Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Finance, Minister for Women, Manager of Government Business in the Senate and Vice-President of the Executive Council) (14:08): I thank Senator Pratt for the question and for her interest in the budget and in our nation's economy. We can see from today's monthly CPI data that it does show that inflation was steady at 3.4 per cent in the year to February 2024. This was below market expectation, and inflation remains at its lowest level in over two years. So we are seeing inflation moderate and continue to moderate. We've got real wages growing. We've got low unemployment. Monthly inflation is much lower than the 6.1 per cent it was at the election, and quarterly inflation is now at 0.6 per cent, a third of the 2.1 per cent we saw just before the election. This data shows that inflation was higher under the former government and it continues to moderate under us. We are seeing— Senator McKenzie: It is not! Senator GALLAGHER: It does, Senator McKenzie; if you look at the data, it does. We are seeing a return to real wages growth and we are seeing near-record levels of low unemployment. When we look at the budget, we see that our gross debt is lower, our real spending growth is lower and inflation is moderating across the economy. We are not complacent, though, and we recognise that people are still doing it tough. We've got challenges facing our economy, with global uncertainty slowing growth, and we know and recognise those persisting cost-of-living pressures that exist across households right across Australia. Our budget will be one that balances the fight against inflation with the need to grow our economy; it will look at continuing relief from cost-of-living measures without adding to inflation; it will of course have those tax cuts rolling out from 1 July; and it will be looking at the opportunities, whether it be in energy transmission, human capital or the care economy, with a focus on investment for a new generation of growth and prosperity. The PRESIDENT: Senator Pratt, first supplementary.