Labor’s ‘budget of disappointment’ savaged

Shadow assistant treasurer Stuart Robert savaged the budget on Wednesday morning, accusing the government of going back on its election promises and leaving some Australians behind.

“It‘s a budget of disappointment sadly,” he told The Today Show.

“Before the election the prime minister said no one left behind. Now we hear 150,000 more Australians will be unemployed, $275 in terms of a reduction in electricity price has been junked.

“We now hear our prices are going up a staggering 57 per cent. Inflation is up longer and higher. I think it is a budget of disappointments.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers warned there would be “hard days to come” as he handed down his first budget on Tuesday.

By the end of the year, Treasury estimates retail electricity prices will increase by 20 per cent nationally.

In 2023-24, that figure will blow out to 30 per cent.

Retail gas prices are also estimated to increase by up to 20 per cent in both 2022-23 and 2023-2024.

The high energy costs will mean the December inflation peak of 7.75 per cent will last longer than originally expected.

Food prices will be a major driver of the price pinch, with costs forecast to contribute 1.5 percentage points to the inflation peak in December.

Asked if Australians hoping for a cost of living relief in the budget will be left disappointed, Mr Chalmers said it was important to do the “right thing by people and the right thing for the budget”.

The budget papers warned if inflation was to peak a percentage point higher than 7.75 per cent, Australians could be hit with a double whammy.

Households would be flogged with “second round” effects as business pass their own cost pressures onto consumers.

“Under this scenario, more persistent inflation is assumed to lead to a higher peak in interest rates than currently expected. Higher inflation and interest rates would lower real household disposable income,” the budget read.

Mr Robert said the government needed to do more to address the country’s cost of living crisis.

“This government has to address the issue of cost of living. There‘s nothing in this budget that resembles a plan for cost of living,” he said.

“Sure there are some of their election promises were just hobbled together in some incoherent narrative but this is not a plan for cost of living.

“The average Australian is facing upwards of $2000 extra costs by Christmas … it is disappointing.”