Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. Can the minister please update the Senate on the independent Reserve Bank board's interest rates decision today and outline how the Albanese Labor government is addressing inflation in our economy while providing responsible targeted cost-of-living relief?

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

I thank Senator Stewart for the question. During question time today, the Reserve Bank board has decided to pause interest rates, keeping the official cash rate at 4.1 per cent. This is welcome news and confirms that our efforts to get on top of the inflation challenge in our economy are starting to work.

The government's primary focus is addressing the inflation challenge. Our economic plan includes targeted, responsible cost-of-living measures that won't make the job of the Reserve Bank harder than it needs to be. This includes energy rebates, cheaper child care, affordable medicines and reduced bulk-billing costs. Our Energy Price Relief Plan is delivering up to $500 in energy bill relief to five million households on their winter bills and up to $650 to a million small businesses. This not only eases the burden for families and businesses but also contributes to our fight against inflation.

Treasury forecasts indicate that our energy relief package will directly will reduce inflation by three quarters of a percentage point in 2023-24.

We're also repairing the budget to alleviate inflationary pressures, including returning 87 per cent of upward revenue revisions to the budget, compared to 40 per cent under our predecessors and 30 per cent under the Howard government; limiting average annual real spending growth to less than one per cent, which is seven times lower than the coalition; and making $40 billion worth of savings and reprioritisations across both budgets, compared to zero new expenditure savings measures in the coalition's last budget. The Reserve Bank governor confirmed that our budget is reducing, not adding to, inflation, telling estimates:

I don't think that the budget is adding to inflation; it's actually reducing inflation …

(Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Stewart, first supplementary?

Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sounds like the Albanese Labor government is doing an excellent job. Noting the recent budget laid the foundations for growth by embracing clean energy and invested in value-adding industries, people, skills, technology and small business, can the minister please outline how the Albanese Labor government's budget is helping to build a more robust and resilient Australian economy?

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

I thank Senator Stewart for the supplementary. As we know, Australia is not immune to the uncertainty that we're seeing in the global economy. We know that the challenges coming at us from around the world are felt most around the kitchen tables of people around this country. But, thanks to our responsible economic management, we confront these challenges from a position of strength. More Australians are in work than ever before. The participation rate is around record highs, and the share of women in work is near its record high. Since we came to government, 498,000 Australians have found jobs—the strongest jobs growth of any new government on record. While we know that slowing global growth, high inflation and high interest rates will impact our economy and our labour market over the coming 12 months, Australia is in a better position than nearly any other country to face the challenges ahead.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Stewart, second supplementary?

Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

ator STEWART () (): Thank you, Minister. Can the minister outline how the government's responsible economic management is helping to restore fiscal discipline, strengthen the budget and clean up the mess left behind by the Liberals and Nationals?

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

I thank Senator Stewart for the supplementary. Thanks to responsible economic management and spending restraint that would be absolutely unrecognisable to those opposite, we are on track to post Australia's first surplus in 15 years. Perhaps Senator Hume can get that mug out again—'back in black'! We loved the little video. We might need that mug! The Treasury and the Department of Finance will finalise their figures and release them in the usual way in the final budget outcome, but I can confirm we now expect our surplus for the last financial year to be slightly north of $20 billion. We've managed to do this at the same time that we've delivered billions of dollars of responsible, targeted cost-of-living relief without adding to inflation, an important focus of our budget, and we will continue to manage the budget responsibly, meet the needs of the Australian community and ensure that we're getting our budget back on track.

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is also for the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. The Treasurer's Measuring what matters report, released only weeks ago, states that the cost of housing has improved, citing data that is years old. Just last week, Roy Morgan noted that almost one-third of Australian mortgageholders are at risk of mortgage stress, the highest rate in 15 years. Does the Treasurer really believe that his Measuring what matters report is accurate—yes or no?

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

I thank Senator Hume for the question and the opportunity to talk about the importance of the document that was released by the Treasurer, Measuring what matters: Australia's first wellbeing framework, which is designed to help better track outcomes across the economy and society in a broader way than the budget allows. It uses 50 indicators to measure how we're faring as we pursue a more healthy, secure, sustainable, cohesive and prosperous Australia. It isn't about abandoning some of those measures like GDP or other traditional economic indicators. It's about seeing if we can do a better job at considering the things that are critical to everyone's wellbeing, whether that's the state of our health, our community or our environment.

In terms of the data that was used, Treasury has identified the best available indicators for the framework using data from ABS, Commonwealth departments and other sources. This process hasn't been done before; this is the first iteration of a framework. I note there has been broad community and stakeholder support for broadening out the way we measure the wellbeing of our community. It has revealed some data gaps, which we will work to address as we refine and develop the framework going forward.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hume?

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Point of order on relevance: the question was whether the Treasurer believed the Measuring What Matters report is accurate. Yes or no?

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And there was a description—

Senator Hume, you've raised a point of order. It isn't your opportunity to argue with me. You raise the issue about the Measuring What Matters report, which the minister is entitled to talk to as well. I'm assuming the minister has now finished her contribution. I invite you to ask your first supplementary.

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

nator HUME () (): Under Labor, gas is up 26 per cent, electricity is up 13 per cent, childcare costs are up almost 10 per cent, food and housing are up by more than seven per cent each. When measuring what matters to Australians, does the government regret leaving out of your report these key indicators of the cost of living? Yes or no?

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

I would say that this report is in addition to the other ways the government reports economic data. And I would say, if I pick up the points that Senator Hume reckons, on gas and electricity, where we have taken action, you opposed it. On child care, I believe you opposed that investment as well. On housing, you're blocking the future fund; you're actually blocking us making investments that will make housing more affordable for the 30,000 people that would benefit from that fund. So I'm not going to take a lecture from those opposite about any of those areas where they voted no to every investment we've tried to make.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hume, second supplementary?

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Under Labor's continued cost-of-living crisis, the No. 1 indicator of Australian's wellness is getting inflation and the cost of living under control, and you said so yourself. So why is the Labor government spending its time writing out-of-date reports rather than making the hard decisions that will actually get this persistent and sticky inflation lower faster and making life easier, which is what really matters to millions of Australians?

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

GHER (—) (): I completely and utterly reject the premise of that question.

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

President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.