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

(—) (): I thank Senator Smith for the question, and I acknowledge that these interest rate increases are hitting mortgage households really hard. They really are. The government has acknowledged that. I would also say that the Prime Minister's comments, which Senator Smith referred to, were made in relation to one of our housing policies that we took to the last election. Everything we are doing at the moment through our budget, through the investments we are making and through the work with states and territories that we're doing is all about how we support Australians through the next 18 months or so, which are, as our budget shows, forecast to be some challenging times. Our focus is on cost of living and supporting households without adding to inflation. (Time expired)