Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher

BRIDGET BRENNAN, HOST: Let’s go straight to Finance Minister Katy Gallagher in Sydney. Good morning to you, Katy Gallagher.

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Good morning. Thanks for having me on.

BRENNAN: Yeah look, pretty concerning news for Australians. I mean, Australians would already be feeling it. Household saving is really low, consumer spending also on life support. What is this telling us about the state of the economy, Katy Gallagher?

GALLAGHER: I think as you say, Bridget, I mean, for many people waking up and watching your program this will confirm what they’re already seeing and feeling. There are obviously some clear challenges in the economy and that’s why I think some of the decisions we took at budget to make sure we’re investing in key services and providing cost-of-living relief and reshaping those tax cuts were really important decisions, because you can see through these numbers that you know government investment, public investment is helping to support the economy, which is appropriate when we’re going through such difficult times.

BRENNAN: The Opposition says your decisions on spending have been a band-aid on a bullet hole, is that right?

GALLAGHER: Look, I don’t take economic advice from the Opposition. Obviously they’re there to make a political point. Our focus, Jim and my focus, is really on making the right decisions for the right time. That’s why you know in budget we made some decisions about cost-of-living support, we knew this quarter would be difficult and government has a role to play. But we’ve got a lot of things going for us as well, Bridget. You know, inflation’s halved. We’ve got some of that cost-of-living relief rolling out, we’ve created almost a million jobs as well. And you know, those are really important things when you look at how we move forward. So, I think these – we use this data, it’s really important information for us, it helps shape our future decisions, but you know, I think some of the Opposition policies – which is to make $100 billion worth of cuts at a minimum – if they were in government and doing that, you would have seen a very different set of results.

BRENNAN: Are you concerned about the electoral implications of this for Australians? Are you concerned Australians are going to vent their anger over having zero savings, struggling to get into the housing market, just feeling like they can’t even go out for dinner right now? Is that going to have implications for you when the election is called?

GALLAGHER: Well, I think Australians want their government to make the right decisions for the right economic times. And that’s been our focus. We are absolutely understanding of people’s pressures, those cost-of-living issues are the main issue right across the economy and in every household in Australia. And that’s why trying to get wages moving again and looking at what we can do on tax cuts, energy bill relief, is so important. But we ‘ve got to do it in a way that doesn’t add to the inflation challenge, because that obviously hurts in the longer term. So, you know I think the Australian people – and it’s our job to keep explaining what’s going on – will understand that their government should be making tough but necessary decisions to help support future economic growth. And that’s what we’ve been doing.

BRENNAN: Minister, do you echo the Treasurer’s language when he says that rate rises and those decisions by the RBA are smashing the economy? The RBA governor has all but said that another, a potential cut to rate rises is not going to happen this year. Is that a prudent decision given so many Australians just need a bit of relief right now?

GALLAGHER: Well, the Bank makes their decisions and so we don’t give free advice to the Bank. But I think the language the Treasurer used – and I’ve used it myself – is really stating the facts as they are. And you can see that from this data. You can see that household consumption, particularly on discretionary spending, are really declined substantially. And I think that shows that household budgets are smashed and a contributor to that of course is those thirteen interest rate increases. And the Bank’s got a job to do to get inflation down, but we’ve also got a job to do to explain what we’re seeing in the economy and what we know is happening, and that is that households are under huge pressure. So I think there’s been a lot said about this this week, but it really is stating the facts and played out for all to see in the National Accounts yesterday.

BRENNAN: On another issue, let’s move to this debate over census questions. Some of Australia’s major health institutions, which really use that data, that crucial data, have said that they really, really want you to reverse the position on those questions around gender diverse people and transgender Australians, because that data really informs the critical care that a lot of marginalised Australians seek. Is that something your government will consider, given this is advice from a lot of major health bodies?

GALLAGHER: Well, I think the first point is that the ABS collects a lot of data including on sex and gender through a number of different surveys. So, there’s already a lot of collection of information. And it is as you say, really important and that’s no surprise that health groups are saying that because you know it informs future health policy and identifies gaps and responses. And on the census more broadly, it’s in 2026, my focus this week and always has been on what we do on cost-of-living. But the PM has already said there will be questions, we need to work with people about what those questions are and we’ll be doing that but I’m very positive there’ll be a good outcome here.

BRENNAN: Okay. And you’ve got National Cabinet I believe this week, tell us what’s on the agenda and will you have some discussions with your state and territory colleagues about the crisis facing women in violent relationships?

GALLAGHER: Yeah. Bridget, can I just also thank and acknowledge the coverage that the Breakfast show on ABC has been doing on violence against women and men’s violence against women. It’s been – you know, I’m a frequent watcher and I just really appreciate the coverage that you’ve been providing on this. National Cabinet, really important meeting. It’s the comeback from the first National Cabinet on gender-based violence and so you know, this is where we need to deliver some outcomes. And the PM, he’s been leading this work. He’s absolutely focused on it and he’ll be taking a very substantial package to National Cabinet and obviously trying to work with the states and territories on that. But we’re certainly very serious about responding to the crisis and part of that is putting extra investment on the table and the PM will have more to say about that over the next couple of days.

BRENNAN: Looking forward to hearing more about it. Katy Gallagher, have a great day.

GALLAGHER: Thank you.