Chalmers blames end of energy rebates, rising travel prices and fuel for big leap in inflation
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has blamed the end of state energy rebates, travel prices and fuel for the higher monthly inflation figures released by the ABS.
Inflation jumped to 2.8% in the year to July, from 1.9% in the month before, the highest rate in a year.
Chalmers said those were “volatile and one-off factors” and this was the eighth month in a row that the headline and underlying inflation rates were below 3%.
We know monthly inflation figures can jump around and are less reliable than the quarterly figures because they don’t compare the same basket of goods and services from month to month.
The official quarterly numbers show that both underlying and headline inflation are at their lowest rates in almost four years.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 23.39 EDT
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Tl;dr — here’s what happened in question time
The opposition pressed the government on why they didn’t act sooner on listing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror organisation.
The government accused the opposition of abandoning bipartisanship on Iran. They also tried to throw Andrew Hastie’s comments of pushing for the listing under the previous Coalition government back at the opposition.
The Coalition then pivoted to playing the rule in, rule out game (similar to yesterday’s tactic) by trying to get the government to rule out tax changes on the family home or the fuel tax credit scheme (the government wasn’t keen to play ball).
Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown asked whether the government would commit to a four-day work week. The government wouldn’t.
Updated at 01.42 EDT
Question time ends
The prime minister takes a final dixer on what the government is doing on the cost of living, and that’s it for question time for today.
Updated at 01.23 EDT
Scamps queries diabetes inquiry response
Back to the crossbench, Sophie Scamps asks the health minister when the government will respond to a parliamentary inquiry into diabetes, which was handed to the government more than a year ago.
Mark Butler says the government will respond “in due course”, so no clear timeline there. But he says the assistant health minister will deal with the recommendations in the report that go to food policy.
And he also says the pharmaceutical benefits advisory committee will provide the government advice on the more equitable rollout of diabetes treatments like Ozempic and Mounjaro.
Updated at 01.22 EDT
Nationals question if farmers will be taxed more to fund biosecurity
Nationals MP Michelle Landry asks Daniel Mulino another rule in rule out question, which is whether the minister will rule out taxing farmers more in order to fund Australia’s biosecurity.
She says the government previously tried to pose a biosecurity protection levy which she says, “would have forced Australian farmers to pay for the biosecurity risks of their foreign competitors”.
Mulino seems to tire a bit of the rule in/rule out game, and his answer is even shorter than the question:
What I can rule in is that the government’s tax policies, I can rule in tax cuts for all Australian taxpayers… I can rule in the fact that we have frozen the beer excise and that I will continue to work for lower taxes for Australians every day.
Updated at 01.17 EDT
Education minister says universities have legal obligation to students even if courses are cancelled
Nicolette Boele gets the next crossbench question and asks the education minister about the cuts to university staff and degrees.
She asks what the government is doing to ensure that courses and units that students have completed and paid for that are credited if the course is cancelled.
Jason Clare says universities have legal obligations to ensure that students are able to complete their degrees, or a similar degree, in the situation where a course is cancelled.
They’ve [the universities have] got to enable that student to complete that degree, to complete the study of that course, or find a mutually acceptable alternative at no disadvantage to that student.
He also calls on universities to properly consult with their students and staff when they’re making these significant decisions.
Updated at 01.15 EDT
Opposition continue questions on taxing the family home
The rule in rule out game continues, with the shadow skills minister, Scott Buchholz, asking:
Can the assistant treasurer rule out any changes to the tax treatment or the family home?
The answer is brief to say the least, and Daniel Mulino starts by saying, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome”.
He says the government has outlined its tax policies which he says are “very clear”. He won’t bite on the rule in or the rule out.
Updated at 01.14 EDT
Katter says PM should ‘enhance your Christianity and patriotism’ in question about gas reserve policy
It’s time for the father of the house, Kennedy MP Bob Katter, who asks whether the government will implement a gas reserve policy on the east coast, after the closure of the Glencore copper mine in Mt Isa. He also says the prime minister should “enhance your Christianity and patriotism”.
Albanese thanks Katter for his “usual eloquence” in asking the question.
He doesn’t commit to a reserve (something the Coalition had pledged during the last election campaign), but says the future made in Australia policy is to support critical mineral mining in Australia.
Minister Pat Conroy adds:
It is also important that Australian gas has to be available and affordable for all Australians. And that’s why we’ve launched a review into the mechanisms involved there. This follows our work on capping coal and gas prices.
Updated at 01.12 EDT
Chalmers calls O’Brien ‘last person on earth that I’ll be lectured about energy prices’ when asked about ‘extraordinary’ increase
Ted O’Brien comes to the dispatch box and asks the treasurer to “explain to the house why electricity prices have jumped an extraordinary 13% over the past 12 months”.
Jim Chalmers says: “The last person on earth that I’ll be lectured about energy prices is the member for Fairfax.” He then rails off about nuclear energy, or rather the “nuclear meltdown”, which he says would push prices up.
Dan Tehan comes up to make a point of order because Chalmers is not answering the question, and Milton Dick says Tehan doesn’t even need to make it.
I’ve got it. I’m sure … Resume your seat. The Treasurer wasn’t asked about alternative energy sources …
Chalmers stands back up and immediately goes back to attacking the Coalition, so Tehan comes back to the dispatch box, and Dick tells everyone to “take a big breath”. Chalmers continues (while we hear plenty of interjections from the opposition benches):
Electricity prices in July would have been 7.9% higher without the energy rebates we are rolling out with our state and territory colleagues.
The member for Fairfax can have as many nuclear meltdowns as he likes. The truth is we’re helping people with electricity bills. You’d prefer that we didn’t and that’s the difference.
Updated at 00.58 EDT
Nationals ask government about fuel tax credit scheme
We’re back to tax questions my friends, Nationals MP, Pat Conaghan, asks assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino if the government will rule out changes to the fuel tax credit scheme.
As you might be used to by now, Mulino takes the opportunity to do a compare and contrast to the Coalition on their tax policies. Mulino says that the government went to the election with the promise of lower taxes while the Coalition was promising higher taxes.
That doesn’t go down so well, and Dan Tehan stands up to make a point of order. Milton Dick says that Mulino was not asked about alternative policies – and to stick to the actual question.
We don’t get a much clearer answer, Mulino says:
Those opposite have reduced themselves, when it comes to tax, to this rule in, rule out game, I would say our tax policies have not changed. It’s to reduce taxes on taxpayers and that’s what I stick by.
Updated at 00.45 EDT
Coalition continues to grill Labor over why it didn’t act sooner on IRGC
The Coalition is going hard today on why the government didn’t act sooner to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.
Sussan Ley says the Senate references committee on foreign affairs, defence and trade recommended in 2023 that the government add the IRGC to the terrorist organisation list.
Albanese says the government acted “like adults” in taking this action.
On these issues, we take advice from the intelligence agencies, we go through our appropriate processes, including our national security committee.
Once again, Albanese drags Andrew Hastie’s comments into the Hansard. Hastie said when he was previously chair of the intelligence committee under the Coalition government, he was “keen” to list the IRGC.
Question time in the House of Representatives. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 00.42 EDT
Government doesn’t bite when questioned about four-day work week
To the crossbench, the Greens are asking when the government commit to a national four-day work week – with the same level of pay.
It’s a question that’s been asked a lot recently, and was pushed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) ahead of last week’s productivity summit.
And look, I personally wouldn’t complain …
The workplace minister, Amanda Rishworth, doesn’t really bite on the four-day work week (no surprises there, the government has already said there are no plans to do that).
She talks about penalty rates, enterprise bargaining laws that Labor passed, and flexibility at work.
When it comes to flexibility at work, our government put through laws in the last term that do allow workers to request flexibility at work. Whether that’s in the location of where they work or indeed how they might have a span of hours such as compacted work weeks. We believe that we need a strong safety net in this country.
The employment minister, Amanda Rishworth. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 00.35 EDT
PM lists measures government has taken to combat antisemitism as Coalition goes on attack
Continuing his answer, Albanese brings up Andrew Hastie’s comments again and then says he’d like an extension of time to go through all the things the government has done to combat antisemitism.
He mentions the antisemitism envoy, which he says wasn’t established by the Coalition government – which sparks an uproar from the opposition benches. Tim Wilson shouts that there’s been an “explosion” in antisemitism under this government.
As his time runs out, Alex Hawke, the manager of opposition business, says he’ll give the prime minister more time (as Albanese asked for) to list the governments actions on tackling antisemitism – Milton Dick tells him to calm down, because he’s jumping in ahead of procedure.
So Albanese continues his answer – he brings up measures including the establishment of a special envoy on antisemitism, the criminalisation of hate speech, the listing of terrorgram as a terror organisation, the appointment of the first national student ombudsman, funding for community safety – for Jewish schools and synagogues and funding for the Sydney Jewish Museum. He ends saying:
Mr Speaker, we on this side of the House, and I would hope across the parliament, understand that there are times when the nation should just come together. I would have thought that yesterday was one of those times and it was. It’s a pity it hasn’t lasted till today.
Anthony Albanese speaks during question time in the House of Representatives. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 00.27 EDT