Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for the question and the lack of acknowledgement of the inflationary environment that we are in at the moment. We came to government after the first interest rate rise in May last year, and they have continued since, with one pause. The Reserve Bank is doing what it needs to do to put downward pressure on inflation and return it to a target range.

The job the government has to do—and some of it goes to the answer my colleague just gave on housing—is to generate supply in housing to ease cost-of-living pressures for households as we tackle some of the challenges in our economy. That's why our budget, as one of its main focuses, had a cost-of-living package. We also had significant investments in Medicare and the care economy, in inclusion and equality, and in growth opportunities to deal with the productivity challenge across the economy. We also sought to improve our budget and put it on a more sustainable footing, but we are facing difficult economic times. These are challenges that are being faced not just by Australia but around the world. There is an illegal war in Ukraine. That is having an impact on the global economy. It's flowing into Australia.

The bank needs to do what it needs to do, and that is to control inflation through monetary policy. If they weren't doing that, the impacts on everyone across the community, but particularly those on low incomes, would be much, much, much worse. Our job is to work hand in hand with the work that the bank is doing and to look at how the budget can support households as we work through these difficult times. (Time expired)