ABC Q+A: Jacqui Lambie lashes out at Bill Shorten over inflation amid Australia’s cost of living crisis

Jacqui Lambie has criticised the Albanian government for not doing enough to help Australians struggling with low living costs.

The level-headed, independent senator became enraged after a member of the studio audience asked a question about inflation on ABC’s Q+A program Monday night.

She was part of a five-member panel, along with NDIS Minister Bill Shorten and Shadow Finance Minister Senator Jane Hume.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and outgoing editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review, Michael Stutchbury, also took part in the discussion.

The first question was put to Mr Shorten by Megan, a mother of three from Canberra, who wanted to know if the cost of living was putting pressure on the household budget.

She also wondered whether government spending was holding back the fall in interest rates.

The minister opposed the argument that rising government spending would make life more difficult for households.

“I don’t think so. The government’s net extra public spending was $10 billion, and that’s a lot of extra money, it’s going to Medicare services, it’s going to tax cuts,” Mr Shorten began.

Bill Shorten’s comments on inflation and the cost of living prompted a fierce response from Senator Jacqui Lambie on Q+A

“So I think, all things considered, we are trying to improve the situation.”

His comments prompted a heated outburst from Senator Lambie, who said spending money to help Australians struggling to put food on the table would not increase inflation.

“Honestly, when it comes to bread and milk and you can’t get a gallon of milk anymore or bread for less than $10, we need to give people who are struggling a little more money to pay their bills,” she said.

“I don’t believe that will boost business. Not at all.”

Senator Lambie said being able to afford essentials, such as paying the electricity bill, were not ‘luxuries’.

She called it “nonsense” to claim that more financial aid to put “more breaks and milk” on the table would drive up the prices of basic necessities.

“Seriously, I just don’t know, there are too many poor people,” she said

‘The problem is not to give them a little extra money.

“I think it’s the big spenders, the millionaires and stuff.”

Senator Lambie’s outburst was met with loud applause from the studio audience.

The cost of living and inflation were a major topic of discussion on Monday night’s episode of Q+A

Senator Hume claimed Megan was ‘poorer’ due to inflation, interest rates and higher taxes over the past two years.

She claimed the Albanian government has spent an extra $315 million since Labor came to power two years ago.

“That’s why it’s taking so long to get inflation under control, but we have to do it because it’s eating away at savings, eating away at purchasing power and lowering living standards,” she said.

Professor Stiglitz agreed with Senator Lambie, saying increased government spending was leading to shortages in the supply chain.

Senator Hume believes Australians like Megan are ‘poorer’ because of inflation, interest rates and higher taxes over the past two years.

She claimed that the government has spent an additional $315 million since taking office.

“That’s why it’s taking so long to get inflation under control, but we have to do it because it erodes savings, erodes purchasing power and lowers living standards,” she said.

Canberra mother Megan questioned whether government spending was fueling inflation

Mr Shorten branded the Liberal Party “recessionists” during another heated clash over inflation with Senator Hume.

“You are the recession makers, accept it and be proud,” he told her.

“You can be a recession maker, and that’s what the Conservatives are. They want us to go into recession because they think that’s the only way to solve this.”

Despite significant government spending on cost-of-living measures, Mr Shorten said inflation figures were not the fault of “ordinary people” or Australians receiving income support.

Senator Hume responded to Shorten’s claim that the opposition was “causing the recession”, calling the comment “nonsense”.

“How about $2 billion for the suburban rail line in Victoria, a project that doesn’t even have a business case for it?” Senator Hume asked.

“How about a billion dollars to develop solar panels that will never be competitive?”

Spending money to help Australians struggling to put food on the table would not increase inflation, according to Senator Jacqui Lambie

Since May 2022, interest rates in Australia have been raised 13 times in a row.

The Reserve Bank decided to keep interest rates at 4.35 percent for the seventh time in a row at its last monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.

Inflation rose to a whopping 7.8 percent in December 2022, but the current consumer price index (CPI) currently stands at 3.8 percent.

The Reserve Bank this week updated its forecasts, which expect inflation to remain high at 3.7 percent in December 2025.

The CPI is not expected to fall within the RBA’s target range of 2 to 3 percent until December 2026.