Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor accuses Labor of being ‘obsessed with the Voice’ while the economy is ‘shuddering to a halt’

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor has accused the Albanese government of being “obsessed” with the Indigenous Voice to Parliament and failing to deal with the “number one issue facing Australians”.

Speaking to Sky News Australia’s Erin Molan, Mr Taylor said the government was failing to deliver on their promises to reduce the cost of living and make sure Australians can make ends meet.

“We know the number one issue facing Australians is these cost of living pressures and this is a government that is not dealing with the issues,” Mr Taylor said.

“We’ve seen 11 interest rate increases since Labor came to power we’ve got inflation, core inflation which is amongst the highest levels of advanced countries.

“We’ve got productivity in collapse and real wages going backwards. And Australians are working more for less… this is a major issue.”

The shadow treasurer said that rather than dealing with these cost of living pressures, the Albanese government was continually focused on the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

“Labor is obsessed with the Voice… and at the same time the economy is shuddering to a halt, absolutely shuddering to a halt,” he said.

“It’s in a disastrous situation. And all Australians are paying a very high price for that.”

Mr Taylor said the government needed to answer “reasonable questions” on the Voice because they had “put it on the agenda”.

“Australians have many questions about the Voice… and understandably so,” Mr Taylor said.

“They’re just trying to make ends meet right now. And meanwhile, we have this proposal from Labor, which is very difficult to understand where it’s going to go, where it’s ultimately going to end up.”

“We (the Coalition) have to do our bit to make sure we get the right outcome on this – and clearly, we’re against it.

“But we recognise that the number one issue with this government is that they’re not delivering on their promises on cost of living and making sure Australians can make ends meet. And we will continue to hold them to account for that.”

The shadow treasurer said the government ought to make tackling inflation their top priority, which means “making sure industrial relations policies aren’t making it worse”.

“They’ve got to make sure that they’ve got to focus on productivity,” Mr Taylor

“Philip Lowe made the point today that if you don’t get that right, inflation will continue to surge and interest rates will continue to stay stronger for longer.

Mr Taylor also highlighted the government’s failure to deliver on their promise to reduce energy prices.

“They promised a $275 price reduction for electricity; we’ve seen it going in exactly the opposite direction,” he said.

“These are all the policies where government can make a difference and yet what they’re doing is spending all their time talking about all the other issues.

“I mean, this is a government that’s spending $195 billion more than when they came into government; that adds to inflationary pressures.

“So there’s a lot that government can do, they’re not doing it. And frankly, they’re not interested in it.”