Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has accused the Albanese Government of showing “absolutely no interest” in working with the Coalition to bring inflation and interest rates under control.
On Sunrise on Wednesday, Taylor said the government was refusing to engage with the Opposition on proposed spending cuts, despite his offer to work together on measures to ease the cost-of-living crisis.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Opposition calls for spending cuts amid fifth rate hike
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It comes after the Reserve Bank handed homeowners another blow, with interest rates lifted to an 18-year high of 4.85 per cent.
‘We need a solution’
Taylor said the government needed to rein in spending, arguing it was fuelling inflation and putting further pressure on interest rates.
“The government needs to contain its spending,” he said.
“It’s making life harder for Australians.”
The Coalition recently unveiled $31 billion in proposed savings, which Taylor described as a “massive down payment” on tackling the inflation crisis.
He said the Opposition had also proposed banking budget windfalls from high commodity prices to pay down government debt and ease inflationary pressures through a Future Generations Fund.
“We’ve had real significant windfalls in recent years from high commodity prices, high iron ore prices. That should be going into paying down debt and taking pressure off inflation and interest rates,” he said.
Taylor said the Coalition’s broader plan also included re-establishing the Charter of Budget Honesty, arguing the government needed to be more accountable for its spending.
He defended the scale of the proposed savings, insisting the package would make a “material difference” to the economy.
He said Australian households were already being forced to make difficult financial decisions to manage rising costs and the government needed to show the same discipline.
“These are the sort of sensible savings Australian households are having to commit to. They’re having to pull in their belt. But the government hasn’t done it,” he said.
“All we’re getting from the government is excuses.
“We need a solution and that’s why we’ve laid it out. And we’ve said there are ways through this. We’ve offered the alternative. We’ve said we were prepared to work with the government on it.
“I said that from soon after I became the leader. But so far the government’s shown absolutely no interest.”
Taylor said he had already approached Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about working together on spending cuts but claimed his offer had gone nowhere.
Opposition Leader accuses PM of being in ‘denial’
Taylor said Australians were growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of action, arguing the solutions to the inflation crisis were already clear.
“We know what the problem is. We know how to solve it because we’ve done it before,” he said.
“But we’ve got a prime minister who is always in denial.
“The Reserve Bank Governor called it out yesterday. She said interest rates aren’t going up because of oil prices, because of the war in the Middle East.
“The reality is they’re going up because the government has lost control of its spending.”
Speaking from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the Caribbean, Albanese said: “We’ll continue to work each and every day to keep our economy stronger and that includes engaging in global trade and engaging in the world”.
He argued his government had made savings in “every single economic statement”.
“My government has made savings each and every time, about $180 billion,” he said.
“Indeed, the budget earlier this year produced $60 billion of savings. More savings than any budget that’s been handed down.”
The exchange comes as households continue to grapple with rising mortgage repayments and cost-of-living pressures, with homeowners now paying more than $500 extra on their mortgage every month compared with the start of the year.
