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

The answer to that question is no. I would say that the quarter with the largest growth in inflation was the quarter ending in March of last year. So it was actually before the government changed. That was the quarter with the single largest growth in inflation. That was when monetary policy started tightening and interest rates started lifting. There are a range of contributors to the CPI number. It does include gas and other household fuels. I would say that if we hadn't taken decisive action in December last year that could have hit households even harder. We know that. AEMO and other expert advisers have told us that—that prices, had we not acted, would have been higher and would have hit households harder. And you opposed it. You as the opposition opposed the steps that we took, which have eased that pressure on households. That's why in this budget we have $1½ billion going to support households with energy bill relief.