Angus Taylor will address the National Press Club for his post-budget address, one week after Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down his second budget.
Look back on our blog to see how Wednesday's events unfolded.
Key events
Live updates
We'll wrap things up here
By Jessica Riga
Thanks for joining us today!
You can look back on Wednesday's developments below, or download the ABC News app and subscribe to our range of news alerts for the latest news.
Last question is about RBA Governor Philip Lowe
By Jessica Riga
Phil Coorey "won the raffle" so he gets to ask a second, and final, question to the Shadow Treasurer.
Q: September this year is when Dr Philip Lowe's tenure as RBA Governor ends. And the government consulted you extensively — well, consulted you on the RBA Review, and they usually run it past the Opposition when they appoint a new governor. Who would you like to see take the job?
Angus Taylor: They consult. They do not necessarily ask for advice. I have appreciated the collaborative and bipartisan approach to the review. I think it has been important.
The RBA, while it has is made errors in the recent past people have paid a high price for those errors, a high price, I also think it is an incredibly important institution in our country. It did help to slay those inflation are demons of the 1970s and '80s I talked about earlier.
The worst thing we could do now is undermine it. That is why I am always so cautious about criticising decisions. They are decisions by an independent Reserve Bank, and we have the very best people available to be making those decisions on the Reserve Bank Board any monetary policy board if we get to that.
I will not make any commentary on should be in my position, but I will say we want the very best.
'Every budget has to deal with the context it has'
By Jessica Riga
We're nearing the end of today's address, so here are some overall thoughts from Shadow Treasuer Angus Taylor before he takes his final questions.
"Look, the reality is every budget has to deal with the context it has. And the context of that was coming out of the pandemic," he says.
"We, as I said, had a remarkable V-shaped recovery. I don't think anyone could have anticipated how strong it was gonna be. The budget was in surplus from November 2021 through to the election, Tom. I mean, that's where it was at.
"This budget, and the last Budget in October, has been about fighting those inflationary demons, and it's failed."
Taylor pressed on migration stance
By Jessica Riga
Next question comes from Nabil Al Nashar from ABC News (hey!).
Q: You've really drawn a hard line in the sand here on the migration figure, the 1.5 million. Even though the facts show it's a rebound from an equally historic dip during the pandemic. Now, considering the fact that, in the last year, your party has lost government, lost its last foothold in the mainland, lost the Aston by-election, and considering the fact that half of modern-day Australians are either immigrants or born to immigrants, are you the least bit worried that this kind of rhetoric on migration is tone-deaf or could further alienate voters from the Liberal Party?
Angus Taylor: It's very important you don't verbal any of us on migration, because what we are against is unmanaged migration. And this is the point.
I am saying our problem is with unmanaged migration. And if you don't have those complementary initiatives, it won't work. It will fail. And that is where this Government is heading, head-on.
We're circling back to that 'Canberra, not Kremlin' comment
By Jessica Riga
The next question comes from Catie McLeod from NCA Newswires.
Q: You said inflation is coming from Canberra now, not the Kremlin. But around the time that the Coalition government you were a part of handed down its last budget, former prime minister Scott Morrison blamed inflation on factors outside of the government's control, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine. I would like to ask you what's changed between then and now? Why was inflation something that was outside of the Coalition's control but is now, as you say, able to be controlled by Labor, especially given the war in Ukraine is still going?
Angus Taylor: Well, the key to answering that question is that we're not in government, Labor is now. So, it's within their control and it's not within ours. But I've laid out what I think is an agenda that will address it. And that's our strong focus.
The job of government right now is to take responsibility and make the situation better. And what's very clear is the Budget didn't do that.
Shadow Treasurer pressed on housing policy
By Jessica Riga
Our next question comes from Ben Westcott from Bloomberg, who echoes a previous query from the press.
Q: I want to take you back to Rachel's question, which, with great respect, you didn't answer. The supply side of the Coalition's policy. So Labor has its Housing Future Fund before Parliament but you don't support that. You could put more spending into the Budget to solve this but that would be inflationary. And the Greens have some ideas as well involving tax changes, but I suspect you probably wouldn't support those. What can the Coalition suggest to help solve the housing crisis?
Angus Taylor: Can I make the point that that entire analysis that you've just given us says the private sector has nothing to do with this and that their investment is not the main source of new housing. I mean, the idea that if you want new housing, the government has gotta build it, could only come from the Labor Party. It could only come from the Labor Party. I mean, what a ridiculous notion. ... I mean, that's, honestly, it's preposterous.
'I can't reject it strongly enough': Taylor asked about neo-Nazism at anti-immigration rally
By Jessica Riga
Next question comes from Anna Henderson from SBS.
Q: A group of Neo-Nazis congregated in Melbourne on the weekend for an anti-immigration rally at the same time as your Opposition was prosecuting an argument with concerns about migration. So, what do you say to those in migrant communities who point to the rhetoric of the Opposition as emboldening fascism and also making them feel more fearful of being attacked in Australia's streets?
Angus Taylor: Neo-Nazism, I can't reject it strongly enough, and I think Peter Dutton has been very clear about that. And any association of our agenda with that, I think, is just wrong. And, uh, I won't be drawn on it because it's rot. I mean, of course, of course not. Look, we want the right thing for all Australians.
Q: I guess the question is, did he take into consideration, as you were formulating your response to the Budget, that there could be unintended consequences of focusing on migration?
Angus Taylor: We don't take responsibility for the behaviour of nutters in Melbourne. I mean, if they're gonna go and do that sort of stuff, we can't take responsibility for their heinous behaviour and we certainly don't condone it. But we will argue the case for what's right for Australia every day of the week, and, of course, that's what we're doing here.
Shadow Treasurer asked about JobSeeker
By Jessica Riga
Next question comes from Paul Karp from The Guardian.
Q: The government has criticised inconsistent costings of your JobSeeker policy to raise the income-free threshold, varying from $700 million to $2.3 billion, and said that the policy would mean 50,000 people currently in work would be eligible for the payment. Could I please ask, what does that policy cost? And is that 50,000 people an unintended bug or an intended feature of the policy?
Angus Taylor: Well, Paul, can I start by saying, if it is true that the government is using departmental resources to attack the Opposition, rather than to attack inflation, they should be up-front about that. I think that's very disappointing for everybody, that they would use departmental resources in that way, if they have.
And I think that's a very real question to ask. Now, we know that this is a policy that has the potential to get more people into work, despite what some in the Opposition have tried to claim. I mean, it's very simple, at the end of the day. If you give people a stronger incentive to work, what do you think they're likely to want to do? They're gonna want to work more.
Now, we expect we will work through our costings now that we've got the full parameters of the Budget, we didn't have that until last week. We'll work through that over the coming weeks. But we can fully expect that the costs of our policy will be substantially lower than Labor's.
Do workers end up poorer under the Coalition?
By Jessica Riga
Now we're hearing from Fiona Willan from Nine.
Q: New figures show annual wage growth has reached its highest point since 2012. Labor was in charge then too. The Coalition has said a lot about the working poor. Do workers end up poorer under the Coalition?
Angus Taylor: The key is real wages growth — that's what we want to see, Fi. And the way to get that is lower inflation. Now, the truth is that we've seen a dramatic increase in inflation in the last 12 months and a very dramatic — this is the key — a very dramatic reduction in real wages. I mean, sharp reduction. And so there's one game in town here right now. There is one game in town here — to get people's prosperity up, to help them with their standard of living at a time when they feel worse off. And that is to take pressure off prices. We want to see higher real wages, I can tell you. I think it's hugely important to everybody in this room, I'm sure everyone grows. So, that's the key.
Q: Do you give Labor credit for that wages growth?
Angus Taylor: Well, they're getting no real wages growth at the moment. They've actually been going backwards. My opening question was, 'Do you feel better or worse off than a year ago?' And I think the answer for most Australians is very clear.
Where does the Coalition sit on wage rises?
By Jessica Riga
Next question comes from Patrick Commins from The Australian who asks about better pay.
Q: Today, the Fair Work Commission is holding hearings into the minimum wage decision and unions are pushing for 7% minimum wage increase. Employers are more like 3.5%-4%. Where does the Coalition, or where do you sit in the spectrum of kind of wage rises? Where do you think the ultimate wage rise decision…?
Angus Taylor: Pat, what we ultimately want is what I think all Australians want, which is higher real wages for all Australians. That's why I was talking about productivity, because that's one of the ways you can achieve it. If you can make it easier for someone to do their job, then the employer can pay them all. It's a pretty simple formula. It's worked for the world for several hundred years in incredibly effective way.
Let's chat productivity
By Jessica Riga
Our next question comes from PoppyJohnston from AAP, who asks: "You've pointed out that the government has done little to act on productivity reforms so far. But the Coalition's record on productivity has also fallen short. Were you in the Treasurer's position, what concrete measure would be your priority to boost productivity?"
"Number one is getting energy policy right," Angus Taylor says.
"I think the Productivity Commission's review was a very good piece of work. Labor has absolutely buried it.
"I think there needs to be a sensible debate about what was in that proposal, and a large range of sensible recommendations."
A question on PRRT
By Jessica Riga
The next question comes from Phil Coorey from the Australia Financial Review.
He mentions the petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) and asks if the Shadow Treasurer is flagging if he's going to oppose it.
"Well, I don't want to get ahead of our processes, Phil," Taylor says, before providing his thoughts.
"If you want more of something, you don't tax it more. It's pretty simple. It's pretty basic economics. But that's what Labor has chosen to do here, and it's disappointing that that's their approach more generally."
Let's go back to the topic of migration
By Jessica Riga
Another question comes from Jen Bechwati from 7, who asks: "If 1.5 million is too many, what's the right number?"
Angus Taylor doesn't provide a specific figure, saying "the right number depends on those complementary initiatives."
"You can't have that kind of immigration number without supporting policies on infrastructure, on housing, on other services."
'We're not handing down the alternative budget,' Taylor says
By Jessica Riga
Our first question comes from Tom Connell from Sky News, who is also the moderator of today's address.
Q: You said it's within reach to deliver ongoing budget balances, and that's the test for Labor. In terms of the Coalition delivering on that, so you've got a tax-to-GDP limit of 23.9%. If we go to the year 2026-27, the first year you'd be able to deliver a Budget, to stick to that tax limit and have a Budget balance, you'd have to bring spending down in the order of $65 billion. Is that the fat you could trim — 65 billion in that year?
Angus Taylor: Let's be clear. What you have to do to get back to Budget balance, Tom, and this is the crucial point, is to make sure your economy is growing faster than your spending. And as long as you can follow that formula, you can get yourself back to Budget balance. That's the key. And that has been absolutely central to our approach when we're in government, between 2013 and 2019 we did exactly that. We did exactly that. It was hard work. It was hard work. But we did exactly that. And that would be our focus. Now, there are areas…
Q: So, would it be longer-term cuts, not in one year, is that what you're indicating?
Angus Taylor: We're not handing down the alternative Budget. I wish we were handing down a Budget. But we're not handing down an alternative Budget. What we are, though, is laying out the pathway and the principles that we would apply if we were in government, and win, as we hope we do get back into government. That's the approach we're taking here.
Question time!
By Jessica Riga
That's it for Angus Taylor's National Press Club address.
He's now taking questions from the press, so stick with us as we bring you his answers.
Taylor slams government for 'cutting infrastracture spending'
By Jessica Riga
The Shadow Treasurer has turned his focus to overseas mirgration and the housing crisis.
"Over five years, net overseas migration will see our population increase by over 1.5 million people.
"It's the biggest migration surge in our country's history and it's occurring amidst a housing and rental crisis.
"Migration is an enormous part of our history and it's been critical to our economic success, our culture, our lifestyles, and who we are.
" So, whilst migration will continue to serve us well into the future, it only works if you have a complementary plan around the infrastructure, the housing, and the services that are required.
"Instead, the government is cutting infrastructure spending in real terms, and reallocating it to their pet projects."
'You can't tax your way into economic prosperity', Shadow Treasurer says
By Jessica Riga
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor continues, saying Labor are pursuing the "wrong strategy."
"The path to fiscal consolidation is not to tax Australians more.
"Labor's fiscal strategy sets no cap on tax growth and contains no commitment to private sector-led growth. This is the wrong strategy.
"Higher taxes stifle investment, innovation, and aspiration.
"Simply put, you cannot tax your way into economic prosperity, just as you can't spend your way out of high inflation.
"Australians struggling with the cost of living will see taxes rise on top of ever-increasing prices, but, worse, some of these taxes are bound to be passed right on to consumers' bills."
The Shadow Treasurer then references the "truckies tax," where the heavy vehicle road user charge is being raised by 6 per cent a year for the next three years.
Shadow Treasurer reiterates Dutton, saying NDIS is 'above politics'
By Jessica Riga
"Peter [Dutton] has clearly laid out that there are differences in the approach we would take, [but] there are also places where we can find common ground with the government," Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor explains.
"We have again reiterated our support for ensuring that the NDIS is sustainable.
"As we did with the RBA review, I very well think this is something we're prepared to work with the government on, in a collaborative way.
"The NDIS is too important. Securing its future should be above all politics."
Inflation is coming 'from Canberra, not the Kremlin,' Taylor says
By Jessica Riga
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor is arguing "inflation will be stronger for longer if governments deny the problem and adopt the wrong solutions."
"Australians are making, as I said, hard choices every day, yet they are not seeing a government with the willingness to do the same.
"Inflation now is coming from Canberra, not the Kremlin, and it's Canberra's problem to solve.
"And while many argue that the principles that have driven Coalition economic policy have become less relevant in the recent past, the values that drive us give us the right tool kit for the time."
Taylor says 80 per cent of Lifeline calls relate to cost of living crisis
By Jessica Riga
The Shadow Treasurer continues, illustrating the impact of rising inflation by using multiple examples of working couples facing "difficult decisions."
"The choices are stark. Do they pull their children out of sport or cancel the family holiday? Does Dad take on a second job or weekend work? Or does Mum go back to full-time work while the kids are still babies?" Taylor argues.
"Lifeline reports that 80 per cent of its calls now relate to cost of living.
"Deloitte Access Economics estimates that approximately 300,000 Australians are living in negative cash flow.
"High inflation means that hardworking Australians who want to get ahead are only going backwards."
