Topics:  Visit to Perth, Monthly CPI, Treasurer fighting anything but inflation, CFMEU  

 

E&OE   

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Well, great to be back in Perth, and looking forward to spending the next few days here talking to small businesses around Perth. I'll be heading down south as well, down to Bunbury, and talking to businesses there about the cost of doing business crisis that they're facing, huge increases in costs they've seen in recent years, in the last couple of years since Labor came to power, and the challenges that they're facing under this Labor government.  

 

Of course, we got new monthly inflation data out today, and the Treasurer, as always, has patted himself on the back. And the truth of the matter is what we see from this Treasurer is a cost of living con job, where our underlying inflation, our core inflation, remains sticky at close to 4%. Indeed, we are at the back of the pack in dealing with inflation in this country. Since the beginning of the year, we are the only one of the major advanced countries in the world that has not seen a reduction in its core inflation. It's exactly where it was back in January, exactly where it was back in January. And this Treasurer says he's making good progress. Well, if that's progress, we're in a lot of trouble. And the truth is we are in a lot of trouble because Australians are suffering under a cost of living crisis, where the cost of housing continues to rise, the cost of fruit and vegetables we saw today continues to rise, is going up, indeed inflation is going up. Insurance, financial services, across the board, we're continuing to see rapid escalations in the price of everything Australians buy.  

 

Now this government is getting it wrong because it thinks it can spend, it can spin and it can subsidise its way out of a cost of living crisis. It thinks it can spend, it can spin and subsidise its way out of a cost of living crisis, and we know you simply can't do that. It doesn't work. At the heart of that, we've got a Treasurer who's distracted. He's been focused on all the wrong things. He wants to fight everything and everyone, except his homegrown inflation. We've seen him in recent weeks fighting the Reserve Bank Governor, fighting the Productivity Commission, fighting the Leader of the Opposition, and of course, fighting the laws of economics, where he thinks he can spin, spend and subsidise his way out of a cost of living crisis, and you simply can't. We know that through history, that's just not how you do it. You've got to get the basics right.  

 

You've got to get back to the fundamentals. There is no point in putting a band aid on a bullet wound, because it simply won't work. It's important to note that the Reserve Bank will look through his spin and they will look at the underlying core inflation, which as I say, has not moved since the beginning of the year, and that tells you how this government's policies have been all wrong in dealing with the enormous pressures that households are facing.  

 

JOURNALIST: 

Underlying inflation has gone backwards. 

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Trimmed mean inflation is exactly where it was back in January. It is exactly where it was back in January. 3.8% is where it was in January, 3.8% is where it is now. This Treasurer is not making progress. He pats himself on the back for not making progress. Well, that's because all you get from him is spin. All you get from him is spin. And now he's got to the point where he wants to manipulate the numbers. Well, the Reserve Bank Governor has made it very clear, they're going to look through that, they're going to look through that, they're going to look through the spin of this Treasurer. And I tell you who is looking through the spin of this Treasurer, the Australian people. Because they're suffering from a government that is at the back of the pack in dealing with this inflation crisis. If you compare us across the world, our core inflation is higher than any other major advanced country, and we've made no progress on it since January, and every other major country has. This government's getting it wrong.  

 

JOURNALIST: 

[inaudible] Greens Leader Adam Bandt defending Max Chandler-Mather attending the CFMEU rally yesterday. Should an MP be attending rallies with union officials accused of corruption and violence?  

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Well, we know this is a union that has deep links to the criminal underworld, has deep links with Bikie Gangs and should be deregistered. If the Greens want to take money from an organisation that has those links, the Greens have got to be accountable for it. The truth is, this is an organisation that is raising the cost of living for every Australian, raising the cost of building a house, raising the cost of building a road, a hospital, school, all of it. They are part of the cost of living crisis in this country. And Labor has links that are too deep with these unions, the CFMEU, the union officials, and so too does the Greens. 

 

JOURNALIST: 

Just on the Greens, what role do you think they'll play in a minority Parliament after the next election, that's widely predicted to happen.  

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Well, they'll wreak havoc. It's what they always do. They'll wreak havoc. It's clear that they want to raise taxes. They've laid it out today. They want to go after business. They don't believe in small business in this country. They certainly don't believe in what people in the hard working State of Western Australia do. They don't believe in the mining industry. They don't believe in agriculture. I didn't see them out there fighting to keep the sheep, and they won't. They simply won't. This is a Greens party that is against businesses, against prosperity, and they will make sure they do everything to fight for the things they believe in which are all the wrong things for Australia, if they're in control [inaudible]. 

 

JOURNALIST: 

You spoke about you're travelling to Bunbury and [inaudible] WA for this campaign, are you planning on travelling to Collie while you're down?  

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

I've been to Collie recently. I was actually in Collie, I rode my bike into Collie last year and I voted in the Voice referendum at Collie. And I look forward to going back to Collie soon, I'm not going there on this trip...  

 

JOURNALIST: 

It's just down the road from Bunbury though... 

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

I'm really looking forward to going back to Collie soon but I won't be on this trip.  

 

JOURNALIST: 

And so how important then is WA? Do you need to have a dedicated campaign in WA to sell the messages of Western Australia versus the rest of the country?  

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Oh, I think it's incredibly important to have a strong Liberal team here in Western Australia. And I've seen the Liberal Party here in Western Australia rebuilding itself in an extraordinary way in recent months and years. And we have to, because we have to create a contest here. This is a state that believes in private enterprise, that believes in getting on and doing things. It's always been a state that's got on with it, and I think that's consistent with the values of the Liberal Party. But we've got to sell that message. We've got to get out there and talk about what we can bring to Western Australia, how we can relieve this cost of living crisis that is burning for people and the cost of doing business crisis. It is so tough on so many businesses, record levels of insolvencies we've seen across Australia, and we're seeing them here as well. 

 

JOURNALIST: 

There was an emphatic vote against the Liberals at the last election. What needs to change in the Liberal Party to win over West Australians?  

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Well, we've had to listen, and we'll continue to listen, and that's part of the reason why I'm here. I mean, we do have to listen to what matters here. I also think people are seeing what you get when you have Labor in federal and state. And the truth of the matter is, we've just seen it on the east coast in the last little while, shutting down mining projects. I mean, extraordinary. This is done at the federal level, and we'll see more of this from Tanya Plibersek and the Labor party in the future I have no doubt about it. The Chair, of course, of the company lives here in Perth, and these businesses are important to Australia. We will continue to [inaudible] to make sure we have a strong economy in Western Australia and right across this great nation.  

 

JOURNALIST: 

In relation to the Greens policy announcement today, should there be higher taxes on corporations making unusually large profits so that the government can help Australians doing it tough?  

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

You know, the Greens always want to tax everything that moves. That's how they think. They want to tax anything they can, and that's what you'll get with a Green Labor government. That's the deal they'll want. They've made it clear. There's no ambiguity in what they had to say about this, and they won't be in a coalition with us. They'll be in a coalition with the Labor Party if we have a hung parliament. So yes, you can, everyone can expect to pay more tax under a Green government. Certainly businesses will. And ultimately, our focuses are very different. Our focus is number one on fighting and beating the cost of living crisis in this country and getting our economy back on track. And we know right at the heart of that is small to medium sized business, and that's why I'm going to be out talking to those businesses over the next few days here in WA. 

 

JOURNALIST: 

Just on energy rebates. Isn't that a sign that these inflation figures are working? 

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

You know, they only have a significant impact on headline inflation, and they go away after a year. So inflation goes back up. This is a band aid on a bullet wound. Of course, Australians want lower energy prices but there's no point putting a band aid on a bullet wound if you're not going to go and actually deal properly with that bullet wound. And that's what Labor has failed to do, continues to fail to do, fix the underlying energy crisis we have in this country, and certainly the underlying cost of [inaudible]. 

 

JOURNALIST: 

Just confirming you're ruling out power bill relief going forward? 

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Look, there's no proposal on the table, so we'll wait and see. 

 

ENDS.