Topics: Core inflation rises under Labor; Labor’s economic mismanagement; off-budget spending; divestiture policy; NSW blackouts 

 

E&OE   

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, monthly inflation data out today and we see that Labor's homegrown inflation has gone up, not down. Core inflation has gone up to 3.5% from 3.2 and of course, that's more bad news that Australian households already know. The price of everything continues to go up. We've seen the cost of living for a typical working family in Australia up over 18% since Labor came to power and it continues to go on. Jimflation is persistent. That is clear. This government's inflation continues to rage and Australians are paying a high price. Now, cumulatively since Labor has been in power, we've seen Australian households’ standard of living fall by over 8%. That is the worst amongst our peer countries. Just as we see our core inflation is now at a higher level than any of our other peer countries around the world and this is a disastrous situation, as I say, for Australian households. This is unprecedented. We haven't seen a hit to Australians’ standard of living like this since data began in the 1950s. It wasn't this bad under Whitlam. The disastrous economic management of the Whitlam Government didn't deliver an outcome as bad as this for Australian households. It wasn't this bad in the recession we had to have under Keating in the early 90s, after the GFC we didn't see this hit to household disposable income. Standards of living in Australia have been in free fall. They have collapsed, and it's because this Labor Government simply had no idea how to ensure that we get our economy back on track. Get back to basics. Make sure we get rid of the reckless spending. Make sure we get more housing built in this country. Make sure we don't put union officials in charge of our workplaces in a way which is bad for businesses and bad for workers. This government has had its priorities wrong. It's made the wrong decisions, and it's taking this country in the wrong direction, and we see that in the data that came out today. Happy to take questions.

 

JOURNALIST:

Angus, we've seen really strong growth in off-budget spending over this course of government. What would be your philosophy in government about what programs should be off budget and is it still your intention, as you said in June, that nuclear reactors would be off-budget?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, let's be clear, we've opposed over $110 billion of spending from this government since they came to power in the Parliament. $110 billion of spending that we think at a time like this is reckless and unnecessary, and is only going to make and is only making inflation worse, interest rates higher, and that's why we've seen in other countries around the world, the UK, the US, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, interest rates coming down, not here in Australia and the news today we hear on core inflation tells us that we're going to have a continued situation where there's no relief for households anytime soon and indeed, the extraordinary thing we're seeing is there is no plan from this government to restore Australians’ standard of living anytime soon. We've seen data come out today [inaudible] projections telling us that there is no plan for this government. The reckless spending will continue and you know, at a time like this, when you've got raging inflation, when you've got interest rates that are stubbornly high and not coming down anytime soon, when standard of living has collapsed, when we've had six consecutive quarters, six consecutive quarters of GDP per capita going backwards, that's a household recession. The government needs to manage its spending very carefully. That's why we've opposed $110 billion of spending, some of it, a significant amount of it, has been off budget to your question, Michael. We'll continue to take a conservative approach to managing this country's finances, just as households are having to take a very conservative approach to managing their finances, because right now, they're struggling to make ends meet.

 

JOURNALIST:

With the nuclear question, is it still your intention that nuclear would be …

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well we’ve been very clear about that. We've been very clear about that, but let's be clear – that is sometime down the track. What's happening right now is we've got household inflation, we've got core inflation that is hurting Australians in an unprecedented way. Since data, since data began, since data began, we have not seen a hit to household standard of living like this, and that's why spending right now, off-budget, on-budget, doesn't matter, it has to be managed very, very carefully, and this government clearly hasn't done it.

 

JOURNALIST:

Is that a yes or a no?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well I think I’ve made it clear.

 

JOURNALIST:

Um, Angus, can you commit to outlining a pathway to a structural surplus at the next election?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, absolutely. I mean our point all along is you've got to re-establish the fiscal rules that were dropped as soon as this government came to power. Under the Charter of Budget Honesty, which was established in the 1990s under Peter Costello, he established strong fiscal guardrails to ensure that we always had a pathway back to balance and that was dropped by this government. We have been clear. We will re-establish that, and crucially, we'll ensure that the economy grows faster than spending. Pretty straightforward. Under this government, we've seen spending growing much faster than the economy. In fact, the economy in per person terms, has been going backwards for six consecutive quarters and of course, spending has been growing at a rapid rate, 16% in two years. So we will re-establish those guardrails and make sure that we've got a pathway to the kind of balance that brings down inflation, that brings down interest rates and restores Australians’ standard of living.

 

JOURNALIST:

Those fiscal guardrails won't though … they’re not going to be able to, are they going to be able to provide a pathway to a structural surplus? Are you going to have to do more beyond that?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:  

Look, we've already announced, or not announced, we've voted on $110 billion of spending that we think is not the right spending for now. In fact, we've just done it in the House today. We've opposed a major, another major spending initiative from this government as they attempt to salvage … save manufacturing that's going backwards in this country, because the basics aren't right. Approvals are too hard to get. Industrial Relations is all wrong. Red tape is shutting down businesses at an unprecedented rate and the government's answer is subsidies. Well, that's not the answer. That is not the answer, and that's why we've opposed those initiatives, and we'll continue to.

 

JOURNALIST:

Angus, I think Coalition MPs are very proud that divestiture policy and supermarket competition, the big box retailer inquiry’s going on. There's other movements in this area. Would you envisage further possible policy announcements from the Coalition about increasing competition towards the cost of living for households, for example the hardware sector?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well the hardware sector is already in that legislation. So in the legislation we put forward, it includes the hardware sector. So important to understand that. But the broader point I'd make is competition matters. It's really important. The best regulator of any industry is a well-informed customer that has competition. They can look after themselves if they've got competition, but if they haven't got competition, we end up with government having to step in and regulate. So we're big believers in competition. We'll continue to be, and that's why we've announced those very significant initiatives we did. All good? I'm going to have to run … oh just one very quick one. 

 

JOURNALIST:

I was just going to quickly say we're hearing from you guys in particular that it's back to basics. That's the approach. Does that seem a little contradictory to … trying to shake up the entire energy sector and also possibly introduce divestiture laws that we've never had? This doesn't seem very back to basics. How do you respond to that?

 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

Well, getting more supply into the energy market is back to basics. The best way to get prices down, ensure we have reliability and I note today the New South Wales Premier coming out saying everyone's got to turn off their washing machines this afternoon. I mean, seriously, we need more supply in the market, and we need to have every technology available to do that, whether it's gas, nuclear in time, of course coal, renewables, across the board, we shouldn't be restricting technologies. This government likes to pick winners. It thinks it knows better than everybody else, and we pay a price, and clearly everyone in New South Wales is going to be seeing part of that price today when they're asked to turn off their washing machines this afternoon. Thanks very much.

 

ENDS.