Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. What does today's decision on interest rates by the independent Reserve Bank mean for Australian families and the economy?

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

Thank you to the wonderful member for Hasluck for that question. The Reserve Bank has just announced its decision to keep the cash rate on hold at 4.1 per cent. In doing so, they said:

The recent data are consistent with inflation returning to the 2-3 per cent target range over the forecast horizon and with output and employment continuing to grow.

This will be a big relief for Australians with a mortgage. This is a welcome reprieve for Australians who are already doing it tough enough. Australians are still under the pump, even as inflation moderates and even after this decision today. We know that inflation in our economy is coming off, but it's still too high. We understand and we acknowledge that, but we do take some encouragement from the most recent quarterly inflation data, which showed that inflation in the most recent quarter is less than half what it was in the March quarter of 2022 under those opposite. So we see welcome progress, but there's still some distance to travel.

In this environment, this government's highest priority is rolling out billions of dollars in cost-of-living relief for people who are doing it tough. This relief is targeted to the people who need it most and to the areas where the pressure is most acute, like out-of-pocket health costs, rent and electricity bills. What we're doing here is taking some of the edge off the cost-of-living pressures without adding to inflation and making the job of the independent Reserve Bank that much harder. Cost-of-living relief is a central focus of our three-point plan to address inflation: help people who are doing it tough, a bigger surplus to take the pressure off inflation, and invest in the supply-side challenges in our economy which have been neglected for too long over the wasted decade. We are making progress in this fight against inflation.

Don't forget, when government changed hands last year, we had quarterly inflation more than double what it is now. We had rates already rising. We had huge deficits as far as the eye could see, and we didn't have enough to show for the trillion dollars in Liberal debt that they had racked up.

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order. The member for Groom will cease interjecting.

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

Now, partly as a consequence of our responsible economic management, we're seeing inflation moderating, we're seeing record job creation and we're seeing the first surplus in 15 years, saving us billions of dollars in interest costs on their debt. We are cleaning up the mess that they left us and building the foundations for a stronger economy and a better future.

Today's decision is a welcome reprieve. There will be a sigh of relief around Australia, but people are still under the pump. We will continue to take seriously our responsibilities in this inflation fight, which is far from over. (Time expired)