Alex Antic (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am always intrigued when I listen to those opposite talk about the great numbers in this budget, because, as far as I can tell, the only good news story out of this budget is the performance of export of minerals—coal, gas and the like—and the positive impact that has on the budget bottom line. We talk about surpluses. Imagine where this country would be if we didn't have the mining industry and the oil and gas industry—although, if we have another term of this government, that may well become a reality. It always intrigues me that those facts seem to get overlooked.

I actually rise to take note of the answers during question time in relation about inflation. That is the key issue for Australians in this time. They do say that the third time is the charm in life, but we can safely say that is not the case with respect to this budget. This is the third Albanese Labor government budget, and what it has done, in truth, despite the flourish and rhetoric from the other side, is add spending. We heard today that $315 billion of spending has been added to add fuel the inflationary fire, yet all we've heard over the last hour and a half or so is what a great job they're doing. That's not the view, by the way, of Deloitte, who are actually experts in the area as opposed to those in the political domain. Deloitte have said about the budget:

The result is a relatively large increase in government spending over the next four years, potentially putting further upward pressure on inflation.

You would think that a government faced with already crippling inflation, in the form of double-digit numbers in relation to some essentials, would be doing more to step on it.

It's no just Deloitte, of course, though. Ratings agency Standard and Poor's have said that the mechanisms this government has used to create this incredible budget that we're hearing about actually leave an almost zero chance of an interest rate cut. Let's see how that plays out. We heard today, earlier on during question time, that even the government's journalist allies in the New Daily, have said, 'The budget brought down on Tuesday is worth two more rate hikes.' So nobody, it would seem, be they the commentariat, the political class or the economists—the people that actually know—has any confidence that we're going to see anything other than upward pressure on inflation.

Let's break this down in real terms for Australians and households. This budget means $30,000 of extra spending for every single Australian household, on top of what we're seeing already. How can this government have possibly not understood that this would create a further inflationary pressure cooker and lead to interest rate hikes? Australians understand this, though. People understand, out there in the real world, outside the rarefied air of this building. It's a building where the response from those opposite seems to have been performance art in the form of TikTok videos, which we saw floating around on social media of Senator Stewart and Mr Burns MP, who were out there kicking up their heels yesterday—'It's budget week. Put out a video.' If ever you want to see a reflection of what this week means to those in the special, rarefied air of this building, have a look at that. No, don't bother; some things you can't unsee.

Anyway, no amount of TikTok videos are going to fool the Australian people. They're the ones out there who understand the reality of the situation. Housing is up 12 per cent. Rents are up 12 per cent. Gas prices are up 25 per cent, electricity is up 18 per cent and insurance is up 26 per cent. These are real-life examples of what is actually happening.

This budget is nothing more than a cost-of-living con job. What we actually needed in this budget cycle was economic management. What we needed was a restraint on spending, downward pressure on inflation and some fiscal guardrails to protect Australians from this overreach. This third ALP budget shows that the government has no clear path to understanding the job, particularly in relation to the inflationary crisis. What Australia needed was responsible management. That's what they would get from a Dutton led coalition government.

Question agreed to.