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

Thank you to the member for Macquarie. I would also like to acknowledge Carole Crean for her loss, and the country's loss, with the passing of Simon.

We understand Australian households and small businesses are feeling the pressure of higher prices, higher interest rates and global economic uncertainty. Inflation is still the main challenge in our economy, and that means that rolling out help with the cost of living is the major focus of our government. It's a key part of our three-point plan to get on top of this inflation challenge that we are confronting. First was taking the edge off these cost-of-living pressures without adding to inflation. Second was having a responsible approach to the budget and a bigger surplus at a time when the inflation challenge was most acute. Third was investing in the supply chain challenges that have been a big part of the inflation that we've seen so far.

Last week, as the Prime Minister said, we did get the quarterly inflation numbers, which showed that price pressures in our economy are continuing to moderate. As the PM said, on a quarterly basis we saw inflation up 0.8 per cent. That's less than half the quarterly peak that was posted in the March quarter 2022, under those opposite, before the election. That's just the fact. It's pleasing that inflation is easing in our economy, and, while we'd prefer it moderate more quickly, it is the case that it is moderating faster than many economists expected.

The No. 1 priority of this government, as I said, is getting on top of the inflation challenge and rolling out cost-of-living relief for Australians doing it tough. That assistance is rolling out right now, and the benefits will continue to flow over the coming weeks and months. If you think about it, just this month we've eased the cost of early childhood education for 1.2 million families. We've begun rolling out energy price relief, with up to $500 in bill relief for more than five million households and up to $650 for one million small businesses, and we've got a new tax incentive for up to 3.8 million small businesses to help them save on their energy bills. In September, we'll make medicines even cheaper by allowing people to buy two months worth of supply for the price of a single prescription. As the Minister for Social Services was talking about yesterday, we've got really important increases to working age payments, JobSeeker and youth allowance, and also the biggest increase in Commonwealth rent assistance for 30 years if the safety net bill passes in this sitting.

Inflation, both here and around the world, is moderating in welcome ways. We're seeing welcome progress, but it will be higher than we'd like for longer than we would like. But our responsible cost-of-living policies are helping Australians through these difficult times as we stare down this inflation challenge, we clean up the mess left behind by those opposite and we lay the foundations for a stronger future together.

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