Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. Noting the Treasurer recently stated in an interview with Sky News:

… as a government, we very deliberately made this fight against inflation our number one priority. Our biggest focus right now is rolling out this cost-of-living help for people doing it tough …

can the minister outline how the Albanese government's economic plan is delivering responsible and targeted cost-of-living relief to Australians who need it most?

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

I thank Senator Walsh for her question. We understand that high inflation and high interest rates are putting pressure on the budgets of Australian households. That's why central to our economic plan is our package around cost-of-living relief. That support is directed to those who need help the most and is timed in terms of how that relief is rolling out.

Our measures include: the largest investment in bulk-billing incentives ever; helping 11.6 million eligible Australians access a GP with no out-of-pocket costs; reducing the cost of medicines by up to half for at least six million people, saving Australians $1.6 billion in out-of-pocket costs over the next four years; increasing the base rate for payments like JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and Austudy; and delivering the biggest increase in Commonwealth rent assistance, by 15 per cent, in over three decades.

We've got up to $3 billion in electricity bill relief through the Energy Bill Relief Fund that will benefit more than five million eligible households and one million eligible small businesses. We are supporting housing supply and homeownership and delivering cheaper child care and paid parental leave. We've seen the disastrous alternative to our responsible approach from those opposite, voting against energy bill relief for millions of households, opposing cheaper housing through the HAFF—

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That's going well!

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

Order, Senator Henderson!

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

opposing cheaper medicines and supporting bigger tax breaks for people who've already got tens of millions of dollars in super.

The:

Senator Henderson, I called you to order and you immediately kept going. That is disrespectful. I've asked, and I expect you to come to order when called.

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

We know that those opposite are happy to complain about the cost of living, but, when it comes to finding solutions, they've got nothing to contribute and would rather stand in the way. This side of the Senate understand the impact that cost-of-living pressures are having on Australians, which is why we're doing all we can to make a meaningful difference to households around this country.

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

Senator Walsh, your first supplementary question?

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given the recent budget had a focus on ensuring the government's fiscal policy is working in line with monetary policy to tackle inflation and not add to inflationary pressures, can the minister outline what impact the government's responsible and targeted cost-of-living policies are having on inflation?

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

I thank Senator Walsh for the question. The Albanese government's cost-of-living policies have been carefully calibrated and designed to take pressure off inflation rather than add to it. The centrepiece of our budget was a $14.6 billion cost-of-living package. Treasury estimates our policies to ease cost-of-living pressures are expected to directly reduce inflation by three quarters of a percentage point in 2023-24, and the Reserve Bank governor, Phil Lowe, also backed in our cost-of-living policies to deal with higher energy prices when he told Senate estimates in May:

… the budget, largely through the electricity price package—

which, I'll just remind you, you voted against—

is taking pressure off inflation, and that's a first-order effect.

Price pressures in our economy are still higher than we'd like, but the actions that the government is taking are making a meaningful difference to families around the country and being responsible with our budget at the same time.

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

Senator Walsh, your second supplementary?

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recognising that Australians are doing it tough and that inflation is forecast to be higher for longer than we'd like, can the minister outline what the latest inflation data shows about the cost-of-living pressures facing Australian families and the progress we're making to moderate inflation?

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

I thank Senator Walsh for the question. Last Wednesday saw the release of the CPI for the June quarter. CPI increased six per cent over the year to the June quarter, down from the peak of 7.8 per cent over the year to the December quarter last year. Inflation increased by 0.8 per cent over the quarter. This is less than half the quarterly increase when it reached its peak in the March quarter of 2022, which was 2.1 per cent, which was just before the election. It's pleasing that inflation is moderating and, while we would prefer it to moderate more quickly to ease pressure on household budgets, we are making progress. Our economic plan has many parts: the budget restraint, the finding of savings, the banking of upgrades to revenue, the targeted cost-of-living relief that's not adding to inflation and investments to lift the capacity of the economy over the long term.