Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Hansard source

At the moment in the United States, their inflation rate is 2.4 per cent. Inflation in the euro bloc is 1.9 per cent. Inflation in Australia, as we in this chamber all know, is 3.8 per cent. Why has inflation stayed higher for longer in Australia than most other Western economies? I can tell you the answer. The answer is that side of the chamber. The Prime Minister and the Treasurer cannot blame Ukraine, they can't blame the government from four or five years ago for the way inflation is higher here in Australia than it is in a lot of other countries.

What do you say to your children when they make a mistake or they get things wrong? When they make a mistake, you get them to admit—they have to admit—that they've made a mistake. They have to admit that they've done something wrong. Then, if it has upset people or affected people, you might even apologise for the fact that you've got something wrong. Then, when you do that, you can correct it. I could go into suggestions on energy policy, which I was going to, but this government has to admit and apologise to the Australian public that inflation has stayed here for higher and longer.

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