Topics:  Treasurer fighting everyone but inflation, Labor’s homegrown inflation, National Accounts 

 

E&OE   

 

KIERAN GILBERT: 

Let's look now at the economy and the national accounts due tomorrow. Joining me is the Shadow Treasurer, Angus Taylor. The Treasurer, unrepentant today. He says that he's just stating the obvious when he says that the interest rate rises that have been in place now and held steady since November of last year, that they're smashing the economy, isn't he just stating the facts?  

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Well, we all want to see lower interest rates and lower inflation, Kieran, but the problem with this Treasurer is he is fighting everybody and everything except his own homegrown inflation. He is fighting of course, the Reserve Bank. He's been fighting the Productivity Commission. He's been fighting Peter Dutton. He's been fighting his own mentor Paul Keating over his superannuation taxes. But the one thing he's not fighting is the one thing everyone wants him to deal with, which is his own homegrown inflation. This is a guy who is always looking for an excuse. If something goes well, he likes to take responsibility, and if something's not going well, he says it's someone else's fault. And that's not what a Treasurer should do. He needs to take responsibility, recognise that the government is part of the problem. Take pressure off inflation, where we're at the back of the pack versus peers around the world in dealing with this, and get interest rates down.  

 

KIERAN GILBERT:  

You say we're at the back of the pack, but our inflation peaked later and lower than comparable nations. Isn't that fair to say? And it's been a global phenomenon off the back of covid and in the ongoing wake of that war in Ukraine.  

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

That's the absolute nonsense and trite we hear from the treasurer. So let's go to the facts. Since January this year, we are the only one of major advanced countries in the world where our inflation has not come down. It's the same as it was back in January and in every other one of those major advanced countries, you've seen a reduction in the inflation rate. Worse, our inflation rate is higher than any one of those other countries and regions, and so it's an abject failure. And it gets even worse Kieran, because we're already seeing interest rates coming down, whether it's in Europe or Canada or the UK, and expected very soon in the United States. Not here, not here, Kieran. We are at the back of the pack. We've seen a collapse in labour productivity in this country. We've seen GDP per capita that hasn't moved forward. In fact, it's moved backwards for all but one of the last five quarters, and it certainly hasn't moved forward in any of those. And the expectation tomorrow, when we see the national accounts, is this will be the sixth quarter in a row where we've been in a household recession, a GDP per capita recession. So this is a Treasurer who is out of his depth, he's out of touch, he doesn't understand economics. He's a Doctor of Spin, not a Doctor of Economics, let's be clear. And he really does not have a handle on what is required in order to beat inflation and high interest rates in this country.  

 

KIERAN GILBERT: 

When, we heard about the savings the Coalition's planning, $100 billion. Can you just give a bit more clarity as to what the timing of that is? Is it mostly off budget? How does that impact inflation?  

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Well, the timing is historical. We've opposed over $92 billion of spending through the parliament, that's either gone through the parliament where we opposed it, or it's in the process of doing so, and we've said we'll oppose it. And this is money that just doesn't need to be spent at a time like this. Right now, if you add to the growth in spending, you are fuelling inflation. Let's make no mistake about it. There's lots of things this government is doing which fuels inflation, but that's one of them, and so that's why we've opposed these things. I mean, at a time when there's no inflation, they may or may not be good initiatives, but they're certainly not things we think are right at a time like this. But this government knows no end to the amount it wants to spend. It's growing spending by 16% in two years. It's added $315 billion of spending since it came to power. But on top of that, Kieran, we've seen record levels of immigration in Australia, population growth of over 1.2 million in two years with a housing supply that is completely incapable of keeping up with that. That is adding to housing inflation... 

 

KIERAN GILBERT: 

Is there more to come from you, in terms of suggested savings, will there be more to come from the Coalition?  

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Well, I'm not going to make an announcement on your program now, but I think $92 billion of spending, which we've opposed historically in the parliament, let alone other initiatives, is a very clear indication of what is right and what the government should be doing. We've sent a strong signal on that. We are also sending a strong signal on immigration policy. We've sent a very strong signal on securing reliable and affordable energy and needing to deliver on the government's promise of lower energy prices. Well, we haven't seen, we haven't seen that Kieran. And we're also sending strong signals on the need to get rid of red tape, get business back in the game in this country, and getting approvals through, but this government instead, has been disapproving critical projects for the future of the nation, and that is having an impact, whether it's slowing the growth of the economy or indeed adding to inflation. All of those policy levers which the government has failed on, is making the situation worse.  

 

KIERAN GILBERT: 

When it comes to tomorrow's national accounts, you've said you expect the per capita recession to continue. Will that put the heat on the RBA though to cut rates before the end of the year, despite what the Governor has said previously in recent months? 

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

First can I say that's not my expectation, that's the market's expectation, that's economists expectation, and that's indeed the RBA's expectation too, that we're going to continue on in a household recession, because the population is growing, and immigration in particular, is growing much faster than the economy. So you'll have to ask the Reserve Bank what they're going to do on interest rates. But the problem for them and for the government is that inflation is still running hot. Inflation is running hot. Core inflation has not fallen since January this year, unlike all of our peer countries, Kieran, so they, the Reserve Bank is sitting there saying, well okay, we've got an economy that's shuddered to a halt, but we've still got inflation raging in this country, and the government, frankly, is not helping because of its policies as I've already outlined. Indeed, they're making the situation worse. And you've got a Treasurer who won't take responsibility, he's fighting everybody and everything except his homegrown inflation. He needs to get serious about this. We need a low inflation, strong economy, but he's pulling the policy levers that go in exactly the opposite direction.  

 

KIERAN GILBERT: 

Almost going to wrap up. I just want to ask you, if people are looking at the Coalition and saying, okay we're open to voting Coalition, they're off the government, but they want more detail in things like nuclear policy. Will that all be coming soon? When is that going to be delivered to reassure people that you've done the work, that you're up to it? 

 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Before the election, Kieran. That's when you announce your policies, in the lead up to the election, and we will. We already have announced a great deal, and we'll continue to announce important policies in, whether it's on immigration policy, where we've already made a crucial announcement that our immigration rate would be reduced because we simply can't deal with that population growth that we've seen, whether it's energy policy as you pointed out, where we've already laid out where nuclear generators would be built, we've signalled strongly the commitment to gas, which this government is finally realising way too late that needs to be part of the picture. On approvals and red tape, as I've already pointed out, and so on. So we'll continue to announce relevant policies in the lead up to the election, but every single one of them will be focused on fighting and beating inflation and getting our economy growing again without surging inflation. That has to be the focus. It hasn't been the focus of the government. The government has failed. This Treasurer has failed, and we've got a weak Prime Minister who is not focusing on the main issues, and the results are clear.  

 

KIERAN GILBERT: 

Shadow Treasurer, Angus Taylor, thanks, as always, appreciate it. 

 

ENDS.