I rise to support this motion. Right now, Australia has an inflation problem, and there's a choice about how we deal with it. Either the Reserve Bank can lift interest rates on the one-third of Australians with a mortgage—they've already done that four times this year—and that one-third of Australians cuts out nights out and holidays—and they're now starting to cut out essentials—or the federal government can reduce its spending.

Right now, Jim Chalmers and the federal government spend one in four dollars in the economy. It's actually more than that. One in four dollars are spent by this government. At the same time this one-third of Australians with mortgages have had to wear four interest rate rises this year—16 in a row—and are cutting back their spending, Treasurer Chalmers and the federal government are actually increasing their spending. They spend one in four dollars already, and they're actually increasing that. That should get the goat of every mortgage holder in Australia, because it's not fair. While you are cutting out coffees, cutting out nights out and cutting out essentials, the federal government, in spite of that, continues to increase its spending. Last month, I asked the Reserve Bank governor about what a reduction in government spending would do to inflation and interest rates. While they ducked and weaved from the question in the committee hearing, they wrote to the committee recently and confirmed in black and white that a reduction in government spending would reduce inflationary pressures and would reduce the pressure on interest rates.

The previous member was talking about advanced economies. Let's talk about advanced economies. There are 43 of them in the world that the International Monetary Fund benchmarks. Of those 43 advanced economies, Australia is the only one to have four interest rate rises this year, and we're staring down the barrel of a fifth. The International Monetary Fund is predicting that, of those 43 advanced economies, we will have the highest increase in unemployment next year. The International Monetary Fund is predicting that, of those 43 advanced economies, we'll have the fifth-highest inflation next year. We've heard the Treasurer try and blame this on the war in Iran. Well, let's go back to prior to the war in Iran. If you go back to the last benchmark prior to the war in Iran, of those 43 advanced economies, Australia had the third-highest inflation of all of them in the world. Australia is a global outlier. We are a global pariah right now, economically.

What else is an outlier about this current economy and current government? Government spending. It is at a 40-year high outside of the pandemic. Not only is it at a 40-year high; it's increasing. At the very time Australians and Australian families are cutting their budget, are cutting nights out and are forgoing things for their children and for their businesses, this treasurer continues to increase government spending. This morning, in the Sydney Morning Herald, we see that Jim Chalmers refuses to put a cap on record government spending. In spite of these facts, he continues to do it. Previously, this same treasurer declared the RBA higher interest rates were 'smashing the economy'. If the Treasurer believes these higher interest rates are smashing the economy, what is he doing to do his part? I call on the Treasurer and the Prime Minister to cut spending now. Let's try and head off a fifth interest rate rise this year.

I've met a woman in Sans Souci who was in tears, losing her house. I've seen business owners in tears, losing their businesses. We have the highest number of insolvencies on record. These are mums and dads losing their houses and their businesses, and this morning, in the press, tone-deaf to this, there was the Treasurer, refusing to put a cap on government spending. It's far beyond time this government fronted up and actually did what is right. Let's cut the federal budget, not family budgets.