Jacqui Lambie has blasted the Albanese government for not doing enough to help Aussies struggling with the cost of living.
The no-nonsense independent senator fired up after a member of the studio audience asked a question about inflation on ABC’s Q+A on Monday night.
She was on a five-member panel alongside NDIS minister Bill Shorten and shadow finance minister Senator Jane Hume.
Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and outgoing Australian Financial Review editor-in-chief Michael Stutchbury were also part of the discussion.
The first question was put to Mr Shorten by Canberra mum-of-three Megan, who asked whether the cost of living was squeezing the household budget.
She also asked whether government spending was stopping interest rates from falling.
The minister pushed back against the suggestion that an increase in government spending had made life difficult for households.
‘I don’t think it is. The net extra government expenditure from the government was $10billion, while that is a lot of money extra, it’s going in Medicare services, going in relief tax cuts,’ Mr Shorten began.
Bill Shorten’s comments about inflation and cost of living sparked a fiery response from Senator Jacqui Lambie on Q+A
‘So I think on balance, we’re trying to navigate a better situation’.
His comments sparked a fiery outburst from Senator Lambie, who said that spending money to help Aussies who are struggling to put food on the table would not increase inflation.
‘Frankly, when it is bread and milk and you can’t get a three litre milk or get bread under ten bucks any more, those people who are doing it tough, to give them a bit more money towards their bills,’ she said.
‘I do not believe that that is going to push things up. I seriously don’t.’
Senator Lambie said being able to afford necessities such as paying off an electricity bill were not ‘luxury items’.
She said it was ‘rubbish’ to suggest that more financial assistance to help put ‘more break and milk’ on the table would push up the prices of the essentials.
‘There’s too many poor people out there. To give them a little extra money is not the problem,’ she said.
Senator Hume claimed that Megan was ‘poorer’ because of inflation, interest rates, and higher taxes over the last two years.
She claimed the Albanese government has spent an additional $315million since Labor was elected into power two years ago.
‘That’s why it is taking so long to get inflation under control, but we must because that eats away at savings, and erodes purchasing power and reduces standard of living,’ she said.
Cost of living and inflation was a major talking point on Monday night’s episode of Q+A
Spending money to help Aussies who are struggling to put food on the table would not increase inflation, according to Senator Jacqui Lambie
Professor Stiglitz agreed with Senator Lambie and said increased government spending created supply chain shortages.
Aussies have been hit by 13 consecutive interest rate rises since May 2022.
The Reserve Bank has opted to keep rates on hold at 4.35 per cent for the seventh consecutive time at their most recent monetary policy meeting last Wednesday.
Inflation rose to a massive 7.8 per cent in December 2022 but the current consume price index (CPI) is sitting at a rate of 3.8 per cent.
The Reserve Bank updated its forecasts this week to have headline inflation remaining high at 3.7 per cent by December 2025.
The CPI isn’t expected to fall within the RBA’s 2 to 3 per cent target band until December 2026.
Senator Hume also chimed in and said Megan was ‘poorer’ because of inflation, interest rates, and higher taxes over the last two years.
Ms Hume claimed the government has spent an additional $315million since they came into officer.
That’s why it is taking so long to get inflation under control, but we must because that eats away at savings, and erodes purchasing power and reduces standard of living,’ she said.
Professor Stiglitz agreed with Senator Lambie and said increased government spending created supply chain shortages.
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