TRANSCRIPT – SKY NEWS NEWSDAY WITH KIERAN GILBERT

Angie Bell MP
Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education
Shadow Minister for Youth
Federal Member for Moncrieff

TRANSCRIPT

SKY NEWS – NEWSDAY WITH KIERAN GILBERT

17 February 2025

Subjects: Labor’s cost of living crisis, Labor’s broken promise on cheaper energy prices, Polling, Soaring insurance premiums under Labor 

E&OE…………………………………………………………………………………………………

KIERAN GILBERT:

Let’s get some more reaction to a few of those stories. Joining me live is the Liberal frontbencher Angie Bell, joins us live from the Gold Coast. Angie, thanks for your time. Let’s start with this issue of interest rates. Obviously so much at stake if the RBA is to move tomorrow, I’m sure many of your constituents would be hoping, praying, that the RBA cuts rates tomorrow as expected.

ANGIE BELL:

Absolutely, Kieran. There’s no doubt that Australians really are suffering, none more than here on the Gold Coast as well, as you mentioned. But you know we’ve had 12 interest rate increases under the Albanese Labor Government and even if the Reserve Bank after meeting today and their announcement tomorrow, even if they decrease by 25 basis points, quarter of a per cent, it won’t touch the sides. Australians are $50,000 behind and if the Reserve Bank does come to this decision, which I really hope they do for Australian families’ sake, it’s not going to make a big difference and make up for that $50,000 that a mortgage holder with a $750,000 mortgage has had to scrape by over the last period that Labor has been in power. And we know that families are in crisis. The cost of living crisis with electricity bills, with gas bills, at the checkout, at the bowser and also insurance bills that have gone up by a huge amount, 19%, Kieran. So families are struggling and this Prime Minister is tone deaf. He’s out of his depth. He’s not managed the economy well. And Australians are paying the price for a Labor government.

KIERAN GILBERT:

Yeah well, people are obviously hurting, there’s no doubt about that. And it’s been a struggle for so many families right around the nation. Is it then, is it a risk for the Coalition not to support any subsequent energy bill relief that the government might announce over coming weeks?

ANGIE BELL:

Look, these are temporary measures and as the Opposition Leader just pointed out, when you pump money, $347 billion extra into the economy, it keeps interest rates higher for longer. These have been short term fixes from the Albanese Labor Government on their energy rebates. What we need to do is rein in wasteful spending, and that’s what we’ve also talked about, what Peter Dutton has spoken about, that’s what Jacinta Price has spoken about, in terms of pulling back that wasteful spending that Labor has put into the economy, which has kept interest rates higher for longer. We need to pull inflation down. Under Labor, the average inflation has been above 4%, under the Coalition it was 2.2%. Better management of the economy is certainly top of mind with the Coalition.

KIERAN GILBERT:

But $300 energy bill relief for a lot of people, a lot of families, that’s quite a chunk.

ANGIE BELL:

I’m sure Australians will happily take those discounts, but their energy bills are up by $1000, when they were promised a cut of $275. I have businesses in my electorate whose energy bills have doubled from $50,000 to $100,000. That’s a whole person’s salary. Australian families really are struggling. But of course, when they get relief in the way of handouts from the government, of course they’ll take that extra help. There’s a problem across Australia. I know here on the Gold Coast, when it comes to food security Kieran, parents are sending their children to school without enough food in their lunch boxes. This is very, very serious. They simply cannot afford three more years of Labor.

KIERAN GILBERT:

Yeah, that’s not good. And that’s a terrible situation in our nation, one of the richest countries on earth that families are in that position, Angie. I want to ask about the polling. The Opposition Leader believes he will be Prime Minister, he said at the weekend he believes the Coalition can and will win. Do you share his optimism?

ANGIE BELL:

We can and we must, to save Australia. But you and I both know, Kieran, the only polling that really matters is the one on Election Day, and we have a long trail to walk between now and Election Day. But what we want to do is deliver for Australians on cost of living, on housing, on energy, on immigration policy, on community safety. These are top of mind issues for all Australians. They are all issues on which this government has failed at every turn.

KIERAN GILBERT:

The Insurance Council was blowing up at the comments made by Peter Dutton to Andrew Clennell yesterday on Sunday Agenda but I think many Australians would probably be cheering him on, to try and take on insurance companies to rein in some of the premiums.

ANGIE BELL:

Well, I think insurance companies need to have a look at what’s going on because Australians cannot afford to buy insurance. And we’ve seen with floods up in North Queensland, with fires in the Grampians, we’ve seen uninsured Australians left with nothing. So, insurance companies need to look at what they’re doing with their premiums. Certainly, we will have more to say about that as we head towards the Federal Election, Kieran. But insurance premiums under the Albanese Labor government have gone up by a staggering 19%, as I pointed out before. It’s unaffordable. Health insurance has gone through the roof for families and individuals. I know my own policy has gone up massively over the last three years under Labor. So we really need to address these basic issues for Australians. Get the cost of living under control, bring down inflation into the band, and keep it there. And that comes back to government spending of too much money – $347 billion.

KIERAN GILBERT:

Angie Bell. We’ll catch you next week.

ENDS.