Liberal frontbencher Melissa McIntosh has criticised the Albanese government after revealing she paid $12.40 for just two litres of milk and a loaf of bread.
Appearing on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing with Patricia Karvelas on Wednesday, McIntosh said families were being squeezed by rising household expenses. She argued Labor’s spending decisions were contributing to ongoing inflation.
Holding up the groceries during the interview, she said: “I came by the shops and a two-litre bottle of milk and a loaf of white bread cost $12.40, and that barely feeds a couple of kids for a couple of hours.”
“This is what people are paying for milk and bread, let alone what they’re paying for their mortgages and their rents to keep a roof over their families’ heads.”
McIntosh blamed the Albanese government for the pressure on household budgets, accusing Labor of failing to curb spending while inflation remained elevated.
“We are in this position because of this government, high inflation, and they just won’t back down on their homegrown expenditure,” she said.
The Liberal MP also criticised Treasurer Jim Chalmers, claiming he was shifting attention away from domestic policy by attributing inflationary pressures to overseas events.
“I couldn’t believe Jim Chalmers today,” McIntosh said.
Melissa McIntosh (pictured) accused Jim Chalmers of “lying” about the causes of rising inflation
She displayed the price of the everyday groceries during her interview with ABC presenter Patricia Karvelas
“If it was a drinking game and Australians had a drink every time he tried to blame the war in the Middle East, the pubs would have run dry.”
“He is lying when he is saying this is all about the war in the Middle East. There’s nothing to see here.”
McIntosh said government expenditure was a major source of inflationary pressure, pointing to the public sector’s share of economic activity and Australia’s growing debt.
“When you’ve got nearly 28 per cent of GDP coming from government spending, of course inflation is going to be high,” she said.
“We’ve got $1 trillion of debt and when you’ve got $1 trillion of debt, you’re paying off that debt. It’s like having a bad credit card.”
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“$33 billion a year is just paying off that debt. Imagine the hospital funding. Imagine the infrastructure that could be built.”
Asked whether the Coalition would have to identify savings—including to cover rising indexed payments—and whether that could involve reducing social services, McIntosh rejected the suggestion.
“We’re not looking to cut support,” she said.
Jim Chalmers (pictured) has rejected claims that government spending is a primary driver of inflation
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‘I’m in Penrith in western Sydney where people are doing it really tough right now and I’m hearing more and more people are going onto the social welfare system, not because they want to, but because they need to.’
Instead, she said governments should focus on making sure taxpayer money delivered real results rather than just increasing spending.
‘For too long, success has been judged on the amount of money that is being thrown at programs,’ McIntosh said.
‘We need to ensure that the money is having a positive impact on people’s lives.
‘I don’t want to see the line-ups at the food banks I’m seeing now where the working homeless are making a decision between having a roof over their heads, paying the bills for having that roof over their heads, or feeding their families,’ she said.
The government has pushed back on claims its spending is driving inflation, with Chalmers arguing global factors, including conflict in the Middle East, remain a key source of price pressures through higher oil costs.
‘Public demand growth has slowed considerably,’ Chalmers said on Thursday.
‘In fact, it came in even lower in the budget numbers we released on Monday than what we were anticipating when we released the budget in May.’