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

I thank Senator McGrath for the question. I also note that in the minutes released it said:

Members noted that the new policies announced in the Australian Government Budget had not had a material effect on the staff forecasts for economic activity and inflation.

…   …   …

Members observed that it was understandable that the lowest paid workers would be compensated for high inflation …

There was a whole range of issues noted in this statement, but, consistent with the evidence that the governor gave at estimates and consistent with the evidence that the Secretary of Treasury gave at estimates, the budget actually took pressure off inflation—and it did so through the Energy Price Relief Plan, which those opposite opposed.

This was a carefully calibrated budget. We had to do a number of things in this budget. We had to clean up some of the terminating measures that were dropping off, where funding wasn't going to be provided any longer. We had to provide cost-of-living relief, where we could—where we could make investments into Medicare and the care economy, where we could support women, and where we could also make sensible investments into those growth opportunities for the future but where those investments didn't add to inflation. The evidence from economists, the evidence from the governor, the evidence from the Secretary of Treasury, the detailed budget papers—all of that is consistent with the minutes that have been released today.

Inflation is the key economic challenge. We understand how it impacts on households, and how interest rates impact on households, but also how high prices impact on households, which is why it's so important that the budget works alongside the efforts of the Reserve Bank to bring the inflation rate back to the target range, which is exactly what this budget sought to do.