TED O’BRIEN MP
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
SHADOW TREASURER
MEMBER FOR FAIRFAX
MEDIA STATEMENT
Today’s CPI figures and the OECD’s interim outlook confirm that Labor has lost control of the budget and Australians are continuing to pay the price.
Inflation has climbed back to 3 per cent – the highest in more than a year – driven by housing, food and electricity. Electricity prices alone are up nearly 25 per cent. Labor promised families a $275 cut in their power bills, but Australians are now paying up to $1,300 more than promised.
Without taxpayer-funded rebates, Australians would be facing an even deeper energy bill crisis. Rebates are nothing more than a short-term sugar hit – not a plan to fix Labor’s energy mess.
And this will only get worse under Labor’s 2035 emissions targets announced last week, which cut much harder than comparable countries, driving up energy costs even further.
While the government is hiding the true cost of its targets from the Australian people, a conservative estimate by the Business Council of Australia puts the cost to 2035 at $50,000 for every Australian household. Under Labor’s policies, sky-high electricity prices and living costs are here to stay.
At the same time, the OECD has warned that credible and well-designed budgetary measures are needed to safeguard public debt sustainability. That is a polite way of saying the Albanese Government must stop its spending spree. It also makes clear that stronger structural reform efforts would improve living standards.
In other words, Australia needs discipline and reform. Instead, Labor is delivering debt and dysfunction.
The Coalition has a better approach: stop the spending spree and start growing the economic pie. We want lower, simpler and fairer taxes to lift productivity and living standards. That is the only way to deliver real and lasting cost-of-living relief for Australian families.