Interview with Greg Jennett, ABC Afternoon Briefing

1 February 2024

GREG JENNETT: Jane Hume, welcome back to the program now your cost of living inquiry's holding yet another leg of hearings in Brisbane today but you'd want to hurry up and report soon, wouldn't you? This cost of living crisis could be over within months if the current rate of inflation reduction continues.

JANE HUME: Well, in fact, Greg, the cost of living crisis has been going on now for a considerable period of time. This is the 14th hearing that we've had, into issues everything from the cost of housing through the cost of doing business, the cost of groceries, fuels, energy, and today we've been talking about the cost of education, which of course has gone up in just the last 12 months alone by around 5 per cent. And we heard some really harrowing stories about how parents are really struggling to get their kids back to school, whether it's the cost of stationery or devices, whether it's school lunches and school breakfast programs, or whether it's the cost of excursions and school camps. Sometimes this is just now out of reach for ordinary families and schools are bearing the burden of that, particularly those principals that have to hear from parents that are doing it tough and making some really difficult decisions.

GREG JENNETT: Yeah makes it a timely testimony, I guess coming at this time of year. But just on inflation and the broader economic settings, is most of the Reserve Bank's work now done? The market seems to think so. Most seem to think that there's no case for the Bank to go again with further rate hikes, quite the opposite. Do you join that consensus?

JANE HUME: Well, I know that Australian families out there that have seen rates rise a dozen times under this government will be waiting with bated breath for the Reserve Bank's decision. And quite frankly, like other countries, we could have seen a cut in interest rates earlier had the government been using its fiscal firepower and not simply relying on monetary policy to bring inflation back down. If you only use monetary policy to bring inflation back down and yet at the same time stimulate the economy, it's a little bit like having one foot on the brake and one foot on the accelerator. That means that inflation stays higher for longer and then of course, interest rates stay higher for longer.

GREG JENNETT: Alright, let's move on to stage three tax cuts because that will be preoccupying so many minds when you return here to Canberra next week. A decision is looming for the Coalition. Is your starting position that no Australian should get less than they were promised under the Coalition's legislated model of stage three?

JANE HUME: Greg, our starting position has always been that the Coalition will be in favor of lower and simpler taxes. The fact that the government in fact Anthony Albanese came out last week at the Press Club and said that all of his cost of living solutions had been ineffective suggests that this is a government without a plan. It was over 12 months ago. In fact, it was his New Year's resolution back in 2022-23 to get the cost of living crisis under control. He has failed to do so. And now he's using the one piece of firepower that he thinks he has left which is those stage three tax cuts, which were there after stage one and stage two to maintain the progressivity of our tax system but at the same time, return that tax, that pernicious bracket creep that has cost so many Australians so much. In fact real disposable incomes have fallen by around 8.6% in the last 18 months alone. For an average Australian family that's around $8,000 that they have lost from their real disposable income because of inflation, because of interest rates and because of bracket creep. For those families they will find that this is a very disappointing announcement.

GREG JENNETT: Alright. But just to take you back to the question. This idea that no Australian should get less than they were promised originally by the Coalition is actually the position of your deputy leader Sussan Ley. She told us that earlier this week. As finance spokeswoman for the Coalition, is that where you're at?

JANE HUME: Well, certainly we would like to see lower and simpler taxes always. And the fact that this broken promise, the mother of all broken promises from this government after committing to proceed with stage three tax cuts as planned over 100 times since the election just proves that the government were elected on a lie, and indeed they have run out of ideas. Katy Gallagher today when pressed about whether the government would change negative gearing said "this is not my government". Quite frankly, I think that if this is the only solution that the government has to a cost of living crisis, well, let's face it, the Australian public have been sold a pup. Not only sold a pup, but a reform free government that will essentially try and punish Australians who have been the subject of that pernicious tax bracket creep for so long. They were relying on the return of their own money, their own money, as part of the stage three tax cuts. This government has gone back on its deal with the Australian public. Their integrity is shot. Why would anyone believe them on whether it be negative gearing, whether it be on capital gains, whether it be on taxing the family home. They've lost their integrity, and they've lost their ability to maintain trust with the Australian public.

GREG JENNETT: Speaking of those who have lost the most between the Coalition's legislative version and the soon to be a legislated Labor version of stage three. Have you, using the limited resources of opposition, been able to scope out the potential cost of restoring what had been promised at the upper end? We're talking here primarily about people earning over $190,000 now.

JANE HUME: Greg, we haven't even been able to see the legislation yet that would put in place the government's backflip on stage three tax cuts. Without the legislation there is no way that the Coalition will come down with a decision of which way it will go. Because let's remember that the last lie they told, which was no changes to superannuation and then they introduced superannuation legislation that would increase taxes, potentially on millions of Australians in the future. When they introduced that it was full of booby traps. It was full of landmines. I don't trust this government not to put more booby traps, more landmines into this tax legislation. And quite frankly, with their track record, Australians can't trust them to do that either.

GREG JENNETT: Alright, let's see what your party deliberations come up with next week. Well, the last one which crosses over into the finance portfolio, Jane Hume, political donations for 2022-23 were posted out by the Electoral Commission today now for that last financial year. The Big Four consultancies generously donated a total of around a million dollars to both Labor and the Coalition parties. Now some of them have said they will cease that practice. Will the Liberal Party and is the Liberal Party happy to continue to accept donations from those firms?

JANE HUME: Well, donations are always between the donor and the organisation that accepts those donations and as long as they're donated within the framework within the transparency rules within the accountability laws, there is no problem with that.

GREG JENNETT: All right, for the work being done. Do you expect a reform under electoral law of donations, real time other transparency measures a deal to be cut with the government this year or soon?

JANE HUME: Well, I know that that seems to be an issue that has been raised numerous times. We're yet to see any proposals from the government and exactly what it is that they would want to do. Clearly looking at those donation disclosures today, to do so would be shooting themselves in the foot as well. But we will wait and see what isn't the government proposals before we make any decisions.

GREG JENNETT: A long year ahead. We'll keep an eye on electoral reform and so much else, maybe even stage three tax cuts next week. Jane Hume from Brisbane. Thanks for joining us to kick off this year with Afternoon Briefing.

JANE HUME: Good to be with you Greg.