Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. In the job figures today we see the dangerous combination of stubbornly high inflation and job losses. Labor's only answer is to spend more money, when history tells us this is exactly the wrong approach. Why does Labor always get the big economic calls wrong?

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It's a very broad question. I give the call to the Prime Minister.

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

It is very broad, Mr Speaker. It's a question for every day the Treasurer sits there and he expects to get a question and it just never happens. Maybe when we get back that will happen. I live in hope!

Of course, there was an increase in the unemployment rate today to 3.7 per cent, up from 3.5. I do note that that is still lower than the unemployment rate than we inherited when he came to office. I do note also that there were more jobs created on our watch in our first six months than under any government in history—any government in history! If you go back to any new government, no government presided over the creation of more jobs than we did.

I'm asked as well about debt—from the mob that left us a trillion dollars of debt with nothing to show for it! And then you have our programs, like the National Reconstruction Fund. That is supported by industry, supported by workers and will be a great example of new industry policy creating new industries—particularly in the regions, allowing us to deal with the constraints that are there in supply chains. But those opposite are opposing it.

And then you have the safeguard mechanism, where once again they're just opposing it. Well, this is what Innes Willox, the Chief Executive of Ai Group—manufacturers—said today: 'A form of political extremism is at play here. It has cost us before and it could cost us again.' That is what the Australian Industry Group have had to say.

Andrew McKellar, the head of ACCI—again, not an affiliate—said:

This is not the time for another climate war—

once again being negative—

For the sake of certainty and the achievement of our emissions reduction goals, the Safeguard Mechanism must pass parliament.

…   …   …   

Past failure to deal with this reality has crimped certainty for industry and investors, and left our energy sector in disarray.

I wonder who the energy minister was?

Australian businesses and households are now paying the price.

Indeed they are! (Time expired)

Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. How does the Albanese Labor government's economic plan help address some of the factors putting pressure on inflation?

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

Thanks to the wonderful member for Macquarie for her question. I haven't had a question from the shadow Treasurer since November, so it's nice to get one from anywhere I can get it!

We've got a lot going for us in our country and in our economy. We're getting good prices for our exports. We're seeing the welcome beginnings of wages growth in our economy. And unemployment has got a '3' in front of it, and that's important. There are new numbers out today—unemployment with a '3' in front of it. But, as we all know—certainly on this side of the House we understand—inflation is the biggest threat to our economy, because it's putting pressure on families, pensioners and small businesses in every community, in every corner of this country. We know from the Reserve Bank governor that at least half, and as much as three-quarters, of the inflation in our economy actually comes from supply-side pressures, pressures in our supply chains and in our workforces. Much of that has global origins, of course, and it's beyond our control, but some of it stems from a decade-long failure to deal with these growing challenges, and Australians are now paying a really hefty price for the economic mismanagement that this country has endured for the best part of a decade.

So it's no coincidence that a key feature of our economic plan is about repairing these broken supply chains. It's a direct and deliberate response to the problems that were left to gather and grow larger over that wasted decade that we've been through. On this side of the House, in response to these economic challenges, we said we'd deliver a National Reconstruction Fund to create more opportunities and to fix our supply chains and make them more resilient, and that's exactly what we're trying to do. We said we'd tackle our housing affordability and supply problems with the Housing Australia Future Fund, and we're doing that as well. We said we'd invest in cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy, and we're doing that too. We said we would clean up the mess that they left us, and that's what we're trying to do.

Before the parliament there are a number of bills which go right to the core of the economic plan that all the objective observers in this country think is the right way to come at this inflation challenge in our economy, and those opposite, true to form, are voting against them. When they vote no to the National Reconstruction Fund or the Housing Australia Future Fund or cleaner and cheaper energy, they are voting for broken supply chains, for fewer affordable homes, for even higher energy bills. In saying no to all these things, they are saying yes to higher inflation for even longer, when inflation is punishing our families and pensioners and small businesses.

I think Australians understand who is working hard on their behalf to address the inflation challenge in our economy, and they know for sure who is hell-bent on keeping inflation higher for longer with this ridiculous, pig-headed approach to the legislation before the House.