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

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Wong. Last April, the Prime Minister said, 'I'll say this very clearly: Australians will be better off under a Labor government.' But, yesterday, the ABS released data showing that inflation remains far too high, with core inflation at 5.3 per cent year on year. In the last year, the price of fuel has gone up 8.6 per cent. Food and drink are up 5.3 per cent. Electricity is up 10.1 per cent. Gas has gone up by 13 per cent. And OECD data shows that living standards have fallen more in Australia than in any other comparable country. Minister, will you now admit that Australians are suffering a cost-of-living crisis under this Albanese government?

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

I thank Senator Hume for her question on the economy. I would say to her and to the chamber that this government understands very deeply—and so does the Prime Minister—that Australians are doing it tough and that cost of living is the first issue that is raised with all of us by so many Australians and their families. That is why we are working so hard, in terms of both returning a budget surplus and the measures that we have put in place to deal with inflation and to do what we can to put downward pressure on inflation. It was pleasing to see the monthly CPI indicators showing inflation moderating to 4.9 per cent, down from 5.6 per cent in September. Obviously that's still too high, but it is welcome news. Certainly, monthly inflation is lower than what it was at the election last year, which was just over six per cent, I think, under those opposite. That figure is a significant moderation from last month's inflation numbers and much lower than the median market expectation.

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

That was one month's inflation!

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

And yes, I'll take the interjection. It is one month; it is. And we have a long way to go. But this is a government that has put in place, for example, an energy plan which ensured that, instead of energy prices rising nearly 19 per cent—as they would have done—because of the measures that we put in place, they rose by 8.4 per cent. I would remind those opposite when they come in here worrying about—

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

Minister Wong, please resume your seat.

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

On a point of order: I have allowed the minister to go now for a minute and 30 seconds. The question, though, was: are Australians suffering under a cost-of-living crisis under this government?

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

Thank you, Senator Hume. There was a significant preamble to that question. The minister is being directly relevant.

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

I dealt with it first up, as I think the senator knows, because she does understand that inflation is directly relevant to the question she asked, and so too are energy prices. I would remind her that she and her colleagues voted against the energy price relief. You are the party of high energy prices, and you are the party, therefore, of higher inflation. (Time expired)

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

Senator Hume, a first supplementary?

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

Despite the Prime Minister's protestations to the opposite, the RBA governor said last week that sticky inflation in Australia is, in fact, homegrown. Why is it that a Labor government always seems to cost you more?

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

It is the case that drivers of inflation are multifaceted, and we don't walk away from that, which is why we have put in place those measures which are contributing to, and have contributed to, downward pressure on inflation. And we see that particularly in the context of energy prices and also in the context of our fiscal policy.

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

But they're going up!

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

Well, you are smart enough, Senator Hume, to understand—

Opposition senators interjecting—

You are. You are smart enough to understand what would have been, and maybe you might want to explain to your colleagues what would have been, and what the prices would have been, if the government had not put in place the energy plan. Inflation would be higher. I would also make the point that we have delivered a $22.1 billion surplus.

Opposition senators interjecting—

I know that pains you. (Time expired).

James Paterson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Cyber Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just a little backhanded!

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

Order! Thank you, Senator Paterson. When I call order, I expect there to be order. I would ask senators to stop clapping. It adds to the disruption in this place. Senator Hume, a second supplementary?

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

Minister, the Salvation Army has said that Australians will be going into debt to pay for Christmas, with 31 per cent seeking to use a credit card to pay for Christmas expenses, up from 18 per cent last year. Twenty-three per cent will struggle to afford enough food to eat this Christmas, 34 per cent will find paying utilities challenging and 30 per cent will struggle to pay their rent or mortgage repayments. Minister, is it correct to say that life isn't easy under Prime Minister Albanese?

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

I would refer the senator to the targeted relief for those on income support payments, which were such an important part of our previous budgets and which form part of the $23 billion of measures we have put in place. But yes, we understand people are doing it tough. They are. If I may point out, one of the things governments can do about inflation is run fiscal policy that delivers a surplus. You might want to belittle that, which is what you did when I mentioned it before, but that is one of the things governments can do. You can run a surplus, which is what we did at the last budget. The other thing—

I'll take that interjection. Senator Hume seems to want to focus on public servants. We're going to have a sacking-public-servants approach to inflation from the coalition. That's their great plan: 'We're going to sack a few more public servants'—I mean, really—'We're going to vote for higher energy prices'! That's what they're going to do. That's their inflation plan, everyone: higher electricity prices and sack a few workers.

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

Minister Wong—

Senator McGrath: the chanting and the constant disruption is disorderly. I ask you to cease.