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

Thank you, Senator Walsh. We know that Australians are doing it tough, and that is why helping Australians with the cost of living is our No. 1 priority in tonight's budget. Inflation still is the big near-term challenge in our economy, and I would remind those opposite that, under this government, annual inflation is now less than half its peak and much lower than the 6.1 per cent that we inherited at the time of the election. So remember that, whenever they talk to us about inflation, 6.1 per cent is what we inherited at the time of the election.

Real wages are growing. We have record numbers of new jobs, expanding business investment and the lowest gender pay gap on record. The measures that we put in place took half a percentage off inflation in the year to the March quarter in 2024. Many of the measures those opposite opposed.