Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. In the lead-up to the last election the then opposition leader, Mr Albanese, stated: 'Instead of doing photo ops, the Prime Minister should focus on reducing the cost of living' and: 'Australians are being hit with a triple whammy of skyrocketing essentials. They deserve a government with a plan to ease the cost of living.' Minister, how much worse off have Australians become as a result of Mr Albanese overseeing skyrocketing prices of essential goods with no government plans to ease cost-of-living pressures, but plenty of T-shirt-wearing photo ops?

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

What we've learned and what we've seen on national display over the past month has been a Prime Minister who delivers on his promises to the Australian people and the commitments that he made in the lead-up to the election, the commitments he delivers on in government. In relation to the cost of living, I do find it interesting when the opposition asks us questions about what we have done on cost of living when, without exception I think, they have opposed every single measure that we have sought.

So this, again, signifies the approach the opposition takes on everything: no solutions, no plans, no ideas, just blockers. They want to block and criticise, but they have no plans of their own. Energy bill relief, remember that? They voted no to that. Cheaper child care, increased rent assistance, Medicare bulk-billing, cheaper medicines, boost in income support payments, fee-free TAFE, building more affordable homes—the Housing Australia Future Fund—

Hon. Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Before I go to Senator Duniam, I am going to remind all senators across the chamber that those interjections are disorderly. Senator Duniam?

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order on direct relevance, President. I asked how much worse off Australians are, not the voting record in this place.

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

There were a few significant sentences before that about the Prime Minister. You talked about plans and other things. The minister is being relevant, but I will continue to listen closely.

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

I mean, my argument that I'm putting, President, is that Australians are being supported by this government with the investments we're making to deal with cost-of-living pressures without adding to inflation, which those opposite blocked. Whilst we have within doing all that, and I think since the last time we met, remember we have actually delivered the first budget surplus in 15 years. Remember that? So we're fixing the mess, making the investments, despite your opposition to it. Your opposition does make it harder because we have to make sure we get the numbers to pass the legislation to allow that support to flow. But that's exactly what we're doing. It's what the Prime Minister does every single day. Yes, he worked to support a referendum and he worked hard to support that. He said he would and he did that. At the same time in every single day he was doing that, he was working on addressing cost-of-living pressures for all Australians and you can see that— (Time expired)

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

Senator Duniam, a first supplementary question?

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Albanese promised to deliver a plan to ease the cost of living, yet Australian families are being hit with skyrocketing fuel prices, increasingly unaffordable groceries and interest rates stuck at the highest rates in 12 years. Will Mr Albanese apologise for making things worse since Labor took power?

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

What the Prime Minister and the government does is recognise that there has been a war in Ukraine, in case you hadn't noticed, that has an effect on inflation; that the worst quarter of inflation was actually in the quarter you departed government and we came in—

Hono urable senators interjecting—

I'm just putting the facts there. You can accept the facts there. That's the economic environment we inherited. Every single day since then we have been working to make sure we put downward pressure on inflation, recognising that families are doing it tough, recognising that Australians are doing it tough and looking at those areas where we can make a difference. Whether it be child care, whether it be cheaper medicines, whether it be energy bill relief, whether it be getting the Housing Australia Future Fund up so we can start reinvesting in social housing after the Commonwealth left it and abandoned it for the last decade—that's what we have been doing and it's what we'll continue to do.

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

Senator Duniam, a second supplementary?

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In March last year the minister said, 'The only way to deal with the cost of living is to change the government.' Minister, with Australians struggling from the worst and most crippling cost-of-living pressures seen in decades, isn't it now a fact that the change to Labor has been an expensive failure for every Australian household?

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

From those that opposed almost every single measure that goes to supporting households, it might work into your narrative—your no-solutions, blocking narrative—but, every single thing that we have taken to this chamber to make a difference and to ease pressures on households, you have complained about, argued against and then voted against. That's what you have done.

We are assisting families with child care. We are making medicines cheaper. We are ensuring that people get relief on their energy bills. These are all things that make a difference to people's households and how they manage their budgets day to day. I think the Australian people recognise they have a government that doesn't want to just have the photo ops that your government was so famous for—you couldn't get in the way of Mr Morrison and a camera—and that actually delivers on the change this country needs, including in the area of energy and climate change, which was so needlessly abandoned in the previous decade. (Time expired)