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

():  The answer to that is yes. You might not like my answer, but—

No, the last part of the question was: do I understand it? In relation to the inflation challenge, I accept that you don't like the answer I give or that you're trying to pretend that there aren't global factors that are leading to the inflation challenge in the Australian economy, but whether it has been the cuts to oil production, the war in Ukraine or events in the Middle East, there is no doubt those global factors are weighing on the Australian economy. I've made that clear. When you go and look through the data you'll see—

Again, I know you don't like the answer, but it has peaked in Australia as well and is coming down. It is not coming down as fast as we'd like—that's for sure—and I think we've been saying that for some time now. But the job of the government in dealing with the inflation challenge has been to ensure that we can provide cost-of-living relief without adding to it so as to get the budget in much better shape, which we have done and which I also acknowledge that you don't like. We've delivered the first surplus in 15 years. We've returned upward revisions to revenue to the budget to get the budget in much better shape. We've found $40 billion worth of savings, savings that you never found and were incapable of finding. Indeed, when you went looking for savings, let's remember who you pursued. You pursued through robodebt $4 billion worth of savings to the budget bottom line that turned out to be from Australian citizens on income support who you then hounded and threatened with jail. That is the way you ran the budget. Let us not forget that. (Time expired)