Sunrise host Nat Barr has delivered a reality check to the Albanese government after treasurer Jim Chalmers shrugged off a new poll which shows ns are pessimistic about their finances despite the government’s cost-of-living relief.
Dr Chalmers hopes voters remember the boost to their budgets from revamped stage three tax cuts, introduced nearly a year ago, but according to a Resolve Political Monitor poll released Thursday, half of voters expect inflation to worsen in 2025.
The same survey also shows Peter Dutton as preferred Prime Minister over Anthony Albanese and the coalition leading Labor on a two-party preferred basis just a few months out from a federal election due to be held by May 17.
Dr Chalmers said the stage three tax cuts were controversial when Labor introduced them, but they had made a positive difference to n households who have seen the cost of putting a roof over their head, groceries and electricity bills soar.
‘These numbers we’re seeing are a reflection of the genuine cost-of-living pressures that people are under,’ he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
‘Even as we make remarkable progress in the economy – inflation down, wages up, unemployment low – that doesn’t always translate into how people are feeling and faring. You see that reflected from time to time in the opinion polls.’
Bur Barr warned Dr Chalmers on Thursday morning that despite the economy being in good shape, it doesn’t make a difference if everyday ns aren’t feeling the benefits.
‘In the US the Democrats kept saying ”things are good, look at the stock market it’s booming” but people didn’t feel it and then they voted the Democrats out. How are you going to prevent the same thing happening here?’
Dr Chalmers said his government acknowledged that some ns felt that they are financially under pressure ‘and we’re responding to that’.
‘This Saturday is the anniversary of the decision we took to give every n taxpayer a tax cut. There is the energy bill relief, getting wages moving again, getting inflation down all these things are really important.’
‘ns need to know they’d be worse off under Peter Dutton if there was a change of government.’
‘If he came after Medicare again and pushed wages down again and pushed electricity prices up with this nuclear insanity, then ns would be worse off.’
‘There are good reasons to be confident about 2025. The worst of the inflation challenge is behind us. We have made good progress together.’
Barr fired back asking why ns ‘still want Dutton’ according to the polls.
‘They’re not unanimous about some of these issues around cost of living but on the two party preferred they are, and big polls say ns don’t like you.’
Dr Chalmers said his government was aware people were frustrated with the stalling standard of living.
‘When people are under pressure they express that in opinion polls and they express that politically. We take no outcome for granted in this election. I’ve always thought it would be tight. So this will be another tight election.’
The Resolve poll shows Dutton ahead of Albanese as preferred PM by 39 to 34 per cent.
While 54 per cent of voters said their wages didn’t keep up with inflation last year and 50 per cent said they expect inflation to get worse this year.
Labor’s crown jewel in its cost of living relief was the changes it made in 2024 to the former coalition government’s stage three tax cuts in order to distribute them more evenly across low and middle-income earners.
The stage three tax cuts saw ns earning less than $150,000 a year receive a greater return than what they would have received, with the average household saving $2000 a year.
High-income earners still received a tax cut under the proposal, but less than what was originally intended in the coalition’s original model.
Dr Chalmers said that financial support seen in the tax changes would continue.
‘Now, in this financial year, every n taxpayer has been getting a tax cut to help with the cost of living, and as we get wages up in the coming financial year, those tax cuts will get bigger,’ he said.
It comes as other opinion polls showed the government still has a hill to climb if it wants a second term in office.
The January poll for YouGov showed the coalition leading 51 to 49 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, despite voters backing Albanese as preferred prime minister over Dutton.