Chalmers said those were \u201cvolatile and one-off factors\u201d and this was the eighth month in a row that the headline and underlying inflation rates were below 3%.<\/p>\n
We know monthly inflation figures can jump around and are less reliable than the quarterly figures because they don\u2019t compare the same basket of goods and services from month to month.<\/p>\n
The official quarterly numbers show that both underlying and headline inflation are at their lowest rates in almost four years.<\/p>\n
Updated at\u00a023.39 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Tl;dr \u2014 here\u2019s what happened in question time<\/p>\n The opposition pressed the government on why they didn\u2019t act sooner<\/a> on listing Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror organisation.<\/p>\n The government accused the opposition of abandoning bipartisanship on Iran<\/a>. They also tried to throw Andrew Hastie\u2019s comments of pushing for the listing under the previous Coalition government back at the opposition.<\/p>\n The Coalition then pivoted to playing the rule in, rule out game<\/a> (similar to yesterday\u2019s 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\u2019t keen to play ball).<\/p>\n Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown asked whether the government would commit to a four-day work week<\/a>. The government wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.42 EDT<\/p>\n Question time ends<\/p>\n The prime minister takes a final dixer on what the government is doing on the cost of living, and that\u2019s it for question time for today.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.23 EDT<\/p>\n Scamps queries diabetes inquiry response<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Mark Butler says the government will respond \u201cin due course\u201d, 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.22 EDT<\/p>\n Nationals question if farmers will be taxed more to fund biosecurity<\/p>\n 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\u2019s biosecurity.<\/p>\n She says the government previously tried to pose a biosecurity protection levy which she says, \u201cwould have forced Australian farmers to pay for the biosecurity risks of their foreign competitors\u201d.<\/p>\n Mulino seems to tire a bit of the rule in\/rule out game, and his answer is even shorter than the question:<\/p>\n What I can rule in is that the government\u2019s tax policies, I can rule in tax cuts for all Australian taxpayers\u2026 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.17 EDT<\/p>\n Education minister says universities have legal obligation to students even if courses are cancelled<\/p>\n Nicolette Boele gets the next crossbench question and asks the education minister about the cuts to university staff and degrees.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve [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.<\/p>\n He also calls on universities to properly consult with their students and staff when they\u2019re making these significant decisions.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.15 EDT<\/p>\n Opposition continue questions on taxing the family home<\/p>\n The rule in rule out game continues, with the shadow skills minister, Scott Buchholz, asking:<\/p>\n Can the assistant treasurer rule out any changes to the tax treatment or the family home?<\/p>\n The answer is brief to say the least, and Daniel Mulino starts by saying, \u201cthe definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome\u201d.<\/p>\n He says the government has outlined its tax policies which he says are \u201cvery clear\u201d. He won\u2019t bite on the rule in or the rule out.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.14 EDT<\/p>\n Katter says PM should \u2018enhance your Christianity and patriotism\u2019 in question about gas reserve policy<\/p>\n It\u2019s time for the father of the house, Kennedy MP\u00a0Bob Katter,\u00a0who 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 \u201cenhance your Christianity and patriotism\u201d.<\/p>\n Albanese thanks Katter for his \u201cusual eloquence\u201d in asking the question.<\/p>\n He doesn\u2019t commit to a reserve (something the Coalition<\/a> had pledged during the last election campaign), but says the future made in Australia policy is to support critical mineral mining in Australia.<\/p>\n Minister Pat Conroy adds:<\/p>\n It is also important that Australian gas has to be available and affordable for all Australians. And that\u2019s why we\u2019ve launched a review into the mechanisms involved there. This follows our work on capping coal and gas prices.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.12 EDT<\/p>\n Chalmers calls O\u2019Brien \u2018last person on earth that I\u2019ll be lectured about energy prices\u2019 when asked about \u2018extraordinary\u2019 increase<\/p>\n Ted O\u2019Brien comes to the dispatch box and asks the treasurer to \u201cexplain to the house why electricity prices have jumped an extraordinary 13% over the past 12 months\u201d.<\/p>\n Jim Chalmers says: \u201cThe last person on earth that I\u2019ll be lectured about energy prices is the member for Fairfax.\u201d He then rails off about nuclear energy, or rather the \u201cnuclear meltdown\u201d, which he says would push prices up.<\/p>\n Dan Tehan comes up to make a point of order because Chalmers is not answering the question, and Milton Dick says Tehan doesn\u2019t even need to make it.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve got it. I\u2019m sure \u2026 Resume your seat. The Treasurer wasn\u2019t asked about alternative energy sources \u2026<\/p>\n Chalmers stands back up and immediately goes back to attacking the Coalition<\/a>, so Tehan comes back to the dispatch box, and Dick tells everyone to \u201ctake a big breath\u201d. Chalmers continues (while we hear plenty of interjections from the opposition benches):<\/p>\n Electricity prices in July would have been 7.9% higher without the energy rebates we are rolling out with our state and territory colleagues.<\/p>\n The member for Fairfax can have as many nuclear meltdowns as he likes. The truth is we\u2019re helping people with electricity bills. You\u2019d prefer that we didn\u2019t and that\u2019s the difference.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.58 EDT<\/p>\n Nationals ask government about fuel tax credit scheme<\/p>\n We\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n As you might be used to by now, Mulino takes the opportunity to do a compare and contrast to the Coalition<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t 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 \u2013 and to stick to the actual question.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t get a much clearer answer, Mulino says:<\/p>\n 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\u2019s to reduce taxes on taxpayers and that\u2019s what I stick by.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.45 EDT<\/p>\n Coalition continues to grill Labor over why it didn\u2019t act sooner on IRGC<\/p>\n The Coalition is going hard today on why the government didn\u2019t act sooner to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Albanese says the government acted \u201clike adults\u201d in taking this action.<\/p>\n On these issues, we take advice from the intelligence agencies, we go through our appropriate processes, including our national security committee.<\/p>\n Once again, Albanese drags Andrew Hastie\u2019s comments into the Hansard. Hastie said when he was previously chair of the intelligence committee under the Coalition government, he was \u201ckeen\u201d to list<\/a> the IRGC.<\/p>\n Question time in the House of Representatives. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.42 EDT<\/p>\n Government doesn\u2019t bite when questioned about four-day work week<\/p>\n To the crossbench, the Greens are asking when the government commit to a national four-day work week \u2013 with the same level of pay.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a question that\u2019s been asked a lot recently, and was pushed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) ahead of last week\u2019s productivity summit.<\/p>\n And look, I personally wouldn\u2019t complain \u2026<\/p>\n The workplace minister, Amanda Rishworth, doesn\u2019t really bite on the four-day work week (no surprises there, the government has already said there are no plans to do that).<\/p>\n She talks about penalty rates, enterprise bargaining laws that Labor passed, and flexibility at work.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n The employment minister, Amanda Rishworth. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.35 EDT<\/p>\n![\"Treasurer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1756273392_170_6737.jpg\")
Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n