Subjects: Net Zero by 2050, ANZ mortgage relief, cost-of-living crisis.

NATALIE BARR: For more I'm joined by Home Affairs Minister, Clare O'Neil, and Shadow Health Minister, Anne Ruston. Good morning to both of you. Anne, let's start with you. Can you do this? Why won't the Coalition released its revised target before the election?

ANNE RUSTON: Well, first of all, we need to see the modelling to make sure that we actually understand the consequences of any of these decisions because the reality is Australian families are really hurting at the moment, Australian businesses are really hurting at the moment, and we want to make sure that what we actually are promising the Australian public is real and is achievable and is not going to destroy the economy on the way through.

We remain absolutely committed to Net Zero by 2050, and we believe that we have a plan to achieve that. But what we want the Government to do is actually be honest with the Australian public and tell them that 43 per cent by 2030 is just no achievable under current trajectory.

NATALIE BARR: But wasn't Morrison in on this? Albo didn't invent this, did he?

ANNE RUSTON: Well, we need to look at the situation that's before us at the moment.

NATALIE BARR: Right.

ANNE RUSTON: And we need to look at the situation that's going to be before us at the time that we have to make these decisions. We're not the Government at the moment. This Government needs to explain to the Australian public why it is so hell‑bent on pursuing a target that it clearly doesn't seem that it's going to be able to achieve.

NATALIE BARR: Clare, let's go to you. We've got an expert this morning saying Australia wouldn't be kicked out of the Paris Agreement if the figures changed under a Coalition Government. What do you think of that?

CLARE O'NEIL: Well, I mean I'm just so staggered that we're back here again, Nat. I think Australians felt we'd moved on from this exhausting catastrophe of Coalition unwillingness and inability to get to a climate policy.

I mean let's remember we had 10 wasted years where the Coalition had 22 different energy policies, not a single one of which was ever implemented.

Now our Government was elected two years ago, and we're just getting on with things. The science of climate change is accepted, and the thing we need to do now is think about not only how we do the right thing by the planet, but how we do the right thing by the economy.

So we've set these targets, we've entered the Paris Agreement, we're doing the right thing by the globe. What we have on the other side is this divisive, divided Coalition that not only has an idea they're going to introduce nuclear power plants but won't tell anyone where they're going to be, but now says that they're not even going to put forward climate targets between now and the next election.

I mean we've got to get serious here. We've got on one hand, someone with no policy that's got a horrible track record on this, and on the other hand, our Government that's just stepped in and is doing the right thing so we can capture that big opportunity that's actually there from acting on climate change.

NATALIE BARR: And it's up to the people in the middle to decide what they think about that.

Moving on. ANZ has become the first of the Big Four banks to rule out the prospect of any mortgage relief, the households feeling the pinch this year. The bank has pushed out expectations of when the Reserve Bank will announce any rate cuts until February next year after first forecasting it could happen in November this year. The revised date has been blamed on a number of factors including high levels of government spending.

Clare, is the Government partly to blame if there's no interest rate cut until 2025?

CLARE O'NEIL: Nat, I'm not going to get into the game of predicting rate cuts, because there's lots of different views about when and where this will happen, and lots of things that it depends on.

What I can tell you absolutely is that our Government has one focus at the moment, and that is helping Australian families manage the cost of living, and that's why you saw in the budget that we are going to put in place tax cuts for every single Australian taxpayer. Let me say that again, every person watching who is a taxpayer is going to get a tax cut as of 1 July, in just a few weeks.

We've got that $300 rebate on your energy bills, we've got that massive push to keep prescription medicines, the cost of those medicines down, the big assistance for rental relief that was in the last budget.

So, I just want Australians to know there's lots of things changing in the global economy that Australia will be affected by. Our focus as your Government is helping you manage the cost‑of‑living crisis in your own household.

NATALIE BARR: Anne, the Government's doing a lot. Is it doing too much, spending too much?

ANNE RUSTON: Well, I mean quite clearly this morning waking up to hear those predictions from the ANZ Bank are pretty cold comfort for Australian families, who I don't think you could find an Australian family who would tell you that they feel better off this morning than they did two years ago when the Albanese Labor Government was first elected.

NATALIE BARR: Well, someone does, 'cause we're still spending; it's what all the economists are telling us, people are still spending too much.

ANNE RUSTON: Well, I think the place that's spending too much right now is actually the Government, and we saw the Reserve Bank Governor last week in estimates actually bell the cat on this issue by saying that inflation is home grown, and you know, Clare can say that, you know, international events are impacting on this.

It's the Reserve Bank Governor and many other economists have said inflation is largely home grown. I mean $315 billion worth of extra spending since the Government came to power two years ago must in and of itself be inflationary. That's a lot of extra spending.

So, I think the reality is Australians at the moment are doing it tough, and I think that the ANZ Bank has basically said to Australians, "We understand that you're doing it tough" and perhaps calling out the Government and saying, "Maybe you should be doing more about getting inflation down." 

NATALIE BARR: Well, the Treasurer's speaking today on economics. We'll see what he has to say. Thank you both. We'll see you next week.