Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. How does the Albanese Labor government's second budget address the cost-of-living pressures facing Australian households rather than adding to them? Are there any barriers to the government's efforts?

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

I thank the wonderful member for Holt for her question about the cost of living. The centrepiece of the Albanese government's second budget is a package of responsible, targeted cost-of-living relief. Our budget was carefully calibrated and designed to take pressure off the cost of living, rather than add to the inflationary pressures in our economy. So 11.6 million Australians are eligible to benefit from the tripling of the bulk-billing incentive. Six million Australians are to benefit from the up to halving of medicine costs. More than five million households and one million small businesses are to receive direct electricity bill relief, and millions more are benefiting from our price caps. There are 1.1 million Australians who will see an increase in payments like JobSeeker, Austudy and youth allowance. Many, many more Australians will benefit from initiatives like home energy upgrade loans, the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme, additional TAFE places and the wages growth we're seeing in our economy after a decade of deliberate wage suppression from those opposite.

Treasury forecasts our cost-of-living policies will directly lower price pressures and the CPI in 2023-24 and will not add to broader inflationary pressure in the economy. That's because our support is carefully designed to provide effective and meaningful relief to households throughout the year, not in one big hit. This is the sort of approach to targeting cost-of-living relief which is recommended by the key international organisations. Leading economists have supported the government's approach as well. Ben Jarman from JP Morgan says that this may also make the RBA's life a bit easier when it comes to interest rate decisions. Alan Oster says it's 'broadly neutral'. Amy Auster says:

The Budget balances investments in health, cost-of-living relief, and aged care with the need to stimulate productivity without adding to our inflationary pressures.

Stephen Halmarick says the contraction this year will be helpful in moderating inflation. It goes on and on and on. Market expectations for the path of interest rates has not changed one bit as a result of the budget. So this budget will make life easier for people while not adding to inflationary pressures in the economy.

I say this to those opposite who are interjecting: if those opposite don't support a bit of cost-of-living relief for millions of Australians they should get up there and say so. If the Leader of the Opposition doesn't support cost-of-living relief for Australians doing it tough, he should get up there tonight and say so.