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

My question is to the Minister for Finance and Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. Since the election, the Albanese government has been working to deliver policies that will ease cost-of-living pressures on Australians. Can the minister update the Senate on the steps the government is taking to support Australians who are still feeling the pressure on household budgets?

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. As I said in my answer to Senator Duniam, and I repeat, the Albanese government's No. 1 priority remains addressing the inflation and cost-of-living challenge that we are seeing across the economy. We have a very well calibrated plan that doesn't make the inflation challenge worse but materially supports families and households across Australia who are feeling the pinch of higher prices. It's a plan that we've been working on since we took office in May last year—and, indeed, before, with the election commitments that we took to the Australian people. That plan includes energy bill relief; the cheaper child care that my colleague Minister Watt outlined; the commitments we have included in our budget, including increased rent assistance; tripling the Medicare bulk-billing rate; the decisions we've taken around cheaper medicines and boosting income support payments, particularly for those relying totally on those income payments, like JobSeeker and supporting parents payment; fee-free TAFE training; building more affordable homes; expanding paid parental leave to give families more choice; and getting wages moving again. These are all elements of our plan to make sure we can deal with the inflation challenge and provide essential cost-of-living support whilst families and households across Australia need it. We've done this at the same time as we've delivered the first budget surplus in 15 years. We've seen wages grow at the fastest rate in a decade and we've seen over 550,000 jobs created since we came to government, a record for any new government ever.

What have we seen from those opposite? They said no to energy bill relief. They said no to the Housing Australia Future Fund. They said no to halving the cost of medicines. (Time expired)

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

Senator Walsh, first supplementary?

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

Thank you, Minister. Minister, what are some of the causes, including international circumstances, that are contributing to the sustained cost-of-living pressures being felt across Australia?

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

I thank Senator Walsh for the supplementary. Inflation and interest rates, as we know, were on the rise before we came to government last year. The war in Ukraine certainly caused havoc for energy prices around the world and here at home; the recent tensions in the Middle East have added to the uncertainty on global oil markets; and global supply constraints are causing higher fuel prices here at home. So we do acknowledge that, and our plan—which I just outlined in answer to the previous question—to provide relief where we can without adding to the inflation problem is a key response to that. At the same time, we have been repairing the budget, so we're creating more room to provide support where we can and also to allow for space for those competing pressures on the budget, which are increasing, not decreasing. I note that that budget repair has been recognised by the IMF recently— (Time expired)

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

Senator Walsh, second supplementary?

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

Inflation is moderating, but Australians in many towns and cities around the country are still feeling the cost-of-living pinch. This pressure will continue to be felt in the lead-up to Christmas. What can Australians expect in the coming months to build on the support that has already been delivered to provide 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 Walsh for the question. Inflation is moderating, and we welcome that, but we know that it will remain higher than we'd like for longer than we'd like. We monitor these pressures closely, and our plan is aimed at delivering that cost-of-living relief without adding to the inflation challenge. Those measures include the electricity bill relief, cheaper child care, increased rent assistance and the Medicare bulk-billing initiative, all of which we've been rolling out since budget day; the cheaper medicines; and the boosting of income support payments. In particular, on 20 September—so since we last met—there has been that important increase to payments, so JobSeeker payment recipients will now receive a base payment of $749.20 per fortnight, a $56 increase, and parenting payment (single) recipients will receive an extra $227.50 per fortnight compared to their current rate. No doubt these increases will support those households doing it tough right now.