Chalmers accuses Coalition of ‘dishonest’ attacks over government spending and inflation
Liberal MP Simon Kennedy gets the next question, and puts to the treasurer that the Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, acknowledged government spending contributes to inflation – so why can’t the treasurer, he asks?
Jim Chalmers says that Kennedy is “dishonestly conflating two different things”. The quickly opposition complains about that language and Milton Dick tells Chalmers to rephrase his answer. Chalmers’ new answer isn’t much nicer:
The more divided they get, the more desperate they get …
The question isn’t whether public demand is part of aggregate demand, it is whether public demand was responsible for the bigger than expected tick up at the end of the last year and plainly it wasn’t, Mr Speaker. Now, those opposite should stop verballing the governor of the Reserve Bank.
Key events
Liberal MP Aaron Violi tries again to needle Jim Chalmers on the impact of government spending on rising inflation, which saw interest rates rise last week.
There was a bit of confusion in there on whose question it was, Michael McCormack tried to stand up again for a second before sitting down (“stand up for yourself Michael” laughed the PM).
Violi says RBA governor Michele Bullock confirmed that government spending is part of aggregate demand and which Bullock said is “contributing to inflationary pressures and that’s why we’ve decided to raise interest rates.”
Chalmers accuses Violi of also “conflate two very different things” and accuses the Coalition of trying to “drag” Bullock.
It is a shambolic opposition and more the divided they are, the more desperate they become in trying to verbal the Reserve Bank governor …
It is possible to understand, as I do, as the Reserve Bank governor does, that public demand is part of aggregate demand, and also to again, as I have and as the governor of the Reserve Bank has, that the tick-up in inflation towards the end of last year, which was unwelcomed and led to the interest rate decision last week, was primarily because of the uptick in private demand.
Once again the Nationals are trying to revive debate on the very dead $275 energy bill discount that Labor had promised in 2022.
This time it’s Nationals MP Michael McCormack, who picks up that baton, and tries to fling it at Chris Bowen.
Bowen says there are 2,390 households in McCormack’s electorate who have made use of the cheaper home battery scheme.
We’ve seen so many Australians reduce their bills permanently after the 2025 election. We’ve seen so many Australians, 225,000 Australian households … reduce their bills permanently, in many cases to zero.
Chalmers accuses Coalition of ‘dishonest’ attacks over government spending and inflation
Liberal MP Simon Kennedy gets the next question, and puts to the treasurer that the Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, acknowledged government spending contributes to inflation – so why can’t the treasurer, he asks?
Jim Chalmers says that Kennedy is “dishonestly conflating two different things”. The quickly opposition complains about that language and Milton Dick tells Chalmers to rephrase his answer. Chalmers’ new answer isn’t much nicer:
The more divided they get, the more desperate they get …
The question isn’t whether public demand is part of aggregate demand, it is whether public demand was responsible for the bigger than expected tick up at the end of the last year and plainly it wasn’t, Mr Speaker. Now, those opposite should stop verballing the governor of the Reserve Bank.
Independent MP calls on Labor to sanction Israeli institutions and officials involved in illegal West Bank settlements
Back to the crossbench, Sophie Scamps asks if the government will sanction Israeli institutions and officials linked to a settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, after Israel overnight approved new measures that attempt to legalise settlement expansion and land confiscation.
She asks also whether the government will reiterate Australia’s commitment to a two-state solution.
The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, takes the question and says there are already some sanctions in place and that the government does support a two-state solution.
In the face of the very complex situation which has evidently played out in the Middle East, every step that we’ve taken as a government has been underpinned by that very clear position. Now, in saying that, it is also important for me to acknowledge on this day that we have in this country the head of state of one of those states, the state of Israel. And his visit to our country is an important visit.
Bowen takes another dig at Taylor
Goading the Coalition to replace Sussan Ley with Angus Taylor during a dixer, Chris Bowen says Labor “fully has his back”.
He says is it “any wonder” that anonymous Liberal MPs say that everything Taylor has touched “turns to custard” – which he says has been “sanitised” so as to not use unparliamentary language.
He [Taylor] was a disaster as energy minister and shadow treasurer and the definition of insanity would be to put someone with a disastrous track record in a top job hoping things will be different …
The member himself said at the election campaign, the best indicator of fiscal performance is past performance – that’s 100% right, which is why we on this side of the house wish the member for Hume the best wishes for this week, we have fully got his back.
Are aged care reforms just robo-aged-care?
Independent MP Monique Ryan asks the aged care minister, Sam Rae (who’s had some time out of the spotlight lately), about the long wait times for assessments and why “experienced clinicians are unable to override algorithmic decision-making”.
Are these once in a generation reforms just robo-aged-care? she asks, referencing robodebt, which receives a long groan from the Labor benches.
Rae says he respectfully disagrees with the premise of Ryan’s question, and says that wait times are coming down.
Can I assure that assessors still play a critical role in achieving high-quality outcomes by using their clinical judgment and strong communication and engagement stills to complete the [integrated assessment tool] during the assessment. The IAT classification algorithm does not replace assessor input.
Ed Husic booted from the chamber
Back to the Liberals, and Tim Wilson changes tack slightly, to push Jim Chalmers on small business insolvencies.
He claims Treasury has said that the government’s small business incentive has just a 23% take-up rate, while last year a record 41,000 small businesses collapsed. Wilson takes aim at the minister for small business, Anne Aly, who in parliament last week was overheard saying that perhaps some of the businesses that were shut down were “dodgy”.
Before Chalmers can even stand up, Labor MP Ed Husic is booted out of the chamber under 94a. He is our first ejectee from the chamber this week.
Chalmers says that everyone should “tread carefully” around the opposition when it comes to them “verballing people’s comments”.
He then defends the government’s support of small businesses and defends Aly.
Insolvencies as a proportion of companies under the Albanese government have been the lowest for any government on record. They are lower, business insolvencies are lower than they were under prime minister [John] Howard …
The small business minister is an extraordinarily dedicated minister to the small businesses of this country.
Nationals ask about broken $275 energy bill promise
Someone tell the Nationals that the 2022 election wants its fight back.
Since the government had to abandon its promise that household energy bills would be reduced by $275 under its energy plan, the Coalition continued to press Labor on the broken promise.
We’re now past when the bill relief was due to be delivered (which was the end of 2025).
But the Nats are still on a tear to hold the government to account on it (again, Labor had already admitted that the election commitment wasn’t going to happen). This time the Hinkler MP, David Batt, puts the question to the energy minister, Chris Bowen.
Bowen in what feels like a record 30 seconds, gives his answer at lightning speed. He says he can name all the households whose bills have gone to “zero” because of the cheaper home battery scheme:
I can name every single Australian household that’s seen their energy prices fall by 44% in the last quarter, thanks to record renewable rates that have been introduced by this government’s policies.
Arrest at Bondi Pavilion while anti-Herzog banner unfurled at Opera House
Penry Buckley
Leaving question time for a moment, NSW police have told Guardian Australia a person has been arrested at the Bondi pavilion, where the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, laid a wreath to the victims of the Bondi attack and addressed media this morning. We’ll bring you the details as soon as we know more.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for NSW police said at about 11.45am two people affixed a banner at the top of the Tarpeian steps, overlooking the Sydney Opera House while police in the area were responding to a separate, unrelated incident. An image of the banner seen by Guardian Australia shows it reads: “Herzog war criminal”
“Opera house security promptly took that down,” the police spokesperson said. The incident was captured on CCTV, and police are making inquiries.
A UN commission, which does not speak on behalf of the UN, found that Herzog, along with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and then defence minister, Yoav Gallant, had “incited the commission of genocide”.
Herzog has called the genocide case against Israel in the international court of justice a “form of blood libel” and pushed back on criticism of his 2023 statement that “it is an entire nation out there that is responsible” for the 7 October attacks on Israel.
Ley tries to corner Albanese on interest rates
Can the prime minister confirm that interest rates have gone up 13 times on his watch, and the average mortgage holder is now paying $23,000 more every year in repayments, asks Sussan Ley.
Ley is going for a more straight down the line question in the hope that it’ll back Albanese into a corner.
Anthony Albanese still manages to turn that spotlight back on to the opposition.
He says when Labor came into office inflation had a “six” in front of it.
Ley is unsurprisingly unhappy with the answer, and tries to get the PM to stick to her question, but the speaker, Milton Dick, says Albanese was being relevant by talking about inflation and interest rates.
Albanese continues and defends the government’s spending again, saying it’s private demand that has been rising, and attacks the Coalition’s internal fighting.
Those opposite … whose energy for opposing our cost-of-living measures is only exceeded by their energy with fighting each other.
