Topics: Monthly inflation data, Labor’s cost of living crisis; Treasurer’s politicisation of the public service

 

E&OE   

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, monthly inflation data just out a few moments ago, and core inflation has increased.

Prices continue to go up at a rapid rate for Australian families, hard-working Australian families, and they're going up at a faster rate than they were when the last data came out and this is more pain for Australians. And to give a sense, since Labor came to power, food prices up by over 13%, and in these numbers, we see particularly strong increases in fruit and vegetables and meat and seafood. Finance and insurance prices up 19% now since Labor came to power. Gas prices up over 34% since Labor came to power. Rent up over 17%. These are very sharp increases Australians are feeling. The pain is far from over for Australian families, and this government does not have its eye on the ball. The pain is far from over. We've seen a collapse in Australians' standard of living since Labor came to power, which is unprecedented and unparalleled. We've never seen this before in this country, and it's worse than any of our peer countries across the world. And we know three things are behind it. Those sharp increases in prices we've seen today, sharp increases in interest payments being paid by Australian families.

 

A typical mortgage holder in Australia who has bought their home, has paid an extra $50,000 in interest payments since Labor came to power. That's $50,000 they're not getting back. That's $50,000 that's gone for the Australian family, and there's still a long way to go and we heard from Michele Bullock, the Reserve Bank Governor, just last week that we're not getting back to anywhere near the level of interest rates we've had in the past. It is a long journey out. We've also seen a big increase in personal income taxes being paid, over a 20% increase in personal income taxes being paid by Australians. And all of that is combining to a collapse in our standard of living that, as I say, is unprecedented and unparalleled, but perhaps worse, on the government's own numbers and on the Reserve Bank's numbers, we're years away from getting back to the standard of living that Australians had when Labor came to power. Years away from that. 2030 on the government's numbers, 2031 on the Reserve Bank's numbers, and it means Australians continue to suffer real pain. We need a government that is absolutely focused on what we know - addresses the cost of living crisis, with good, strong economic management and we are not seeing that from the government.

 

Indeed, just today, we have seen how the Treasurer is seeking to turn Treasury into a political dirt unit. This government's added 36,000 public servants, and we're learning now some of the things they're asking public servants to do. They are using the public service as a dirt unit to play political games in the lead-up to an election. Now, today we've heard from estimates and from emails within Treasury that we've seen the Treasury Secretary deny that Treasury got involved with costing Opposition policies. Denied that they were involved with costing Coalition policies, but let's be clear, the Treasurer made very clear that he asked Treasury and got Treasury to cost Coalition policies, and this is a clear breach of the Public Service Code of Conduct, but that's what the Treasurer sought to do, according to him.

Now, the Treasury Secretary and the Treasurer can't both be right, and the Treasurer needs to come clean on this. But perhaps more importantly and most importantly, what is very clear in all of this is that the Treasurer has his own department focused on things other than the number one issue for Australian families, which is to bring down the cost of living, to get their standard of living back to where it was when Labor came to power, to make sure we've got a strong economy that beats inflation and boosts growth. It is clear that the Treasurer is focused on his own political future, his own political games, and his own political dirt unit. We cannot afford another three years of Labor. Happy to take questions.

 

JOURNALIST:

Inflation remains almost steady. I think it went up by 0.01%. Do you feel like you're overhyping the increase in inflation if it is so small and still remains within the target range?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, underlying inflation is going up and that's a real concern and let me be clear about what's going up. Prices keep going up. There is no sign of prices coming down. There's no plan on that. What needs to go up most of all is our standard of living that means sustainably bringing inflation down, so it doesn't come back up again. We know past episodes of inflation through history have often resurged. You've seen inflation come down and then go back up again. We know that's what happened in the 70’s and 80’s, for instance. And this government has had its eye off the ball. That's when it resurges. We are seeing a resurgence of inflation. It's gone up, this time. There’s been an uptick and prices continue to go up for Australians. I mean, fruit, veg, meat, insurance, rents, gas, underlying electricity prices, all of these prices continue to rise at a rapid rate and there's no pathway from this government to get back to the standard of living that they inherited when they came to power and there is no plan to get back there any time soon.

 

JOURNALIST:

How do you bring down things like insurance. We know that's been a big driver of inflation. What are the policies that the Opposition has put forward to do that.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, the big driver of inflation is failed economic management from this government. We know you beat inflation; you beat a cost-of-living crisis through strong economic management. We learnt that in the 70’s and the 80’s and we've learnt that in past inflation episodes across the world and through history. And that means you have to have those clear fiscal guidelines to make sure you're managing the budget like Peter Costello had put in place in the 1990’s and Jim Chalmers got rid of that as soon as he came to power. It was an unnecessary constraint on him doing what Labor Treasurers love to do, which is spending Australian taxpayers' money as he sees fit, including on a bigger public service which he’s now turning into a dirt unit. You have to get rid of red tape so business can invest. Business can get on and create the jobs and the opportunities for all Australians. You have to make sure you're making it easier for businesses to invest, as we are with our accelerated depreciation policies for small businesses. You have to get rid of the unnecessary red tape in critical industries like the construction industry. We would have seen the industry controlled by a union with deep links to the criminal underworld that the Labor Party is not prepared to take on. The CFMEU has absolutely taken control of our construction sector, and every single Australian is paying a price for that. You need to make sure that every fuel source and technology is available to deliver that affordable sustainable energy that all Australians want to see, but Labor has decided that there's a whole range of different fuel sources they don't like and so we'll pay more, and we are paying more. There's no sign of a $275 reduction that Labor promised in underlying electricity prices. So, these are the things that we know work. They've worked in the past, they're working again, history is clear, but this government has its eye off the ball, it's out of its depth, it's out of touch, and it keeps failing.

 

JOURNALIST:

You say we're years away from getting back to an affordable standard of living. Would that be any different if government changes?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Yeah, we've got to accelerate the improvement in our standard of living and Australians have always seen an improvement in standards of living over time under Coalition governments. We've never seen anything like this before. It's incredibly important, if you take a look at the data right back to the 1950’s, we haven't seen anything like this before. This is unprecedented and just as bad, it's worse than any other peer country in the world, the hits we've been taking and that's because this government simply doesn't know how to manage the economy. It doesn't understand that it's the private sector that ultimately creates the incomes, it can pay Australians more, it can pay for our essential services that we need, whether it's infrastructure or health. They simply don't understand that when government gets in the way, you get less from your economy. They don't understand that when union officials have a stranglehold over a critical sector like the construction sector, you have to deregister that union with deep links to the criminal underworld through the CFMEU. They simply don't understand those things and that's why we're getting the results we are.

 

JOURNALIST:

Would it still take years though for a coalition government to get that back under control?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

We've got to accelerate the process and that is absolutely what we will do. That is my overwhelming focus. My background is in business. I understand what it takes to get business investing and creating jobs and creating opportunity for all Australians. That is what is needed right now. This government thinks that growing the size of the public service and turning it into a political dirt unit is the pathway to growth for Australians. Well, they are out of their depth, and they are out of touch.

 

JOURNALIST:

Do you consider cost of living support to be a driver of inflation? Is that what the coalition thinks might be driving it? Some of this inflation is more difficult, that can't be blamed on say like international policies, for example. Do you see cost of living to be the driver?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, let's be clear. The Reserve Bank Governor has said that this is homegrown inflation and it's clear that domestic inflation has run much harder than trade inflation. This is homegrown. She herself has said that and the Labor Party has never understood this. But I'll tell you that the best cost of living relief for Australians is a sustainably lower rate of inflation, taking pressure off interest rates and getting our standard of living back to where it was when Labor came to power. That's how you beat a cost of living crisis. This government loves to put a Band-Aid on a bullet wound because it can say it put the Band-Aid on, but let's just get the underlying economy working. Working to beat inflation, to boost growth, to support small businesses, to get rid of the unnecessary red tape that's holding us all back. These are the simple principles that have worked in the past, that work again, but they're not the principles that this government is working to. For them everything is politics, and we only have to look at what we've seen in the dispute between the Treasury Secretary and the Treasurer today, to see how he is using his government. Treasury should be focusing one, two, and three on beating the cost of living crisis. They are supposed to be the experts and the advisors on good economic management. Instead, the Treasurer is asking them to advise on politics, using them as a political dirt unit. It’s completely inappropriate and it shows you how this government has made bad decisions and wrong priorities throughout. We can't afford another three years of it.

 

JOURNALIST:

Does that mean additional cost of living measures might be part of your...

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, I will say, and I've said it since we've been in Opposition, is that the cost of living relief Australians need is a lower rate of inflation and sustainably lower interest rates. I think Australians understand. When they go into the supermarket and they pay what they're paying for fruit and veg and meats, they see inflation in the real world. When they have to pay an insurance bill, they can't afford, they see the pain of inflation. When they see the gas prices they have to pay, whether you're a small business who is using gas for your restaurant or you're a family using it for your heating, they see the pain that is involved in inflation. This government doesn't seem to get it. They're out of touch. They're out of the game.

 

JOURNALIST:

I understand that you know. How do you bring that down? That sort of reduction in excise, you know, subsidies, you know, I'm talking about those specific things like fuel, vegetable, fruits, for instance.

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Get inflation down. History is very clear on this. You get inflation down with strong economic management. The Labor government thinks you get inflation down by making government bigger and throwing money around. We're clear on this. It's strong economic management that beats inflation. You know how we know that? Because that's always been true in the past. It's very simple, but it's a simple principle this government simply doesn't get. The result of that is this is a Treasurer that's completely and entirely focused on politics. Thank you very much.

 

ENDS.