On cost of living, the record matters more than the rhetoric
6 Mar 2026
Australians have faced real pressure. The question is who has the discipline to actually manage it — and on that, the records speak for themselves.
The opposition has spent a lot of time lately talking about a cost-of-living crisis. It's a line that gets repeated a lot. But every government gets judged not by the slogans it repeats — it gets judged by what it actually does when things get difficult.
And things have been difficult. Australians have faced real pressure — rising prices, tight household budgets, the sense that wages aren't keeping up. I'm not going to pretend otherwise. But those pressures didn't come from nowhere. They followed a global pandemic, broken supply chains, an energy price shock, and an inflation surge that hit every advanced economy on earth. Europe, North America, Asia — all of it at the same time.
So the real question isn't whether Australians have felt the pressure. They have. The question is who has the discipline and competence to actually manage it.
What Labor has delivered
Our approach has been straightforward: stabilise the economy first, deliver targeted relief second. That meant repairing the budget rather than making promises we couldn't keep. It meant providing relief that actually helped households without pouring fuel on inflation.
It's working. Inflation is lower now than when we came to office. Wages are growing. Employment is at historically strong levels. None of that happened by accident.
We've also put money back in people's pockets in practical ways — tax cuts for every taxpayer, cheaper medicines, reduced student debt through indexation reform, $10,000 bonuses for apprentices in the construction trades we desperately need, and paid practical placements for nursing and teaching students.
What the opposition did
When the Liberals were in government, real wages went backwards for years. They never once put in a claim to increase wages for Australia's lowest paid workers. Productivity slowed. The budget deteriorated despite repeated promises of fiscal discipline. And when crisis hit, the response was often chaotic.
Managing a difficult economy isn't about rhetoric. It's about making hard calls, staying steady, and keeping an eye on what actually matters long term — not what's going to land as a good line in a press conference.
What actually drives living standards
Living standards aren't just about what's happening to prices this week. They're built on wages growth over time, secure and stable employment, and sustained investment in skills, infrastructure and productivity. That's what creates an economy where people can actually get ahead.
That's what we're focused on.
And that's the difference between a government with a plan and an opposition with a slogan.