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

I thank Senator Birmingham for the question. In that answer on 15 May I was reflecting the Treasury forecasts which are contained in the budget. That is the Treasury advice to government on their expectations around inflation. So my comments, as I relayed them on 15 May, are accurate. And I would say that while the monthly CPI figures move around from time to time and don't necessarily measure the same things, we do have inflation at about half of its peak and certainly significantly lower than what we inherited when we came to government, and that is a welcome outcome. We are pleased with that, but it is still too high, and we want it to come down lower, which is why our calibrated and carefully thought-through budget, which has those measures that put downward pressure on inflation whilst also supporting households, is an important part of our plan.

The other part of our plan, obviously, and as I've talked about, is delivering a surplus—a second surplus—which is something those opposite were unable to deliver. We've delivered one surplus. We're tracking for a second surplus. The savings that we have found—none of that was delivered in the last budget of the former government, where I think there was $40 billion worth of spending and not a cent in savings, at a point when inflation was higher than it is now. So, we are making good progress. There is more work to be done. We recognise that people are under the pump, that households are under the pump. Hence our sensible cost-of-living relief, some of which comes in on 1 July. How many days away is that? It is four days away. That will assist families with some of those pressures.