Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

or WALSH () (): I too rise to speak on the urgency motion moved by Senator McKim. The Albanese government is talking to Australians every day, and we know that Australians are facing cost-of-living challenges. We know that families are doing it tough. We hear it every day. After a decade of waste and rorts and stagnant low wages, a pandemic and a war in Ukraine inflation is quite appropriately the top issue on our agenda.

The Reserve Bank makes its decisions independently in its response to addressing inflation, and it should stay independent. Today's debate shows exactly how important it is that the RBA sets rates, not the politicians in this chamber. Our role as the government is to deliver a responsible economic plan and to deliver relief to those who need it most. It is a responsible plan that will help drive down inflation. Because of a decade of the former coalition government's wasted opportunities and questionable priorities, we have a lot of work to do. We're dealing with a trillion dollars of debt with absolutely nothing to show for it.

Our response to inflation is a three-point plan, which is about relief, repair and, importantly, restraint. We're providing cost-of-living relief that doesn't add to inflation. This year, we've successfully argued for a minimum wage increase, and we're proud of that increase. We've delivered cheaper medicines, which has seen Australians save more than $36 million in the past two months. We know energy bills are a stress point for households, so we're working with the states and territories to provide energy bill relief. This will be a key policy in the May budget.

Last December we introduced emergency caps on gas prices. It's been confirmed in Senate estimates that this will push down future prices significantly. According to Dr Kennedy, over the year to June 2024 our price caps will continue to reduce inflation by half a per cent. This is also a point acknowledged by Mr Lowe, who cited in estimates our energy policy as having a key downward force on inflation.

We know people need relief, right now, from the rising cost of living today as well. So we're delivering cheaper child care; we're delivering free TAFE; we're expanding paid parental leave; we're building more homes. At the same time, we're repairing our economy. Senator McKim does raise an important point: it is supply shocks that have contributed to inflation. The coalition did nothing in government to strengthen our supply chains. That has only made things worse for Australian families.

We have plans to repair our broken supply chains. We're doing that by investing in the long run of our economy. Our $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund will diversify our economy. It will bring manufacturing back to our shores. It will create secure, well-paid jobs. We're investing in the renewables that will bring down energy prices and help us reach our emission targets too.

So what is important right now is that, as a government, we make quality investments that strengthen and diversify our economy, secure our energy and our supply chains and create new jobs across the economy. Notably, our plans don't add to inflation, and that's because we're being responsible and restraining our spending. We're returning 99 per cent of revenue upgrades to the budget over the next two years. The average of the last government was just 40 per cent. The last thing that we want to be doing is contributing to inflation pressures. The plan is working, and we need to stick to it. We know that Australians are doing it tough, and we're taking responsibility for addressing inflation. It is the defining challenge that we face right now this year. But we're prepared to face it with sensible plans. We're working every day to make Australians' lives better, by delivering secure jobs, cheaper child care and cheaper medicines and investing in the long run of our nation, with more housing and cleaner energy, and bringing back manufacturing. This is what we were elected to do, and we're getting on with the job.