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

As I've said on a number of occasions today, and before that as well, I take responsibility for all aspects of my job. I take responsibility for my part and our part in the fight against inflation. I take responsibility for the fact that this government is rolling out cost-of-living help that those opposite oppose. I take responsibility for the fact that the budget is much, much stronger now, because of our collective efforts, than what we inherited from those opposite. I take responsibility for all aspects of my job. More than that, we are taking action. We are taking action with cheaper medicines, with more bulk-billing, with student debt relief, with free TAFE and with two more tax cuts, opposed by those opposite, after the first one, also opposed by those opposite. I have made it clear that I take responsibility for all aspects of my job, including my part of the fight against inflation.

What makes it especially galling to get this question from those opposite is they left us with inflation north of six per cent and absolutely galloping when we came to office. The inflation challenge peaked in 2022 because we inherited from them inflation much higher and rising. We also inherited much bigger deficits and more debt. To make it worse, those opposite, every one of them—when they used to be in the same party before they went their three separate ways—took to the last election a policy for higher income taxes, higher electricity bills, bigger deficits and more debt. We won't be taking lectures from those opposite about responsible economic management. They might change their leader, but they can't change their record. They can't change the fact they left us higher and rising inflation. They left us bigger deficits and more debt. They took to the election a policy for higher taxes, higher electricity prices, bigger deficits and more debt as well.

What this government is doing is rolling out cost-of-living help in a responsible way at the same time as we get the budget in a much better condition than we inherited from those opposite. We delivered two surpluses. We found $114 billion in savings. We got the Liberal debt down. We got real wages growing for two years. We got inflation down from a six in front of it and rising, which is what we inherited from those opposite. So, again, we won't be taking lectures from those opposite. They are the key reasons why nobody takes them seriously on the economy anymore, a point that Peter Costello himself made when he was talking to Troy Bramston at Christmas.

There are real challenges in our economy. We are focused on them. They're just focused on themselves.

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