The cost of living crisis has become a major issue for Australians in recent years, with many struggling to make ends meet. Now, Angus Taylor has declared that rising inflation is no longer being caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but by the decision-making of the federal government in Canberra.
Speaking at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Mr Taylor took aim at what he called Labor’s “big spending approach”, blaming it for fuelling the cost of living crisis. He said that the government’s policies had resulted in higher taxes, higher energy costs, and higher petrol prices.
Mr Taylor asserted if Labor were to be in power, Australians would fork out more than $300bn in taxes over the following five years, which was only just over a week after Treasurer Jim Chalmers had revealed the newest federal budget.
Rather than attributing Australia’s ongoing inflation problem to unavoidable global factors such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which caused disruption in international supply chains and energy markets, Mr Taylor attempted to hold the Albanese government responsible.
“The priority for Australia should be to reduce inflation and create conditions for growth in the medium-term through lower taxes and productivity-enhancing policies, as inflation has shifted from being a problem originating in the Kremlin to one originating from Canberra,” he said.
In stark contrast to Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ usual depiction of global economic headwinds as having an unavoidable effect on Australia’s economic status and related government fiscal policy, these comments have been made.
Before the election, Scott Morrison, the former prime minister, stated that there was no “magic wand” to reduce the cost of living as inflation started to rise significantly in his final months in government, citing external factors such as the war in Ukraine as beyond his control.
On Wednesday, when asked how inflation had been outside of the Coalition’s control but now could apparently be controlled by Labor considering the ongoing conflict in eastern Europe, Mr Taylor seemed to give a conflicting answer.
“Since we are not in government and Labor is, the answer to that question lies within their control and not ours,” Mr Taylor said.
