inflationary expectations and egging the Reserve Bank on to hike interest rates with his intemperate refrain, ‘The inflation genie is out of the bottle’?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I completely reject such ridiculous accusations from those opposite. It just shows how irresponsible and out of touch they are. Those minutes from the Reserve Bank board yesterday were a very sensible discussion of what is going on in the Australian economy. If you look at what has been going on with confidence and you read closely the Reserve Bank board minutes, you will find the backup for what I just said in my previous answer. What is going on out there? Let us be very serious about analysing this: firstly, record high international oil prices and petrol costs; secondly, the highest inflation in 16 years; thirdly, eight interest rate rises over three years; and, of course, ongoing international financial market turmoil. That is what the government has been dealing with for the past six months, and we inherited from you inflation at a 16-year high, and on day one we put up our hand and accepted responsibility for doing something about it responsibly.

What we have had from the opposition during this period have been completely irresponsible and reckless actions, such as the action that we had in the Senate this morning—completely reckless and showing that those opposite have no appreciation whatsoever of what we must do as a country to combat inflation, to maintain sustainable growth and to get interest rates down in the long term. They have no appreciation of that at all.

Of course, we are getting some appreciation of why they have no appreciation, because those people in the focus groups really had the Liberal Party nailed. When they were asked about the member for Wentworth, one said, ‘He uses situations for his own advantage.’ The next one said, ‘He bleeds people dry.’

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Treasurer is starting to debate the matter.

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The irresponsibility of this opposition is there for all Australians to see and they should be condemned for their behaviour in the Senate.