Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. Today is the day Australians will receive cost-of-living relief in the form of a tax cut. This will be crucial relief to households that are continuing to face cost-of-living pressures. The Albanese Labor government is supporting all Australians, not just some, as those opposite would have done. In addition to the tax cuts, can the minister please outline what other cost-of-living relief is being rolled out by the government from today and how these initiatives will make life easier for Australians?

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

I thank Senator Walsh for the question and for focusing on the issues that matter to every Australian on cost of living. We know that Australians are under pressure. In addition to the tax cuts that will go to every taxpayer in the country, the budget also delivered a further $7.8 billion in cost-of-living relief. There will be tax cuts from 1 July for 13.6 million Australians—not just some of them but all of them; 84 per cent of taxpayers will be better off under Labor's plan—and on their pay slips Australians will see more money, thanks to those tax cuts, and more in the future, thanks to some of the wage increases that the Labor government has argued for. I know that, on this side of the chamber, many of us have worked in the union movement arguing for wage increases for working people, and, of course, we see that with the minimum wage increases but also some of the wage outcomes we're seeing across the care economy.

There's $300 in energy bill relief for every single household. There's $325 each for one million small businesses to support them with their energy costs. We know that Australians are under pressure up and down the income scale, and the most efficient and effective way to provide that energy bill relief is to provide it broadly. That's why it is being paid by applying a credit to everyone's bill by their energy retailers. We know that will help, particularly on the east coast in the winter months when the energy costs often peak.

We also have other cost-of-living measures. There's a freeze on PBS medicine costs; an increase in rent assistance by a further 10 per cent; debt relief for students; paid super on government paid parental leave; and the extension of PPL. We're building homes for more Australians under our Housing Australia plan— (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Walsh, first supplementary?

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The government designed a budget that put downward pressure on inflation whilst providing cost-of-living relief to all Australians. Can the minister please update the Senate on the government's approach to managing the budget and how this has enabled us to provide cost-of-living relief that Australians need?

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

I thank Senator Walsh for the question. The numbers don't lie. We are managing the economy better than the coalition ever could. I know it hurts them! How many surpluses did the coalition deliver?

How many, Senator Cash? I think it was a big fat zero, even though the mugs came out a bit early. Those mugs were taken back straightaway, weren't they? 'Hide them in the bottom cupboard because—oops!—we got it wrong.' We've delivered a surplus. We're on track to deliver another one. Gross debt—remember that? It peaked under the former government. It's much lower under us. It will peak 9.7 percentage points lower than what the opposition forecast. So there is lower debt and there are surpluses. What about the interest on that debt? It's much lower under us—$80 billion less in interest costs because we're managing the debt much better. Inflation remains a challenge, but we've almost halved annual inflation since we were elected, and, of course, wages growth has almost doubled. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Walsh, second supplementary?

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Of course, it's hard to know whether the coalition support cost-of-living relief for all Australians because they are all negative and uncosted ideas. Can the minister please outline any risks that may impact household budget across Australia—any risks, Minister?

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

I can think of one big risky proposal that springs to mind that might be uncosted, Senator Walsh: a big, risky nuclear reactor plan, with reactors all across the country—many reactors on one site. They came out with a big launch, and guess what? They're not costed. Don't you know how much it's costing? Have you not done the work? Or have you done the work, and you don't want to tell everybody what it costs? Maybe that's it. These nuclear reactors are going to all the states. It's uncosted, with no idea how to deliver it, no understanding of the technology and no timeframe—other than it's off in the never-never. There's no 2030 target. If Senator Canavan has anything to do with it, there'll be no 2050 target either. There's no idea for what to do with the waste and no plan for right now, and they're not being clear about what it's going to cost to people's bills.