Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hume for her question on the economy. I would say to her and to the chamber that this government understands very deeply—and so does the Prime Minister—that Australians are doing it tough and that cost of living is the first issue that is raised with all of us by so many Australians and their families. That is why we are working so hard, in terms of both returning a budget surplus and the measures that we have put in place to deal with inflation and to do what we can to put downward pressure on inflation. It was pleasing to see the monthly CPI indicators showing inflation moderating to 4.9 per cent, down from 5.6 per cent in September. Obviously that's still too high, but it is welcome news. Certainly, monthly inflation is lower than what it was at the election last year, which was just over six per cent, I think, under those opposite. That figure is a significant moderation from last month's inflation numbers and much lower than the median market expectation.