Source: Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry
New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show both headline and underlying inflation fell in annual terms in November.
The moderation in today’s result is very welcome and very encouraging.
Today’s headline result was better than what the market and economists expected.
Headline inflation was 0.0 per cent in the month of November to be 3.4 per cent in through the year terms. This is a noticeable moderation from the 3.8 per cent annual rate in October.
Underlying inflation was 3.2 per cent in the 12 months to November, down from 3.3 per cent in October.
We know that households are still under pressure and that’s why our responsible cost of living relief is so important.
Inflation remains much lower than we inherited from the Coalition but still higher than we would like.
When we came to office, headline inflation was 6.1 per cent and galloping – but it has now moderated substantially, which gave the RBA confidence to cut interest rates three times last year.
Underlying inflation was around five per cent but it is now much lower.
The global economy remains uncertain due to the ongoing impact of trade tensions, weakness in the Chinese economy and global conflicts.
Inflation remains persistent in many advanced economies, and it picked up in the most recent release in New Zealand.
Under Labor, economic growth and the private sector recovery are picking up, business investment is strengthening, unemployment is low, participation is near record highs, real wages are growing, debt is down, the budget is stronger and interest rates fell three times last year.
The mid‑year update handed down last month was the most responsible on record. It was the only mid‑year update that has delivered a better bottom line every year of the forward estimates, less debt in every year of the forward estimates and net policy decisions that improve the bottom line.
The three big economic challenges this year are inflation, productivity and global uncertainty.
While we’ve made good progress on the economy together, we recognise the job is far from over because people are still under pressure.
That is why we’re continuing to roll out responsible cost of living relief including tax cuts for every taxpayer, slashing student debt, cheaper medicines and more bulk billing and from this month, a 3 Day Guarantee for subsidised early childhood education and care.
Labor’s economic plan is all about helping with the cost of living at the same time as we make our economy more productive and resilient and our budget more sustainable.