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

I thank Senator Hume for the question. I think both the Treasurer and myself have said a number of times, including before the Middle East conflict broke out, that inflation has remained higher than we would like for longer than we would like. But I would also point out, Senator Hume, that it is much lower than what we inherited when you left government. I think, in the May quarter 2022, it was 2.1 per cent, and it peaked that year at about 7.8 per cent in the December quarter, so it was higher and rising when we came to government. It has come down considerably since then, which is a good thing and something that those opposite should have welcomed at the time. I don't believe they did. We have seen a recent uptick in some of the latest economic data. Inflation, productivity and reform are all issues that the Treasurer and myself have spoken about for months, and we will continue to focus on that.

Our approach has been to repair the budget and repair the mess we inherited—the trillion dollars of debt and the massive deficits, which were increasing. It has been to pay down debt and pay down interest on that debt; to find savings; to repair the budget; and to invest in cost-of=living help, much of which you opposed for the entire term of the previous parliament. It has been to make sure that as inflation was higher, though coming down, we could provide that cost-of-living help, which we did. That is the approach that we will continue to take in the lead-up to the budget. It has been well recognised by this government that inflation has ticked up and is higher than we would have liked.