Anthony Albanese’s government has been slammed by Today Show host Karl Stefanovic as ‘failing’ ns on cost-of-living pressures.
Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles appeared on the program on Friday after the Reserve Bank announced the 13th interest rate hike in 18 months earlier this week.
The cash rate is now at 4.35 per cent, sending monthly mortgage bills soaring, while electricity bills, petrol and groceries remain hovering near two-decade high prices.
‘I know it’s not all your fault, but I think ns are starting to feel you’re letting them down badly,’ Stefanovic told Marles.
‘You’re failing them on cost of living pressure,’ he added.
Mr Albanese is in the Cook Islands for the Pacific Leaders Forum this week (pictured)
Marles, who is acting Prime Minister while Mr Albanese is attending the Pacific Islands Forum, argued inflation was an issue being felt around the world and had initially climbed in under the former Coalition government.
‘Cost of living has obviously been the focus of what the government has been about since we’ve come to power because we understand the pressure that this is placing on n household budgets and businesses,’ Marles said.
‘Last week we saw the tripling of the bulk billing incentive which is the biggest investment of that type in Medicare’s history.’
‘That’s about making it cheaper to go and see a doctor. We’ve fought for cheaper medicines, more affordable childcare, fee-free Tafe.’
Stefanovic fired back: ‘Every time you’re asked about this, anyone in your government, the same lines come out.’
‘I feel like you don’t get the pressure that n households are under right now.’
Marles said that he ‘of course’ did understand that pressure and the Albanese government was focused on managing the budget to ‘not contribute to the inflationary environment’.
‘We’ve done something the previous Liberal government never did and that’s deliver a budget surplus.’
‘The biggest increase in inflation occurred when the liberals were in power.’
Acting PM Richard Marles told Stefanovic inflation was an issue in many countries and was higher under the former Liberal government
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, also on the program, said it was ‘unbelievable’ that cost of living was Labor’s highest priority.
‘For the last 18 months the Prime Minister’s been solely focused and absorbed by the Voice and they’ve made decisions in two budgets which have made it harder for families driven up inflation.’
‘People are going backwards under this government, the Prime Minister doesn’t get it because he’s never here.’
Mr Albanese has joined Pacific leaders in the Cook Islands this week for the annual meeting of regional powerbrokers.
He has held formal bilateral talks with Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Cook Islands on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders meeting, and informal discussions with other leaders from Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and the Federated States of Micronesia.
Mr Albanese pledged $350 million for climate related infrastructure and energy projects in the pacific.
‘It has been extremely positive, the reception that has received here,’ Mr Albanese said.
‘There is a recognition that my government is committed to climate action and that we are playing a positive role, not just with our commitment to reduce our emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050, but importantly that we are playing a role in the region and indeed around the globe.’
Critics of Mr Albanese have labelled him ‘Airbus Albo’ due to his international jet-setting.
Despite major domestic pressures including the cost-of-living crisis and the Voice referendum, he started the year with a trip to Papua New Guinea, followed by India and then the United States to reveal the AUKUS deal.
This was followed by a bilateral meeting in Fiji and then a return to London for the King’s coronation.
The G7 summit was held in Japan in May, and the PM embarked on two-day trips to Singapore and Vietnam in June.
In July he spent a whirlwind three days in Germany and Lithuania, followed by New Zealand later that month.
In September, the PM visited Indonesia, the Philippines and India – again for only two days in each location.
He travelled straight from this week’s trip to China to the Cook Islands. He will return to briefly for parliament sitting next week before jetting off again to San Francisco.
Just last week, retired political journalist Laurie Oakes branded Mr Albanese as an ‘incompetent dill’.
The iconic Nine News political editor said he thought the entire debate around the referendum was ‘pretty bad’, and said it may damage the Prime Minister’s reputation with the public.
‘I think it was pretty damaging, I think he (Mr Albanese) handled it incompetently and I assumed the voters noticed that there wasn’t much competence involved,’ Oakes told 2GB’s Afternoons with Deborah Knight.
‘When you handle something as big as the Voice as badly as he handled it, people are naturally going to assume that you’re not handling other things very well either.
‘And that’s the risk Anthony Albanese faces. He’s come out of this Voice referendum looking like an incompetent dill and he may be stuck with that.’
The veteran journalist also weighed in on both the Yes and No campaigns.
He said while the misinformation from the No side was ‘pretty disgraceful’, the Yes campaign was ‘unconvincing and pointless’.
‘It didn’t explain anything,’ he said.
The Voice was soundly rejected on October 14 with 60 per cent of ns voting No.
Every state and territory except the ACT voted against the constitutional change to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to parliament and executive government.