Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese government's No. 1 priority remains addressing the worldwide inflation and cost-of-living challenge. We have taken a number of steps since being elected. We have a targeted and comprehensive $23 billion 10-point plan to help address the cost-of-living pressures in our economy, including electricity bill relief, which was voted against by the opposition, cheaper child care, which was opposed by the opposition, cheaper medicines, which was repeatedly voted against by the opposition, and increased rent assistance, which was opposed by the opposition. We've done all these things at the same time as we've delivered the first budget surplus in 15 years, taking inflationary pressure out of the economy. We have seen wages grow at around the fastest rate in over a decade and over 561,000 jobs created since we have come to office. We are now also managing the infrastructure program to reduce inflationary pressure.

It's lucky that someone is concerned about inflation because I saw today the shadow finance minister, Senator Hume, describing inflation at 1.2 per cent as 'out of control', and she was reminded that inflation was almost twice that in the last quarter of the former government that she was part of it. (Time expired)