00:00We have an inflation challenge in our economy which is made worse by the war in the Middle East.
00:05We know that some of the costs and consequences of this conflict on the other side of the world
00:11are that Australians are paying more, particularly for fuel in that most recent inflation data,
00:19but those price pressures are expected to be felt more broadly across our economy as well.
00:25When it comes to petrol in the month of March, you can see that petrol was the primary driver
00:33of that higher inflation figure that we saw in March and that's why since then we've cut the fuel excise.
00:42Our petrol tax cut is all about recognising the substantial pressures that motorists are under
00:49because of this war in the Middle East and so we're acting in a responsible way and a temporary way
00:55to take some of the edge off those higher fuel prices that people would otherwise be confronting.
01:02And when it comes to the broader inflationary pressures in our economy,
01:05this is why our responsible budget is so important next week.
01:10The budget will be handed down one week from today and it will be a really responsible budget.
01:16We will save more than we spend.
01:18We will bank all of the upward revisions to revenue.
01:21And that's because we recognise that even though the budget is not the primary driver of prices in our economy
01:29or these interest rate decisions, we intend to play a helpful role, not a harmful role,
01:35in the fight against inflation.
01:37We know that there are inflationary pressures in our economy.
01:40We know that they are made worse by the war in the Middle East.
01:44We know that the end of that war and the recovery in the global economy is very uncertain,
01:49as the Reserve Bank has pointed out in their statement as well.
01:53Now, the Reserve Bank's statement, it's important to recognise, does not point to public spending
02:00as a factor in their decision to increase interest rates today.
02:05And I think that's really important.
02:07To those people who are pretending that the government's budget is the sole driver of prices
02:14in our economy or interest rate decisions, they weren't saying that last year when interest
02:19rates were cut three times.
02:20And so I think that's an important bit of perspective, as is the statement today, which does not reference
02:26public spending as a factor in the Reserve Bank's decision to lift interest rates today.
02:32As I said, the Budget will play a helpful role in the fight against inflation.
02:38We all want to see inflation come down in our economy.
02:43We know what's driving it in the near term, the war in the Middle East.
02:47We know that there are some broader inflationary pressures which popped up when the private sector
02:52recovered quicker than was anticipated in the second half of last year.
02:57We take these inflationary pressures really seriously.
03:00We know that Australians are under substantial pressure.
03:04We know that the war in the Middle East is making that harder.
03:07And that's why we will provide cost of living relief in the form of that fuel tax cut, which
03:12is rolling out right now and funded in the Budget.
03:16And it's also why the Budget will be responsible.
03:19And one example of the very responsible approach that we're taking to this Budget is the changes
03:25that Chris Bowen and I announced today when it comes to support for electric vehicles.
03:30Electric vehicles are a really important part of our efforts to get transport costs down
03:36for families and to get emissions down in our economy.
03:39We are big supporters of EVs.
03:42And we're very pleased to see the kind of take-up that we have seen when it comes to EVs
03:47in our
03:48local communities, particularly in outer suburbs like those that I represent, Chris Bowen represents.
03:55The take-up has been a very good development.
03:57This is all about making sure that we can continue to afford the still generous incentives that
04:06will be in the tax system for EVs.
04:09This change is all about certainty and sustainability.
04:14And it's a good example, I think, of some of the difficult decisions that we are taking
04:18to make sure that we continue to repair the Budget if we can and where we can in the context
04:26of these inflationary pressures which are turbocharged by what we're seeing on the other side of the world.
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