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

I don't have the figures on that in front of me, but we know that we have been experiencing a period of higher inflation than we would want. Certainly, when we came to government, we know what the inflation figures were, and the independent Reserve Bank has made its decision when it comes to interest rates. What I would say to the senator is that obviously the way in which we seek to deal with this, as Senator Gallagher and the Treasurer have outlined and have made clear in their budget, is to balance those competing economic considerations—that is, to ensure we do respond to the challenges that Australians are experiencing in terms of cost of living and to deliver responsible cost-of-living relief but doing it in a way that manages inflation. If you look at the recent inflation figures and what inflation would have been but for some of the measures of this government, including in relation to energy and rent, you can see that is what we are doing.

We obviously understand Australians are doing it tough, and we understand that the inflationary environment and interest rate changes have made life much more difficult for many people. That is why we are doing what we can to deliver cost-of-living relief for Australians, as well as delivering budget surpluses rather than just talking about them. Now we're putting it on mugs. But I would also say this: we on this side have been clear about how we approach this. Those opposite have opposed cost-of-living relief time and again and continue to do so.