The Labor government, according to claims made by the opposition treasurer Angus Taylor, neglected to give controlling inflation a high priority in its second budget since taking office.
A $14.6 billion cost-of-living package that was the centerpiece of Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ budget included measures to reduce power costs, make childcare more affordable, increase welfare, and improve Medicare.
Additionally, he announced a modest $4.6 billion surplus, the first since 2007.
However, economists have differing opinions on how the expenditure will affect inflation, which is currently around 7%.
Mr. Taylor claimed in an interview that Treasurer Jim Chalmers “completely missed the opportunity” to reduce inflation.
He said that Canberra, not the Kremlin, is the source of inflation.
“What we needed, and what Jim Chalmers promised, is a budget that was going to put downward pressure on inflation,” he said to Kieran Gilbert.
The government’s first priority, according to him, is that. It is very evident that he has not delivered.
“The Reserve Bank will decide whether to raise interest rates or not.
But it’s obvious that they haven’t applied the necessary downward pressure.
Following a 25 basis point increase earlier this month, the Reserve Bank has suggested that additional cash rate increases may be necessary to control inflation.
When announcing the monetary policy choice, Governor Philip Lowe pointed to the high rate of inflation as the primary motivator.
Although it has passed its peak, he said, the country’s inflation rate of 7% is still too high and it would be some time before it returns to the desired range.
“The board judged that a further increase in interest rates was warranted today given the importance of returning inflation to target within a reasonable timeframe.”
Also decried by Mr. Taylor as a “Ponzi scheme” was the Labor government’s defining housing policy.
If adopted, Labor’s election platform will pay for the construction of 30,000 new social and affordable homes over the course of five years.
“Labor’s housing policy will make almost no relevant contribution to the numbers of houses required here over the coming years,” Mr. Taylor said.
“It’s little, and the entire program is a Ponzi scam, which, to be honest, won’t provide the results required to address this issue.
“As a result, immigration requires a good strategy and a managed approach. That wasn’t what this budget offered.
The Housing Australia Future Fund was defeated in the Senate with the help of the Coalition and a few crossbenchers.
The only cross-bench support for the government came from the Jacqui Lambie Network.
