Prime Minister, thanks for joining the program.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good to be with you, Sabra.
LANE: When the Budget shows huge deficits for the next decade, how can Australia afford $17 billion in tax cuts?
PRIME MINISTER: What this does is build on the tax cuts that we've delivered just this year. For average Australians some $2500 with this top up of the tax cuts, but we've also provided other cost of living relief. The energy bill relief has been extended with an additional $150. And we'll continue to do what we can to take pressure off family budgets. That's what this budget was about while setting Australia up for the future.
LANE: This individual measure works out to be about $5.14 a week in the first year from July next year. You'd struggled to buy a cup of coffee for that in many parts of Australia.
PRIME MINISTER: It's a top up with around about $50 a week or $2500 a year once all of our tax cuts are put fully in place. We changed the legislation, as you're aware, Sabra, to make sure that every Australian got a tax cut. And what we wanted to make sure was that every Australian got a tax cut, but did so in a way that was responsible.
LANE: How confident are you that these measures will assuage people's resentment that their living standards have gone backwards?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we've seen is wages increasing, inflation decreasing, the interest rates have started to fall. They are the reverse of what we inherited when we came into government in 2022, when inflation had a six in front of it, wages had gone backwards five quarters in a row, and interest rates had begun to rise. In addition to that, of course, we've done this while having 1.1 million jobs created on our watch.
LANE: And to the nub of that question, there are some people who are feeling a little bit cranky with you and the government that their living standards have gone backwards. Do you think that this is going to be enough to assuage that anger?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, Australians have gone through a difficult time over the last five years, that's a fact. What we've done, as a fact, is to introduce cost of living relief ever since we came to office. But our responsible economic management has turned around the economy and turned the direction in which it was going. So we are turning the corner. Australians now are getting real wage increases five quarters in a row. Interest rates have begun to fall, inflation has declined to the lower half of the Reserve Bank band at 2.4, and we've whilst having low unemployment. These measures are all important. So, whether it's our Cheaper Child Care, our Free TAFE, our tax cut, these have all been directed towards not just understanding that Australians are under financial pressure, but doing something about it. And Peter Dutton has opposed every single one of these measures.
LANE: The Treasurer says energy prices have gone down 25 per cent last year. If it wasn't for the billions in rebates, they'd have gone up and exposed your promise about being $275 cheaper this year. What lessons have you learnt from offering something that you can't deliver?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, what we've done is to address the issue of energy. We did that with three interventions. We intervened -
LANE: Sorry, to the point of that question, Prime Minister. It was a promise that you delivered prior to the last election. Have you learnt anything from that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we intervened in the market. One of the things that we did before the last election was of course, to say that renewables were the cheapest form of new energy and they are. Before the last election Angus Taylor introduced a special provision in the Parliament to hide the fact that there was a 20 per cent increase in energy prices due just after the election.
LANE: Australia is spending $50 billion more in government services than we're receiving in tax. There are deficits for the foreseeable future. The nation will hit a trillion dollars in net debt next year. Australia is spending beyond its means. What happens if there is enough economic shock? There's nothing in reserve.
PRIME MINISTER: What we've done is through our responsible economic management, turn a liberal deficit that we inherited, a $78 billion deficit in the first year, into a $22 billion surplus. And we've continued to provide fiscal policy that was responsible. We have forecast, the deficit this year is half of what was forecast at the last election. And combined we have improved the budget bottom line by $207 billion in the year ahead.
LANE: There is nothing in reserve, which is the point of that question. And an economic shock could come next Wednesday. The US Administration's new reciprocal tariffs on other countries may be including Australia. Will Australia stand up to bullying or let it slide?
PRIME MINISTER: What we'll always do is stand up for Australia's national interest - that is what we will do. That's what we've done in advocating for Australia's national interest. But we're also doing this, we've got our Future Made in Australia agenda. We're making sure as well that we set Australia up by not being reliant on any one country by diversifying our trade relationships and by improving those relationships in our region and around the world.
LANE: So you'd let it slide? You wouldn't call out bullying?
PRIME MINISTER: What we'll do is stand up for Australia's national interest and we'll call out any decision that is not in Australia's interest. And the decision on aluminium and steel was not in Australia's interest and it wasn't in the interest of the United States either. Because what it will do is to increase the costs for American consumers at the end of the day who are buying Australian steel and Australian aluminium.
LANE: Are you tempted to cause some disruption of your own and head to the Governor-General maybe after question time tomorrow?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I note that during the last week of sitting in 2022, the then Prime Minister Morrison had President Zelenskyy address the Parliament just before the Budget in Reply. It's up to him to explain why that was the timing that occurred. Look, we are an orderly government and we have engaged constructively and will continue to do so. What we see here though, is that a Coalition that opposed our tax cuts last year, said we should call an election on it. Now we know with their policy of $600 billion for nuclear energy, they'll need to cut everything and they will cut everything except for your taxes.
LANE: Prime Minister, thank you for joining us this morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Sabra.
