Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Walsh for the supplementary. Inflation and interest rates, as we know, were on the rise before we came to government last year. The war in Ukraine certainly caused havoc for energy prices around the world and here at home; the recent tensions in the Middle East have added to the uncertainty on global oil markets; and global supply constraints are causing higher fuel prices here at home. So we do acknowledge that, and our plan—which I just outlined in answer to the previous question—to provide relief where we can without adding to the inflation problem is a key response to that. At the same time, we have been repairing the budget, so we're creating more room to provide support where we can and also to allow for space for those competing pressures on the budget, which are increasing, not decreasing. I note that that budget repair has been recognised by the IMF recently— (Time expired)