Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks very much to the member for Hawke for his question. We're very proud on this side of the House that a central part of the budget that we handed down last night had cost-of-living relief at its very, very core. We understand, on this side of the House, that people are under the pump right now, particularly when it comes to rent, particularly when it comes to out-of-pocket health costs and particularly when it comes to electricity. So our cost-of-living package, as I said a moment ago, was carefully calibrated to take some of the edge off these cost-of-living pressures without adding to the inflation challenge in our economy.

Our cost-of-living package—$14.6 billion over the rest of the budget's forward estimates—has a number of parts. There is energy bill relief, with $1½ billion, matched by the states and territories, to take some of the edge off the winter bills that people will be receiving. There is the household energy upgrades fund to make people's homes more energy efficient so that they can get not just their emissions down but also their bills down, compared to what they would otherwise be. Obviously, tripling bulk-billing and making it easier to find a bulk-billing doctor is a substantial opportunity for us to address the out-of-pocket costs that people are facing in the health system. The changes to maximum dispensing quantities for lots of people will halve the cost of their prescription medicine, something that we are very, very proud to do.

There are changes to parenting payment single. I pay tribute to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Social Services for being able to fix the issues in parenting payment single. There is also an increase to the base rate of JobSeeker, and I acknowledge a number of members of this House, from over there and from over here. A lot of us wanted to see an increase in the base rate of JobSeeker, and we were able to do it as well as for the other working age payments and for students as well. At a time when we've got incredibly low vacancies and higher rents than we would like, we are proud to have handed down and announced last night the biggest increase in Commonwealth rent assistance in something like 30 years.

All of these components of the cost-of-living package that we announced last night are carefully calibrated and carefully targeted. Making sure they go to people who are doing it the toughest is an important part of getting people through a difficult period at the same time as we invest substantially in the future. In so many of these areas, what we're actually doing is taking the pressure off inflation. If you take the energy payments, paired with the gas and coal caps that we passed through this parliament in December of last year—without the support of those opposite—that's making something like three-quarters of a percentage point difference to the inflation forecast.

The cost-of-living package is substantial. It won't add to inflationary pressures in the economy, but it will make life a little bit easier for more people.

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