Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. Today the Australian Bureau of Statistics released new figures that show that headline and underlying inflation are at their lowest rates in four years. Can the minister update the Senate on the latest economic data and tell us what progress has been made in the fight against inflation?

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

I thank Senator Marielle Smith for this really important question. We have had some very pleasing results out of the ABS, with their inflation data released this morning. It does show that both headline and underlying inflation have fallen to their lowest rates in almost four years. It also shows that headline inflation has now been in the band for a full year. Trimmed mean inflation was also down when we compared data from the June quarter to the March quarter.

I remind those who weren't here last term that when we came to office headline inflation had a six in front of it and was rising. It is now about a third of that. When we came to office, trimmed mean inflation was 4.9 per cent and rising. It is now almost half of that. Quarterly and monthly inflation is down, headline and underlying inflation is down, goods and services inflation is down, and tradable and non-tradable inflation is down. On all measures, we can see that substantial and welcome progress has been made in the inflation challenge that has affected all countries, particularly here. It's great to see that inflation now well and sustainably within band.

At the same time as we've been doing that, we've been getting real wages going again, living standards are increasing again, we've had two surpluses, we have got the debt down and interest rates have come down. But we know the job isn't done. There is more work to do—we acknowledge that. There are structural issues in our economy and we also recognise that people remain under significant pressure, which is why we have more cost-of-living relief rolling out the door. It's one of the reasons the Treasurer will be convening the productivity roundtable for three days next month.

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

Senator Marielle Smith, a first supplementary?

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government has worked hard on the global fight against inflation. Our government has continued its key focus on cost-of-living measures to help households deal with the impact of higher inflation as we also work on budget repair. Minister, how important has budget repair been in this fight against inflation?

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

I thank Senator Smith for the supplementary. She is right that budget repair has been a key focus of the Treasurer's, of mine in the Finance portfolio and of the whole government over the last three years. The data out of the ABS, but also the fact that we've delivered $100 billion worth of savings since we came to government, show that the Australian Labor Party is actually the party of responsible economic management. That has been well and truly consolidated with the approach we took over the last three years, and we will continue it in the next term. We have made a number of savings right across government—as I said, $100 billion. Ninety-four billion dollars of those savings was delivered last term, and, of course, we announced $6.4 billion worth of savings in the election campaign to be achieved over the next three years.

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

Senator Marielle Smith, second supplementary?

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What other measures has the Albanese Labor government invested in that will continue to help households this year?

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

I thank Senator Smith for the question. I note how silent those opposite are—did you notice? Senator Canavan called you irrelevant; now you're almost invisible. You're irrelevant and invisible. I know those opposite are going to hate this, but, if we compare the situation when we arrived in government in 2022 with the situation now, we see employment is up, participation rates are up, the gender pay gap is down, the number of women employed full time is up, manufacturing jobs are up, industrial disputes are down, annual headline inflation is down, annual wage growth is up and annual real wages are up. That is what a Labor government delivers: responsible economic management, budget repair, dealing with inflation and making sure people can earn more and keep more of what they earn.

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

Order! I do acknowledge the quiet from the other side, and I am in charge of the chamber, so, if a minister encourages you to be noisy, please ignore them. Senator Tyrrell?