Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Okay, so thanks everybody. The Final Budget Outcome will be released in the next week, and it will show that because of our responsible economic management, that debt will be $149 billion lower. That's $80 billion worth of interest payments that we've avoided over the decade, and importantly, in this financial year, it's $4 billion worth less interest payments. So that just gives you a bit of a sense of why we're having to look at how we get the budget in much better shape and for these reasons. The debt is lower, we're paying less interest, and because we're paying less interest it gives more room in the budget to fund some of those big pressures that we've got coming at us. But this has been a really important part of the Treasurer’s and mine approach to the budget, making sure that we are making those tough decisions, making sure we're looking at debt, getting debt back in better shape, and lowering our interest payments, which, on their own, can exceed some of the government programs. We'll have that in the next week. We'll also have CPI on Wednesday, and we're hoping that that will show continued moderation in inflation, because obviously that's the big challenge in the economy right now. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Just quickly on Peter Dutton, he’s addressing CEDA today, talking about nuclear energy. Yesterday, the Treasurer called for him to come clean and to reveal, you know, key costings and timings of this policy. We understand that's not going to happen. What do you think of that?

GALLAGHER: Well, I think it's really concerning that we've got an opposition who's, you know, we're getting pretty close to an election that's out, you know, advocating for a policy without any costings done on it. We know from other research that the plan that he's proposing could cost $600 billion, it'll only deliver 4% of the energy requirements of this country, and take 40 years to build. So, when you put all of that together, it seems like a pretty crazy policy that's not really about actually having an energy policy, it's about politics, which is what Mr Dutton is always about.

JOURNALIST: Cheaper beer during a cost-of-living crisis, what’s your view on that?

GALLAGHER: Well, these indexation arrangements are built into the budget. They happen twice a year. This has been a long-standing policy of governments of all persuasions, so we have no plans to change that, and we're looking at other ways to provide cost of living relief for people. Whether it be tax cuts, cheaper medicine, Medicare, our investments in childcare, we think there are more sensible ways we can provide cost-of-living relief.

JOURNALIST: What does the Greens’ position mean for the future of RBA reform?

GALLAGHER: Well, we won't be doing what the Greens are issuing through their ultimatum. It's just crazy. And you know, it's ridiculous that after 30 years of stable, good economic architecture in this country, they would be seeking to undermine that with this position. It's a populist position, they're out craving votes. They're not actually serious about any economic policy or economic reform.

JOURNALIST:What does it mean for the future of the government's reform?

GALLAGHER:Well, the reforms are there. I would say that if the Greens are going to continue on this crazy economic ultimatum, that the pathway through is with the Opposition. And I would have thought a party of government would have been engaging on sensible economic reforms, or sensible reforms to the RBA. And so I would urge them to reconsider. But we remain committed to these reforms. The Reserve Bank itself thinks that they are sensible reforms and we would look to work with others to get it through.

JOURNALIST: Minister, we only have a handful of sitting weeks left this year, and we're not sure when the election is. Are we going to see any movement on gambling advertising this term of government?

GALLAGHER: Well, Minister Rowland is leading those reforms. She’s working and consulting with stakeholders at the moment, and she will be bringing something to cabinet.

JOURNALIST: How soon?

GALLAGHER: I'm not in charge of the timeline there, but we are aware of the interest in this area. Minister Rowland is working really hard with stakeholders to work out a sensible reform package.

JOURNALIST: Would you like to see that before the election? Pass the parliament before the election, so it’s in place? 

GALLAGHER: Look, yes, we would. I think that's what the minister's working towards. But you know, what gets through the parliament now, we're at the pointy end of the electoral cycle. And you can see like, Help to Buy last week didn’t pass, we've got ultimatums about the Reserve Bank this week. The Senate is getting quite obstructionist.

Thank you.