Transcript - Interview with Kieran Gilbert, NewsDay, Sky News - 31 July 2024

MELISSA MCINTOSH MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR ENERGY AFFORABILITY
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WESTERN SYDNEY
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR LINDSAY

Wednesday, 31 July 2024

Subjects: CPI; inflation; RBA; interest rates; mortgages.

Live on NewsDay with Kieran Gilbert (Sky News)

Kieran Gilbert
Let's get some more reactions to the inflation number out today. Joining me is the Shadow Minister for Energy Affordability, Melissa McIntosh. Thanks for your time. I'm going to be joined by the Treasurer in a moment, too. I wanted to get your thoughts, though, on this number. What's your initial reaction to it? Is it welcome that the underlying inflation number is down a bit in this recent period?

Melissa McIntosh
Thanks very much, Kieran. I'm standing on the streets of Penrith, and I can tell you there's no one celebrating here today, even though Jim Chalmers thinks Australians have never had it better because inflation has gone up. We're all going to be waiting over the next week to see if the RBA does lift those interest rates. And in western Sydney, particularly in my patch, we have a lot of families who are on those high mortgages, and if you've got a $600,000 mortgage, you're already paying almost $1,500 more. And if rates go up, you'll be paying extra $100 more. We know people across Australia just can't take it. Your reporter was out in Parramatta and people were expressing their stress. People that are lining up at food banks, people that are saying they're not going out, and people who are deciding whether to turn on the heating in these cold winter days. I certainly don't believe that anyone is thanking the government right now for their policies that are keeping inflation high.

Kieran Gilbert
Inflation has plateaued this year around that 4% mark. Do you think the RBA will still rise, lift rates next week?

Melissa McIntosh
I think there's still a lot of uncertainty as to what the RBA is going to do and enough uncertainty to make Australians quite stressed about it. And as I said, people are paying so much more. They're paying high mortgages, they're paying high rents. Building approvals are actually down about 80,000 homes less than what the government promised because it is so expensive to build homes and people are paying $1,000 more on their energy bills than what Labor promised us at the last election when they said we would be paying $275 less. So, if the RBA does lift its interest rates next week, I really think it's going to cause a lot of stress for many Australians.

Kieran Gilbert
So what would your message be to the Treasurer then, given where things are at? We know the tax cuts are flowing at the moment, so that support is going out there. But as some economists we've been speaking to suggest, that could be inflationary in themselves.

Melissa McIntosh
Yeah, that's right. We won't know that just yet, but a message to the Treasurer is: come out to places like Penrith and try telling people that they have never had it better under your policies. I don't think he'll get too great a reception from people in Western Sydney who are really struggling. We've never seen more people living on the street, right here on the high street of Penrith, living homeless as they are right now. It's really a tough week for people. We're going to be on tenor hooks, and I'd like to see the Treasurer's response if the RBA does decide to lift rates.

Kieran Gilbert
Shadow Minister for Energy Affordability, Melissa McIntosh, joining us from Penrith in the seat of Lindsay, near the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Thank you very much.