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

I thank Senator Walsh for the question. The Albanese government's cost-of-living policies have been carefully calibrated and designed to take pressure off inflation rather than add to it. The centrepiece of our budget was a $14.6 billion cost-of-living package. Treasury estimates our policies to ease cost-of-living pressures are expected to directly reduce inflation by three quarters of a percentage point in 2023-24, and the Reserve Bank governor, Phil Lowe, also backed in our cost-of-living policies to deal with higher energy prices when he told Senate estimates in May:

… the budget, largely through the electricity price package—

which, I'll just remind you, you voted against—

is taking pressure off inflation, and that's a first-order effect.

Price pressures in our economy are still higher than we'd like, but the actions that the government is taking are making a meaningful difference to families around the country and being responsible with our budget at the same time.