Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Wong. Minister, the Reserve Bank of Australia has confirmed that Australians are going to face interest rates that stay higher for longer. Meanwhile, markets are predicting a roughly 100 basis-point easing of interest rates in the United States over the remainder of this year alone. Does the government expect Australians to benefit from a comparable rate cut by Christmas, or any rate cut by Christmas or any alleviation in interest rate pressures by Christmas? If not, why is Australia out of step not only with the United States but with so many other comparable economies who are seeing interest rates already coming down?

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

I thank the senator for his question. It gives me the opportunity to remind him where inflation was when we came to government and how much higher it was under him.

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

Senator Birmingham, you've asked the question.

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

It also gives me the opportunity to remind him that Senator Gallagher and the Treasurer have turned Liberal deficits into Labor surpluses. I would remind him of these facts.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When you were Minister for Finance, what was inflation under you, Senator Birmingham?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Lower than most comparable economies.

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

Order, Senator Watt and Senator Birmingham!

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

It also gives me the opportunity to remind him of the various cost-of-living measures that he and his colleagues voted against. It gives me the opportunity to remind him that they were going to go to an election because they so opposed the revamp of the stage 3 tax cuts. They didn't want all Australians to get a tax cut. It gives me the opportunity to remind him that, under the government of which he was a part, low wages were a deliberate design feature of the Australian economy.

I would say to the Leader of the Opposition: if you truly are interested in looking at Australian's cost of living, if you're truly interested in backing in support for Australians in the time of rising costs of living, do you know what you could do? You could stop doing what Mr Dutton tells you to do. That's what you could do. You could stop doing what he tells you to do—

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

Senator Hume!

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

because that bloke always want to divide and always wants to oppose, even when it's in the national interest.

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

Just a moment, Senator Birmingham. Senator O'Sullivan, I am tired of calling you to order and I'm tired of calling you to order, Senator Hume. I've asked you a number of times to listen in respectful silence. Senator Birmingham, first supplementary?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Media reports have today revealed that the consumption of chicken, the cheapest and most popular protein for Australians, has dropped for the first time in decades under the Albanese government. Just how bad is it going to get for Australians under the Albanese Labor government, as interest rates stay higher for longer and as inflation remains persistent, with Australian families now cutting back on even the most basic of foods? (Time expired)

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

I would again remind the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate that inflation is less than half its peak and certainly much lower than we inherited from him and other members of the former government. Those of us on this side understand acutely that Australians are doing it tough. We know the pressures that Australians are under, and of course inflation is still higher than we would like and is proving to be much stickier than we would like. We all understand that, which is why so much of the work that we have been doing has been focused on how it is we go about trying to alleviate some of that cost-of-living pressure where we can, without adding to inflation.

I, for one, find it really interesting that the opposition come in here and say to us: 'Oh, it's really bad this cost-of-living issue. What are you doing about it?' (Time expired)

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

Senator Birmingham, second supplementary?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Reserve Bank has described the very policies that you're citing, Minister, as being 'by their nature time limited and temporary', as being 'one-off' and 'going to be reversed'. Minister, aren't your policies that you pretend are out to help Australians just bandaids to get the Albanese Labor government through an election and to cover up any sense of the Labor government having any type of real policy to tackle persistent inflation and interest rates staying higher for longer? (Time expired)

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

The logic of Senator Birmingham's question is: 'We didn't like it, and we voted against it in the first place, but now we're having a go at you because it's not ongoing.' That's the logic: 'We didn't vote for it the first time, but now we're going to have a go at you because it ends.' You didn't want it in the first place. This shows the hypocrisy of the opposition, who come in here and seek to play a bit of politics with cost of living but don't do anything other than oppose measures that this government seeks to put in place to assist Australians and their families with cost of living. You have no credibility on this issue, and Australians know it.

I ask that further questions be placed on notice.