SUBJECTS: Improvements in the Final Budget Outcome; PM’s visit to the United Kingdom; Cost-of-living relief.
KENNY HEATLEY, HOST: Treasurer Jim Chalmers believes Australia has one of the strongest Budgets in the G20. Labor will reveal a $10 billion deficit to the Budget later today, which is lower than the $27.9 billion deficit forecast in the pre-election economic and fiscal outlook. Joining me live is Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Thistlethwaite and Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic. Maria and Matt, thanks so much for joining us this morning. Maria, first to you. This is largely due to increased tax revenue. Is this bracket creep in action?
MARIA KOVACIC, LIBERAL SENATOR FOR NSW: Of course it is. And once again, everyday Australians are paying for the decisions of this government. We talk about the cost-of-living crisis. This is absolutely real. We have people talking about Australians feeling poorer. Let me be clear, Australians are poorer. They're not just feeling poorer, they are absolutely poorer as a result of the actions of this government. We have energy bills up 36 per cent, 39 per cent, actually. We have rent up 21 per cent, we have food up 16 per cent. Like these are everyday costs that are crushing Australian households and Australian small businesses. And Australians deserve a lot better than they're getting from the Albanese Government.
HEATLEY: Matt, the Parliamentary Budget Office warned that the Budget would remain in deficit for the next decade and return to balance in 2035-36, solely as a result of bracket creep. That reduces your government's desire to address bracket creep, doesn't it?
MATT THISTLETHWAITE, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE: Kenny, the Budget deficit was forecast to be 27.9 billion. As you mentioned, it's going to be $10 billion. That's a dramatic improvement because of our government's strong economic management. Most of that is on the back of stronger than anticipated wages growth. So, here we have Australian workers. Real wages are growing and as a result tax receipts are up. So, Australian workers are better off, they're getting better incomes, and the Budget is better off. That means that it's a win for workers and it's a win for the Budget bottom line. The deficit will be 0.4 per cent of GDP, which is a remarkable effort considering what we inherited from the previous Liberal government.
KOVACIC: Oh, come on. The only reason that the deficit is lower is because Australians are paying more in their income taxes, not because of any act of this government.
HEATLEY: Okay --
ASSISTANT MINISTER: And that's because we've got strong wages growth. Australians’ real incomes are growing for the first time in a decade. And that's what they want to see. They want to see strong wages growth, so their incomes are growing.
HEATLEY: I just want to touch on what's happened in the UK. Maria, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's appearance at the British Labour Party conference has been labelled indulgent. Does winning 94 seats in the May election here allow Anthony Albanese some indulgence or is getting a taxpayer-funded RAAF jet to Liverpool in an attempt to prop up Sir Keir Starmer's leadership a step too far?
KOVACIC: It's absolutely a step too far. And it's extraordinary on the back of what we've just spoken about, that bracket creep. Australians paying more in tax. Everyday Australians paying more. And the Prime Minister has gone on this exercise in what I could only call vanity to the UK. This isn't a visit about things that are better for Australians. This is a visit from one Labor Party leader to another to go to the Labour Party conference in the UK to actually be a special guest star and not talk about Australia, and not talk about what's best for Australia, but talk about what the Labor Party here and in the UK can do for each other. It is extraordinary. There is no excuse for it and the Prime Minister should be ashamed and he should explain how on earth he came to a decision that this was what he should be doing. When we have all of the issues here at home in relation to our Budget, in relation to cost of living, and the broader issues that we've got in our country.
HEATLEY: Matt, Anthony Albanese has been making a point of not weighing into domestic politics of other countries like the United States. But how is this different?
ASSISTANT MINISTER: Well, he was invited by the British Prime Minister to attend that, but he also met with the King, our head of state. I'd love to know if Maria and the Liberal Party think that meeting with the King is indulgent. He also met with the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, to discuss foreign policy issues. He also met with the Prime Minister of Spain, and Australia is of course negotiating a free trade agreement with Spain. That comes on the back of the meeting that he had with Emmanuel Macron last week to discuss that free trade agreement. In all the Prime Minister's meetings there are about the best interests of Australians. And I'll talk about cost of living. If you look at our legislative agenda, it's all aimed at assisting Australians with their cost-of-living. Tax cuts, the cheaper medicines policy that we put through the parliament, the 20 per cent reduction in student debts, the 5 per cent deposit scheme. They're our priorities. The Liberal Party's priorities are a war over net zero and demonising Indian migrants coming to Australia.
HEATLEY: Maria, just one more final word from you.
KOVACIC: I would just say that when Australians go to the doctor, they need a lot more than their Medicare card. They need their credit card as well. And the pitch from this government about making life easier for Australians is just that, it's not a reality. We have the Prime Minister going to a Labour Party conference in the UK instead of doing his job here at home.
HEATLEY: Maria Kovacic and Matt Thistlethwaite, we're out of time but thank you both for joining us on this Monday morning, appreciate it.
