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

I thank Senator Stewart for the question and particularly for focusing on the cost of living because, when I'm out talking with people around Australia, they want the government focused on the cost of living and looking at ways that we can support households when inflation has been higher than we would like. We are pleased that inflation has come down and has come down so substantially from what we inherited, where we had living standards going backwards, inflation going up and wages stagnating. We've been able to make sure that inflation comes down. It's come down substantially. Importantly, wages are growing so that people are earning more and keeping more of what they earn, despite the objections of those opposite. We have seen the creation of 1.1 million jobs. So, unlike many other countries that have been dealing with the same global inflation problem and, as they have seen that inflation come down, have seen a much higher rate of unemployment, we have been able to not only see more people stay in jobs but actually see the creation of more jobs. That is something that all of us in this chamber should be pleased with.

We recognise that households are doing it tough, which is why we have been looking at ways to provide cost-of-living assistance for households in a way that is responsible, in a way that the budget can afford and in a way that doesn't add to inflation. We have done that through making sure we have got wages moving again. We have done that through tax cuts, making them fairer and applied to every taxpayer. We have done it through our investments in Medicare and our investments in early education and care. We have done that through our commitment to reduce HECS debt. We have dealt with the indexation issue there and now we are changing the HECS arrangements going forward. (Time expired)