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

My question is to the Treasurer. Independent economist Chris Richardson says, 'Governments are throwing a lot of money at the symptoms of the cost-of-living crisis, but that worsens the cause of it.' With falling disposable income and sticky, high inflation hurting Australian households, why is this government fighting the Reserve Bank while Australian families are going backwards?

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

In terms of people doing it tough, I think it speaks volumes that, when the home affairs minister was talking about a $16,000 pay cut, those opposite were chuckling about it, and doesn't that just go to the core of their approach and the difference between their approach and our approach?

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

Order! The Treasurer will return to the question.

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

We do more than acknowledge, as he did in his question, that people are doing it tough. We are acting on it. We're helping with the cost of living, and we're getting wages moving again and we're getting real wages moving again as a consequence of our efforts.

If the commentary that the shadow Treasurer read out is true now, imagine how much worse it would be if we were still running the huge deficits that we inherited from those opposite. They were running massive deficits when we came to office, and we turned two of those huge deficits into two substantial surpluses. The Reserve Bank governor has made it really clear that those surpluses are helping in the fight against inflation. When we came to office, the most recent budget from those opposite had zero savings in it. We found almost $80 billion in savings, and we put that in our three budgets.

When those opposite were spending almost all of the upward revision to revenue from a stronger labour market and stronger commodity prices, we banked almost all of it. We did that deliberately. That's been an important part of our fiscal strategy which has helped us clean up a lot of the mess that we inherited from those opposite. And because of our efforts, we're saving tens of billions of dollars in interest repayments, which is also helping the budget and making room for us to provide cost-of-living help and invest in housing, energy and skills and in a future made in Australia, and those are important objectives.

When I'm asked about government spending, we're in the third year, now, of a three-year parliamentary term. It is long past time. If those opposite think there is $315 billion too much spending in the budget then it's incumbent on them to come clean on their cuts and to tell us where those cuts will come from. He asked me about government spending. I'm allowed to talk about the implications—

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

No, the Treasurer can pause because the member for Hume is entitled, under the standing orders, to raise a point of order.

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

My point of order is on relevance. The question did not ask about alternative approaches, particularly alternative approaches that exist in the Treasurer's imagination.

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

The Treasurer was asked about government spending, so if he wants to do a compare and contrast, he'll need to make it relevant to government spending.

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

The point I'm making is that those opposite wouldn't know the first thing about responsible economic management. They said that they would deliver a surplus in their first year and every year after that, and they went none for nine. We've been here for two years and we've delivered two surpluses—two for two. None for nine and two for two—that's what I'm attempting to remind the shadow Treasurer of.

As I've said multiple times already, the governor of the Reserve Bank has said that our surpluses are helping in the fight against inflation. Those surpluses wouldn't be possible without our responsible economic management and cleaning up the mess those opposite left behind.

Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Higgins, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. How is the Albanese Labor government's responsible budget management right for the risks Australia faces and the pressures people are under? What approaches were rejected?

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

I'm very grateful to the member for Higgins not only for the question but also for the way that she engages in the big economic questions that we confront as a government. As we know, the national accounts last week showed that growth is slow and subdued in our economy, and a big part of that is consumption going backwards and, especially, discretionary spending falling. This is another reminder of the pressures that people are under. But, as a government, we have decided and we are determined. We don't just acknowledge the pressures that people are under; we are actually doing something about it. That's why we're rolling out cost-of-living relief: a tax cut for every taxpayer, energy bill relief for every household, rent assistance, cheaper medicines, cheaper early childhood education, and getting real wages moving again. Our primary focus is on the cost of living and rolling out cost-of-living help. It's the major part of our efforts, but it's not the only part. We are doing this at the same time as we get the budget in better nick then we inherited.

As I've said a couple of times, we inherited a couple of huge deficits and we turned them into substantial surpluses. Before the end of the month, Minister Gallagher and I will release the final budget outcome for the year that has just finished. The surplus for the year just finished will be in the mid teens in terms of billion dollars. That means a $170 billion turnaround in the budget in two years. That's a $170 billion turnaround from the mess that we inherited to the budget position that we've delivered in just two years in office. It wouldn't have happened without our responsible economic management and, as I've said a couple of times, the governor has made it clear that our surpluses are helping in the fight against inflation. The key here is that we've maintained the right balance between a primary focus on inflation and recognising the risks to jobs and growth in our economy. Because of the balance that we've struck, inflation has halved, we've avoided recession, there are a million new jobs, real wages are growing again, and every taxpayer is getting a tax cut.

There are no shortages of risks to the economy, and one of them sits over there. That's because they want to slash $315 billion in spending without coming clean on where those cuts are coming from. They need to come clean on their cuts. That $315 billion includes cost-of-living relief, pension indexation, Medicare and funding for medicines and veterans—

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

The member for Barker is now warned.

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

If those opposite had their way, we'd be in recession right now. There would be lower wages and less help for people doing it tough. They want to sacrifice Australians and their jobs and their economy to their divisive politics, and their approach is a recipe for recession. Our approach is about managing the economy responsibly in a way that's right for the risks that we face and the pressures that people are under.

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

Before I call the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, I remind the chamber that the members for Page and Barker, the Minister for Industry and Science, and the member for Moreton are all on warnings. Consequences for actions will occur.