Ted O'Brien
Fairfax · Liberal Party · Australia
“My question goes to the Prime Minister. Over recent weeks, shots have been fired at an Australian Border Force vessel from an illegal boat. We've seen the biggest seizure of cocaine in Australia's history, with police believing the drugs were imported by sea.”
“Too many businesses on the Sunshine Coast are closing. A local business is far more than just a business; it is the sponsor of local footy clubs. They're the ones who pay the salaries to local employees. They're the ones who do the hard work. Behind all the shopfronts we might see across the Sunshine Coast lies a personal story.”
“This is what is happening to local communities right across this country, and this government is showing absolute disregard for small business. It's why, on 8 July, I will host an 'Understanding the Budget' forum, so local businesses on the Sunshine Coast in my area of Fairfax can understand what the Labor Party is doing to them.”
“Australia is drifting. That is the conclusion from the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia's 2026 State of the nation report. Productivity, investment and innovation are going backwards. Knowledge, skills and workforce are going backwards.”
“They lie awake at night not knowing if they can make payroll. They do not know if their employees will have enough money to put food on the table for their own families. This is symptomatic of a decline of our national economy, felt on the ground at home in my communities.”
“You do not make an economy more competitive by taking away opportunities for entrepreneurs. You do not make an economy more competitive by treating profit making as a sin. If this government was so sure about increasing taxes, it should have had the courage to take it to the Australian people at last year's election. (Time expired)”
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Every one of 271 lines we hold for Ted O'Brien, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 6.
“My question goes to the Treasurer. Australia's debt is due to hit $1 trillion over coming months. The Treasurer has spent years dishonestly claiming others had hit this milestone, and yet, in truth, it is going to happen on his watch. Will the Treasurer confirm that, for the very first time in Australia's history, Australia's debt will soon hit $1 trillion?”
“Families are making trade-off decisions. They're cutting back on things. Why is it that the Australian people are doing the right thing while the Australian government refuses to adopt that same principle of living within your means? When they don't live within their means, they have to go after more money to pay for their prolific spending. Do you know who they're coming after? They're coming after everyday Australians. We have never seen personal income taxes as high as what we see today. Since this government has come in, the average, everyday worker is paying an additional $4,000 a year extra in personal income taxes.”
“To give you an indication of the magnitude of this problem, this financial year alone there has been around $50 billion of discretionary spending that the government has failed to find offsets to pay for. Again, we do not criticise any government for making their own priorities when it comes to spending. Indeed, a government has a right to decide what its spending priorities are, but with rights always come commensurate responsibilities. In this case, the responsibility is to find room in the budget to pay for it. I go back to the everyday Australian family. As Australians sit around kitchen tables and work out their budgets, they know that, if they want little Johnny or little Mary to go to theatre lessons, music lessons or sport, they've got to find an extra few hundred bucks a fortnight. And if they can't afford it?”
“If you have a Treasurer who refuses to take responsibility, you can be sure that he will not be capable of fixing the problem. Right across portfolios, they are doing this. To be very clear, the coalition has not been criticising the government where spending in budgets increases due to automatic pressures. If Australians need more health care or education, you don't hear the coalition complaining about those pressures. That's what the expression is—'pressures'. No; far from it. But what we do criticise is discretionary spending decisions taken by the government separate from those pressures for which the government has not found room in the budget.”
“So, when all the ministers sit around the cabinet table or they go to the Expenditure Review Committee, they are locked in to a set of rules to stop their spending. Every single Treasurer has had these rules—they're quantifiable rules—except this treasurer under the Albanese government. His strategy reads like a word salad. It's just words. There is not one number in it, and this is why you have had minister after minister rocking up, talking to the Prime Minister and the Treasurer and getting tick, tick, tick—'Go spend! Go spend! Go spend!' The more money they pour into the economy—when you hit the speed limit, the RBA has to come in and pull money out of the economy. Will they stop? No, they won't stop. We know they won't stop, because the Treasurer will not admit his responsibility.”
“The Treasurer has cowardly hidden behind the governor of the Reserve Bank by claiming that because she has not explicitly called out the fiscal recklessness of the government then the government fiscal policy must be fine. Name an RBA governor that would ever do such a thing. As an institution, the RBA never picks a fight with the government of the day on fiscal policy. In fact, the governor made it very clear she does not comment on fiscal policy. But the Treasurer wants to take her silence as some endorsement of his fiscal policy, and what fiscal policy is that? Well, the fiscal policy is typically embedded within the budget strategy. The strategy is meant to outline some rules. Ever since Peter Costello introduced the Charter of Budget Honesty, governments have meant to have rules which contain government spending.”
“The government can either become a smaller government and allow households and businesses to grow and enjoy that supply or the government can say: 'We know best. We need to be bigger,' and they can push households and push businesses out of the way. This government has chosen the latter. This is the crowd-out effect. The government, due to its overspending, is crowding out opportunities for the private sector. We've had the Treasurer in denial, as he always is, that recent interest-rate rises are due to government spending. I cannot find one credible economist in the country which agrees with the Treasurer of Australia on that count—not one.”
“The Prime Minister told the Australian people about this time last year, as did the Treasurer, that they had tamed the beast, the dragon, of inflation. But had they done so? No, they hadn't. The RBA now forecasts inflation to peak at about 4.2 per cent. Let us not forget that the target is 2.5 per cent. It's going to hit 4.2 per cent. Why? Because this government keeps pouring more money into the economy and the economy is running at the speed limit. The RBA governor made that very clear when she spoke about the RBA's recent decision to increase interest rates. Private and public demand has hit the speed limit. When that happens and when the economy doesn't have enough supply to satisfy all the demand—all the things, the goods and services, that people want to buy—the government has a decision to make.”
“For the very first time, we have a generation entering the workforce which is going to be poorer than their parents, which breaches a longstanding pact in this country where one generation leaves the next generation more prosperous. That's going to go, and why is that? Because we have the Albanese government which cannot control its spending. This is the highest-spending government in 40 years, outside a pandemic. The volume of fiscal stimulus being poured into the Australian economy is equivalent to that of the GFC. That's how bad it is, and are we amidst an enormous international economic shock to justify this? No, we are not. This explains why we have seen interest rates go up, because inflation has skyrocketed.”
“If we had another minister here, we'd talk about his or her portfolio. It doesn't matter which portfolio; prices are going up. And this is a government that came to power on the promise that it was going to get prices down. I remember that campaign vividly. They were screaming that prices were going up and that they, the Labor Party, were going to get prices down, and yet prices have soared. We have mums and dads making trade-off decisions about whether they're going to allow the kids to get new pairs of school shoes and textbooks. Can they pay for that take-out once a week anymore? We've got senior citizens making a decision about whether they turn the air con on or eat. This is what's happening in our country.”
“I am one of many MPs—I dare say right across the chamber—who are dealing with mums and dads, senior citizens and young people who are hurting right now, and they have been hurting for some years. For the first time in memory we have living standards dropping at a much faster pace than that of any other peer nation. Real wages have gone backwards under the Albanese government. The average worker now has less power purchase in their salary. This is the problem. Everyday Australians are hurting. We all know the impact of higher prices. The Minister for Energy is across the table here. He knows that energy prices have gone up by, I believe, around 40 per cent. The minister is not disagreeing with that—40 per cent under this minister, under this government. This is the problem. It just so happens that this minister is here.”
“I rise today to speak on the Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2025-2026. Of course the coalition will support the passage of these appropriation bills through the parliament. We would not be blocking supply. We are talking here about an additional $12.7 billion to come from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, broken up into three parts: $9.1 billion for ordinary services, $3.5 billion for non-ordinary services and $9.2 million for parliamentary departments. But it's very important I make this point. While the coalition will not stand in the way of the appropriation bills, the government should not take this to mean that we support the government's ongoing spending. Spending is out of control in this country, and it is hurting everyday Australians.”
“That is the context within which this bill is being debated. The coalition rejects this approach. We believe in encouraging aspiration, not taxing it. We believe in growing the economic pie, not slicing up an increasingly shrinking economic pie. We believe in Australians. We believe superannuation money is their money, and we will not turn from that view.”
“It's interesting that Labor are so interested in tax, and I think most economic commentators around the country understand why; in fact, they're just trying to paper over what is the highest-spending government in the last 40 years outside of the pandemic. The Treasurer's own budget papers show he is injecting into the economy a volume of fiscal stimulus equivalent to Labor's stimulus during the GFC. The Treasurer needs to find a way to pay for all this spending. Debt is to hit $1 trillion over the next few months. Australian workers are already paying an extra $4,000 in personal income taxes under this government. The Treasurer is looking everywhere—in each cupboard, behind each cushion on the couch—to find more money. Thus, they come after people's retirement savings and they come after superannuation.”
“It's worth noting that all of this sits within a broader context of Labor's ongoing obsession with taxing superannuation. Labor's super tax 1.0 was one of the most reckless tax proposals ever put forward. Its most egregious feature was the indexation of a tax on unrealised capital gains. Taxing unrealised capital gains on non-indexed balances was economic lunacy. Morally, it was wrong, especially given the impact it would have had on younger Australians, in particular, as they grew older. That proposal punished aspiration and severely undermined confidence in the future of superannuation. The Treasurer was forced into retreat, and super tax 1.0 was no more. Very quickly, though, he started working on super tax 2.0. In fact, he brought it into the parliament today.”
“You only need to consider other recent measures of Labor's that put the Labor government and their interests at the centre of the system instead of the interests of everyday Australian superannuants—measures such as forcing mandatory cooling-off periods to advantage industry funds and tweaking the performance test to direct capital to where government wants it to go. All of this spells bad news for average Australian superannuants—less choice, less competition, more government control, more power concentrated in union backed industry funds aligned with Labor, more uncertainty for Australians planning their retirement. Under Labor's approach, trust is not lost in a single moment; it is chipped away at. This bill is yet another chip.”
“Payroll and onboarding providers have been clear that sequencing stapled fund information ahead of permitted advertising is not as straightforward as it may seem, yet the regulatory detail will not be released until after this bill becomes law. Meanwhile, major platforms such as MYOB and Employment Hero have warned that systems are not ready. Once again, Labor is legislating first and thinking later. This bill forms part of a broader pattern by Labor that favours union backed industry super funds at every opportunity and, despite its rhetoric, is weakening super, not strengthening it.”
“Union backed industry super funds already dominate default arrangements. Retail funds and other competitors are structurally disadvantaged. Competition is increasing in Australia's super sector, and this is causing the large, union backed industry super funds significant heartache as Australians exercise their right to move their own money to a fund of their choosing. Recent reports suggest that one million Australians switched super providers last year, representing around $150 million of super switching every single day. Retail funds are large beneficiaries of super switching. At a time when Australians are actively re-engaging with their super, Labor is proposing to close off avenues for comparison and engagement. That is not accidental. The sector has also raised serious concerns about implementation.”
“From 1 July 2026, many superannuation products will be prohibited from being advertised to employees during their onboarding into a new job, the very moment when workers are most engaged and most likely to actively consider their super. On the surface, this might appear benign, but scratch a little deeper and a familiar pattern emerges. This is not about empowering Australians; it is about steering them into choices Labor wants to make on their behalf. Labor claims this change will prevent workers from being pushed into poorly performing funds, but Australia already has a world-leading performance test regime that weeds out underperforming products. As the Financial Services Council has made clear, this measure inherently benefits industry super funds at the expense of non-default, non-industry and alternative products.”
“Labor increasingly treats super as a pool of capital it can direct, constrain or tax for its own political purposes, and this bill is part of that longstanding pattern. Rather than strengthening competition and empowering Australian workers, Labor is narrowing the ways Australians can engage with their own super. Rather than trusting Australians to make informed choices, Labor wants to make the choice for them. That does not strengthen the super system; it weakens it. It doesn't strengthen trust; it erodes it. We see Labor's approach to super in schedule 2 of this bill. Schedule 2 is described by Labor as 'supporting choice in superannuation'—an Orwellian description if there ever has been one. A ban on advertising does not support choice; by definition, it limits choice.”
“That capital does not just fund dignified retirements; it underpins investment opportunities to help maximise returns for hardworking Australian workers. But the system will only be sustainable if people trust it—trust that it's managed solely in members' financial interests; trust that governments will not retreat from respecting that primary objective of maximising returns for superannuation holders; trust that governments also will not treat superannuation as a political plaything, as a piggy bank to fund the government's priorities. The coalition understands this instinctively. Superannuation is part of a worker's pay. It is not a gift. It is not a bonus. It is money earned by and owed to Australians. Labor, on the other hand, does not understand this instinctively. Labor sees super differently.”
“This will be done by the Senate Economics Legislation Committee, to which this bill has been referred. Schedule 6 increases the wine equalisation tax producer rebate cap, delivering much-needed support to Australian wine producers. We support this. The problem is that Labor has cynically bundled these schedules together with a very contentious superannuation measure. In fact, that measure goes across two schedules—schedule 1 and schedule 2—and, of course, there's further work that is needed in the DGR related schedule. Schedule 1, in and of itself, is largely mechanical but, paired with schedule 2, amounts to an egregious intervention into the superannuation sector. Australians now have more than $4 trillion saved for retirement and superannuation, and that figure is on track to reach $5 trillion by the end of the decade.”
“The bill contains six schedules, most of which are broadly uncontroversial. There are schedules dealing with an international tax treaty, sporting event tax exemptions and support for the wine sector—measures the coalition has supported in the past and continues to support. Schedule 3, for example, implements income tax exemptions associated with the Rugby World Cup to attract that major sporting event. This is standard practice for major international events like this and mirrors concessions provided under previous coalition governments. Schedule 4 gives domestic effect to the Australia-Portugal tax treaty. This is a routine and sensible measure, and it has our support. Schedule 5, which deals with Labor's priorities in regard to retaining, providing or removing DGR status for various organisations requires further scrutiny.”
“Because the coalition supports some of the measures in this bill while adamantly opposing others, I move: That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: "whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House notes the: (1) Government has cynically cobbled together unrelated measures within this bill in an attempt to play wedge politics, not deliver policy outcomes; (2) Opposition is supportive of Schedules 3, 4 and 6, which deal with tax incentives for the Rugby World Cup, a tax treaty with Portugal and an increase in the Wine Equalisation Tax producer rebate cap; (3) Opposition wishes to see the smooth passage of Schedules 3, 4 and 6 and are willing to work with the Government on these uncontroversial aspects; and (4) Opposition has serious concerns about Schedules 1 and 2 of this bill, which restrict choice in superannuation".”
“Labor is attempting to force a false choice on the parliament: either support the entire bill and accept bad changes to super, or oppose the bill and be accused of blocking unrelated and sensible measures. That is not good lawmaking. It is old-fashioned wedge politics. And some wonder why trust in the political system is eroding! This typical Labor tactic puts politics above policy. Each schedule in this bill should stand on its own merits, or, at least, agreed non-controversial measures should be grouped together. But that degree of respect for the parliament is something sorely missing under this Albanese Labor government. Labor has deliberately denied parliament that opportunity.”
“I rise today to speak to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Supporting Choice in Superannuation and Other Measures) Bill 2025. The coalition supports many of the measures contained in this bill, and that is why this bill should never have been stitched together the way that it has been. Labor has effectively cobbled together a grab bag of largely unrelated measures and wrapped them up around a contentious measure—a measure that it knows the coalition will oppose, and that is a change to superannuation which restricts choice, reduces competition and rewards union aligned industry funds. Labor has bundled together these various measures not because it makes good policy sense but because it suits Labor politically.”
“My question goes to the Treasurer. According to the Australian Financial Review , the Treasurer's medium-term budget forecasts have blown out by around $57 billion since the election. The Treasurer has been unable to explain why; the Independent Parliamentary Budget Office has been unable to explain why, and today the Secretary to the Treasury was unable to explain why. Nobody seems to know. Why won't the Treasurer come clean about his $57 billion budget black hole?”
“Everyone's trying to do their bit, everyone from Mayor Natoli and state MP Marty Hunt to the local chamber, charities and churches. But there's still more we can all do, and, as a community, I believe we can do more. An initiative I want to raise in the House today is the Sunny Coast Sleeper. This is a bus which has seven sleeping pods. It costs $15 for someone who would otherwise sleep on the street to have a good, safe, sound, secure night's sleep in the sleeper. I'm going to get behind this initiative and try to raise funds for it. If anybody does have $15 and wants to make a contribution, please do. Let's all do our bit.”
“Often in this place I talk about the importance of a strong economy. That's not because it's the end game; it's the means. It's the means by which we build the hospitals and the schools. It's a means by which we build the roads and the rail and by which we ensure that everyday Australians can have a good standard of living, that they can have a roof over their head, that they can put food on the table and that they can otherwise enjoy a fulfilled, happy and healthy life. But, today, the economy is not strong; it is weak. That is why we see symptoms right across the country of people who are doing it tough. There is no more alarming consequence than that of homelessness. In my own electorate on the Sunshine Coast, the town of Nambour is experiencing an enormous amount of homelessness at the moment.”
“My question goes to the Treasurer. High inflation hurts all Australians—whether you're paying a mortgage, renting, running a business, or just trying to make ends meet. Treasurer these are not my words. These are the words of the Governor of the Reserve Bank, who has also said that inflation will be 'out of band and above target for six years'. Treasurer when will inflation come down?”
“Every single treasurer since Peter Costello, who introduced the Charter of Budget Honesty, has had a set of rules to control spending, except the treasurer of this government. The more this government spends, butted up against the speed limit of the economy, the more prices go up. When prices go up, interest rates go up and real wages go down. This has been felt in real Australia, and that is why we have to keep raising this issue with this government.”
“The Treasurer suggested it had nothing to do with public demand—in other words, government spending. By Friday, of course, you had the Reserve Bank governor making it very clear that it did have something to do with public demand. By Sunday, the Treasurer was saying that the last national accounts were suggesting that the growth in private demand was higher than in public demand, but in fact it was the opposite. We can talk all about the stats. We can talk all about economic figures. But where the rubber hits the road is out in real Australia, which is why we continue to call on this government to do something that everyday Australians do at home: live within your means. That starts with introducing some rules as to how you contain your spending in the budget. This isn't too much to ask, can I say.”
“We don't deny the right of any government to prioritise its spending. But with that right should come a commensurate responsibility to find room in the budget to pay for it. Again, everyday families do this. They make those trade-offs. If they want a child to do extracurricular sport, theatre, dance or whatever it is and they don't have the money to pay for it, they might cut back on the take-outs or a couple of days of the holiday they were hoping for. These are the normal financial decisions that are discussed around kitchen tables. It is not too much for the Australian people to ask that the same discipline be applied in this place by the Treasurer and this government to keep the books in check. But that is not happening. Last week, we saw an increase in interest rates.”
“People are working their tails off every single day so that they can ensure there is food on the table and making really hard choices and trade-offs about what they can and can't afford for their family. A lot of these young people are either saving to buy a home or they're struggling to pay off a mortgage. In the real world out there, beyond the walls of this parliament, young Australians are feeling the pain, and they know, unfortunately, that this year it will only get worse. This is a direct consequence of a poorly managed Australian economy—an economy which is seeing inflation driven up as a direct consequence of the biggest spending government in 40 years outside of the pandemic. In this financial year alone, this government is spending an extra $50 billion on discretionary measures.”
“Unfortunately, by this time next year, they are going to be poorer still because the everyday Australian will experience the price of everything going up even further this year. They will be experiencing higher interest rates this year. They will be experiencing higher taxes that they have to pay this year. Meanwhile, their real wages will be declining this year, and their living standards will continue to erode. Australians are hurting right now, in particular younger Australians. I'm talking about Australians who might be in their late 20s and their 30s in particular—families who are trying to feed not just their own mouths but the mouths of kids.”
“I move: That this House: (1) condemns the Treasurer for refusing to take responsibility for the Government's out-of-control spending, which is fuelling inflation and interest rates; (2) notes the: (a) Treasurer's own budget papers show he has added $50 billion of new discretionary spending in the current financial year alone; and (b) average mortgage holder is already paying around $21,000 a year more in interest than under the previous Government and that burden could rise even further; and (3) calls on the Treasurer to adopt measurable budget rules to bring discipline back to the management of our nation's finances. Australians are poorer today than they were this time last week. In between, they have copped yet another interest rate rise.”
“My question goes to the Prime Minister. As property owners were slugged this week with their thirteenth interest rate rise under Labor, the Treasurer has been laying the ground for an increase in capital gains taxes on housing. At the last election, the Prime Minister ruled out changes to negative gearing, saying it would harm housing supply and be anti-aspirational. Given this, will the Prime Minister now rule out raising capital gains tax on housing?”
“My question goes to the Treasurer. Yesterday in question time, the Treasurer referred to his responsibility, and actually refused to take responsibility for rising interest rates, by quoting AMP economist Diana Mousina. But today Ms Mousina told the AFR the Treasurer had cherrypicked her comments and that she, and I quote, 'Didn't say the government was not contributing to inflation.' Will the Treasurer apologise for misrepresenting Ms Mousina's comments?”
“My question goes to the Treasurer. The RBA governor explained yesterday's decision to raise interest rates, saying this: … we work with aggregate demand … and, 'We're seeing aggregate demand, public and private, push up against the limits of growth.' Note her referencing of 'public'. Yet the Treasurer told the House yesterday government spending was 'not a factor' in the decision they took, and he peddled the same story today. Is the Treasurer suggesting the governor was wrong?”
“My question goes to the Treasurer. Scores of economists, including those referenced already in question time today from Deloitte to AMP to HSBC, are all saying that the Treasurer's reckless spending is contributing to inflation, despite the Treasurer desperately attempting to deny all responsibility. So does the Treasurer truly expect Australians to believe that all of these economists are wrong but he is right?”
“My question goes to the Treasurer. Shane Oliver, AMP chief economist, said, 'The best thing that Australian governments can do to help bring down inflation would be to cut government spending'. When will the Treasurer finally admit he must control his spending to prevent the 14th interest rate rise under Labor?”
“This is why it is the responsibility of this government. But they refuse to take responsibility. So let's not take this debate today really as being the Labor Party versus the Liberal Party. This is about the Labor Party versus the Australian people. This is the Labor Party against Australian families. This is the Labor Party going to hardworking Australian families, taxing them more, taking more money out of their pockets to feed a spending spree, forcing interest rates up—and then they have to pay higher mortgages. That's this problem.”
“We have also revealed that, in this financial year alone, there is an additional $50 billion being spent by the Albanese government on discretionary items. We're not talking here about health, education, the NDIS and social welfare. We're not talking about those pressures on the budget. We are separately talking about cabinet ministers sitting around the table and deciding on separate initiatives. Governments have every right—they are entitled to decide what they want to spend the money on, but they have an obligation to find offsets in the budget, and this is what they are not doing. They are pouring more money into the economy. The economy has capped out with a speed limit, but they keep putting money in, forcing the Reserve Bank to come in and take money out. And how do they do that? They do that by increasing interest rates.”
“They want to keep it a secret—$60 billion. To put that in context, that's around the size of our entire defence budget. But here's the thing, when the Treasurer has been asked to explain that deterioration, he hasn't known the answer. So spending is so bad the majority of that $60 billion, according to the official figures, is due to more spending, but the Treasurer himself doesn't know what he's going to spend that money on. This is how bad it is. In fact, when he was challenged to explain, he tried to brush it off and say it's only a small deterioration. Since when is $60 billion a small deterioration? We know economist after economist is coming forward and saying that this government is overspending.”
“This government cannot stop spending. This is the highest spending government in 40 years, outside a pandemic. In 40 years, no government has spent as much as this government. It's an extraordinary amount. Spending as a percentage of GDP has gone from 24 per cent to 27 per cent—amazing! Every single time we see an economist come out say the government is overspending and it's driving up interest rates, the Treasurer denies it. And who are the ones who lose? It's the Australian people. Spending is so bad that, last week, we revealed a $60 billion black hole in Labor's government. That is a deterioration of $60 billion since the election. Did they come forward and transparently tell the Australian people about this? No, they didn't. We had to go and find it. We had to go and find it in the MYEFO report that they laid down in December.”
“Throughout question time today, despite this being the most important issue facing Australians, we had continuous hubris from the Prime Minister and giggles and laughs and jokes from the frontbench of the Labor government. Meanwhile, the Australian people are struggling. It might be true, of course, that most Australians aren't going to be glued into question time, but it does go to the character of those who are running this country. The fact that the Treasurer continues to refuse to take any responsibility for the fact that interest rates are going up due to his spending spree—I can't find a credible economist in the country who is not saying that the Albanese government isn't overspending. All economists are saying they are overspending, and the more they spend, the more it's basically putting pressure on the RBA to lift rates.”
“It actually genuinely is with great sadness that I stand today, because Australia, today, has received some very bad news. I think first and foremost of the families who have come through Christmas and whose family budgets are looking awful. They've been dropping the kids off to school. They don't know whether or not they have to forego takeouts or school sport. They're having to buy the shoes, the uniforms and the textbooks. They're struggling. Today, they received the news from the Reserve Bank of Australia that interest rates are going up. I don't know how bad this has to get for the Australian people before the Albanese government starts taking this matter seriously.”
“My question goes to the Treasurer. In announcing today the 13th interest rate rise under Labor, the Reserve Bank said in its official statement: … inflation is likely to remain above target for some time … In light of this, can the Treasurer rule out future rate rises this year?”
“My question goes to the Treasurer. Scores of economists have linked higher inflation and interest rates to this government's spending spree. Former Treasury assistant secretary David Pearl said the Treasurer is 'squarely to blame for the inflation mess we're in'. IFM Investors' chief economist Alex Joiner said, 'The fiscal guardrails have come off.' Treasurer, as mortgage holders are hit with their 13th interest rate rise under Labor, will you now finally take responsibility?”
“My question is to the Treasurer. In 2022 the now Treasurer declared, 'There are things that real leaders take responsibility for, which matter in the context of high inflation, rising interest rates, plummeting consumer confidence and falling real wages.' The Treasurer is, right now, failing on all these same metrics and Australians are getting poorer by the day. Treasurer, when will you start living by your own words and take responsibility?”