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

Well, I'm merely drawing a comparison to the inflation rate that we inherited when we came to government, which was 6.1 per cent, and climbing, at that time, and of course we know it peaked at eight per cent or so in the December quarter of that year.

Yes, inflation is higher than we would like, but it is much, much lower than we inherited, and that is a fact. Not only have we got inflation down; we've seen jobs grow; we've seen unemployment remain historically low; we have got wages moving again; we've started to repair the budget; and, at the same time, we've provided Australians with cost-of-living relief to assist them when inflation was higher than we would like—all measures, I would point out, that those opposite criticised at the time; many, they voted against, and, indeed, continue to criticise when they talk about the expenditure of the budget. When they criticise the expenditure of the budget, the decisions we have taken, they are decisions around indexing the pension, making sure that single parenting payment goes up, looking at Commonwealth rent relief and making sure that we were able to provide energy bill relief when electricity prices have been high—all of that is what they refer to when they say, 'Labor has spent too much money.' What they are saying is: Labor has spent too much on you—on your energy bills, on Medicare, on housing, on— (Time expired)