NSW Premier Chris Minns has delivered a veiled jab at Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers' approach to spending, arguing all levels of government have a responsibility to fight inflation.
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levels → deliver → inflation
In a unanimous board decision by the Reserve Bank, the cash rate was lifted by 25 basis points to 4.6 per cent on Tuesday, the highest level since 2011.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Wednesday also showed the Consumer Price Index rose 4 per cent in the 12 months to August 2026, up from 3.5 per cent in the year to July.
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Index → lift → July
Following the figures, Minns was quick to highlight his record on spending restraint and referenced RBA warnings about the inflationary impact of public spending in seeming opposition to Canberra's fiscal approach.
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Minns → follow → approach
'I think every government has a responsibility to do what it can to take demand out of the economy,' he said on Wednesday.
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he → think → Wednesday
'We have heard the advice from the RBA over the last two years that we need to be careful with public funds.
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we → hear → funds
'As a result, over the last four years, we've had the lowest increase in spending growth of any jurisdiction in the country, Labor or Liberal, any state, any territory, any government.
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we → have → country
And the reason for that is we've had to make difficult decisions along the way.'
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we → have → way
Chris Minns (pictured) has emphasised his NSW government's fiscal credentials following the latest interest rate rise
The Premier argued governments could not ignore the limits of the public purse, and said fiscal discipline had strengthened confidence in NSW's finances.
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discipline → picture → finances
'We recognise there's a finite amount of public funds to use and just recently we've had our credit rating reaffirmed by the ratings agencies,' Minns said.
'
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Minns → recognise → agencies
In fact, there's been an upgrade to it which has been the result of a lot of hard work.
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which → be → work
However, the Premier stopped short of directly criticising the federal government while making clear he believed spending restraint remained essential.
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restraint → stop → government
'I'm not going to make a long commentary about other governments.
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I → go → governments
It's up to them and their decisions, obviously,' he said.
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he → say → them
'But we want to make it clear that we've been careful with public money, particularly the growth in public money, and that will continue if we're re-elected next March.
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we → want → money
Reserve Bank Governor Michelle Bullock also declined to blame the government directly, but did point to weak productivity.
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Bullock → decline → productivity
'The bottom line is that productivity is doing nothing.
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productivity → do → nothing
And I know we talk about productivity a lot, but it's so important if we want the economy to be able to grow and create jobs,' she said on Tuesday.
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she → know → Tuesday
One NSW Labor MP said they just wished Albanese could 'stay away' from the 2027 election
The comments come amid signs of a widening gap between NSW Labor and the federal government as Minns seeks to emphasise his political identity.
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Minns → say → identity
In recent months, the Premier has diverged from his federal colleagues on several policy issues.
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Premier → diverge → issues
He has supported One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and the federal Coalition's push for a reduction in tobacco excise, and publicly clashed with Chalmers over GST arrangements.
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He → support → arrangements
Some NSW Labor MPs would like Minns to go even further.
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Minns → like → ?
The Daily Mail understands several state MPs believe the premier should put as much distance as possible between himself and the Prime Minister ahead of the 2027 election.
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premier → understand → election
They have suggested he adopt a similar approach to former Premier Gladys Berejiklian's decision to keep Scott Morrison at arm's length before the Coalition's victory in 2019.
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he → suggest → 2019
'I wish [Albanese] could stay away,' one NSW Labor MP told the Daily Mail last week.
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MP → wish → Mail
The private frustration reflects growing concern within sections of the NSW Labor caucus that the Prime Minister could drag down the party's vote, especially in regional areas where cost-of-living pressures remain acute and support for major parties has softened.
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support → reflect → parties
Those worries have been sharpened by the rise of Pauline Hanson and One Nation, with the party believing it can make significant gains across regional and outer-suburban NSW at the next state election.
When it comes to the interest rate increase, Chalmers and Albanese have rejected claims that government spending contributed to the hike.
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spending → sharpen → hike
The Prime Minister said his government would consider new cost-of-living relief and spending cuts in the mid-year economic update due in December.
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government → say → December
Asked whether he agreed with claims inflation was largely homegrown or with Chalmers' argument that the US war with Iran was a key driver of the rate hike, Albanese said he agreed with both.
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he → ask → both
'They are not saying contradictory things at all,' he said.
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he → say → things
'The Treasurer has been very consistent, speaking about the inflationary pressures which are there in the economy. [But] the war in the Middle East has had an impact and people can't just dismiss that.'
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people → speak → that
The Aporia
