Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Multicultural Engagement) Share this | Hansard source

Since the Albanese Labor government was elected, the average Australian household with a mortgage is $35,000 a year worse off. That's the average Australian household with a mortgage. Why? Because of the cost-of-living crisis because of high inflation feeding into higher interest rates. How does the budget that was just brought down this week address it? It doesn't. It doesn't address it. It makes it worse.

You don't have to just listen to me as a senator in this place. Listen to one of Australia's most renowned economists, Mr Chris Richardson. This is what he had to say—an economist, not a politician: 'My key test for the budget was that it not poke the inflationary bear. I don't think it's passed that test. I've consistently been saying for a long time that I didn't see a rate cut until the end of this year, but that's starting to slip into next year. It looks harder to get one ahead of the election.' That's Mr Chris Richardson, one of Australia's most renowned economists. And that's bad news for your average Australian household with a mortgage.

So not only did this budget poke the inflationary bear; it actually gave the inflationary bear a punch on the nose. Tragically, it is going to be Australian households who pay the price for that.