Wednesday, 4 February 2026

 Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:26): (1203) My question today is to the Treasurer. We have just seen the RBA raise the cash rate, which is flowing on to interest rate rises for mortgage holders and likely rent increases for many renters. Raising the cash rate is a blunt tool. It squeezes people and forces them to spend less, and I say that noting that there are other interventions that can be used to keep inflation under control that do not target those already having a hard time – the hardest. Treasurer, in your assessment, what is the state’s role in tackling rising inflation?

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:27): I thank Mr Puglielli for his question. Indeed it has certainly been occupying my thinking time in the lead-up to what was anticipated, unfortunately, and came true yesterday. I know all too well that this is one of the biggest impacts on household budgets, and I know families are recalibrating their household budgets as a result.

In relation to the state government levers, there are a number of things that we can do, and in particular it is why we are a government that is so committed to supporting cost-of-living relief, whether it is through free public transport for young people or eligible Victorians on power saving bonuses. The way I look at it is cost-of-living relief is one avenue. There are supply-side fixes, so investing in renewable energies and keeping bills down and the like, and housing and rent – increasing the supply of affordable housing and regulating the rental market to cushion some of the areas that you indicated and very much building more houses. The housing minister is giving me a prompt. Building more houses and increasing supply has a softening effect on inflation.

The economic measures that we should take, and this is something that you will hear me talking about very regularly, are about financial, fiscal management – responsible management. A five-step plan is particularly important. Particularly, growing the economy and reducing the state debt as a proportion of the economy has benefits for Victoria’s inflation pressures as well. The other lever is addressing labour shortages, so reducing wage-driven inflation pressures – investing in those areas where there are job shortages and staff shortages and making sure we are doing that. I would point to the fact that in Victoria we have around a 3.1 per cent inflation rate, as opposed to Queensland, where it is 5.8. The sweet spot is between two and three, so we have got work to do, but we are in a better position than some others.

 Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:29): Treasurer, will government policies going into the upcoming state election increase inflation further?

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:29): Without pre-empting some budget announcements, without pre-empting election commitments, we are a government that is focused on supporting Victorian families. Cost of living is the number one issue, and you can be assured that that will be a priority of ours. We will invest in frontline services to take the pressure off certain families, as opposed to perhaps the alternative, which has an $11.1 billion black hole, which will only result in cuts to frontline services.