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

This government's budget is an inflation-fighting and future-making budget that strikes the right balance, one that is fit for the times. It is putting downward pressure on inflation, not upward pressure. The targeted cost-of-living measures announced in the budget are expected to reduce inflation, with energy bill relief and Commonwealth rent assistance expected to directly reduce inflation by half a percentage point in 2024-25. This is on top of the government's existing inflation-fighting investments—policies opposed by those opposite. The existing energy bill price relief, the cheaper child care and the boost to Commonwealth rent assistance are expected to take three-quarters of a per cent off inflation in the 2023-24 fiscal year. Treasury is now forecasting that we could see headline inflation return to the target band by the end of 2024, slightly earlier than was expected at MYEFO.