Australia's Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Shadow Minister Angus Taylor fought head-to-head to discuss the cost of living in a debate held by Sky News ahead of the upcoming Federal Election.
In the debate moderated by Sky News Host, each leader avoided questions about how they planned to address major structural issues, a faltering tax system and ongoing Budget deficits.
They instead contrasted over their approaches to economic policy, with Chalmers accusing Taylor of plotting an “ambush” on Australians with billions in spending cuts.
He slammed Taylor for hiding plans for “secret spending cuts” that would be used to pay for the Coalition's tax-funded nuclear plants, referencing Tony Abbott’s first Budget.
"There could not be a more important time for the responsible economic management which has been the defining feature of this Albanese government,” he said.
"And there could not be a worse time to risk [Opposition Leader] Peter Dutton's Coalition of cuts and chaos, which would make Australians worse off and take Australians backwards. When Peter Dutton cuts, every Australian will pay."
However, Angus argued that Labor are exhausting the nation’s financial buffers as a crisis looms asking the key question of “who do you trust to manage the economy”.
"We've seen in the last three years, Australians have become poorer, and it's clear Australians can't afford another three years like the last three,” he said.
They also discussed the resilience of the Budget and Australia’s economy in the wake of United States President Donald Trump’s recently imposed tariffs.
Chalmers criticised Trump’s tariff war before accusing the Coalition of cosying up to aspects of the Trump administration.
"Here I think we've got the first contrast of the debate tonight … because we've got a prime minister standing up for and speaking up for Australia," Chalmers said.
"And we've got an Opposition leader and an Opposition which is absolutely full of these kind of DOGE sycophants who have hitched their wagon to America … [with] slogans and policies, and especially cuts which would make Australians worse off.”
In rebuttal, Taylor said the Coalition had a long-standing history of supporting open trade and said the Treasurer must expect a recession, emphasising market predictions that there would be four Reserve Bank interest rate cuts this year.
Chalmers denied anticipating a recession, insisting that the country was entering into this era of economic uncertainty from a position of strength.
"What we've been able to do, which is unusual in the world, is get inflation much lower than what we inherited from Angus at the same time as we maintain very low inflation," he said.
Mr Taylor hit back, saying that under Labor the economy had lagged and federal debt was rising to $1.2 trillion.
"The buffers are gone," he said.
