This week I was able to get out and enjoy the Canberra sunshine with some of Canberra's newest Mums at the Arboretum.

Joined by ACT Labor candidates, Louise Crossman and Anna Whitty, we chatted all about what it's like to raise a family in Canberra and how Louise and Anna plan to deliver for Canberra families if elected in the upcoming ACT Election.

It was great to hear from the women who joined us that the Albanese Government's policies on cheaper child care, expanded paid parental leave and super on paid parental leave will make a real different for them.

Economic Update from the Finance Minister

New figures out this week show that underlying inflation has moderated substantially to its lowest level in more than 30 months.

Monthly inflation has dropped down to 2.7 percent in the year to August - down from 3.5 percent in July.

This is now less than half of what we inherited and less than a third of its peak, reflecting the Albanese Government’s commitment to bringing inflation under control.

These figures show our policies are helping in the fight against inflation, but we’re not complacent because we know people are still under pressure.

From energy rebates to rental assistance and tax cuts, our government is making sure Australians get the support they need.

On top of that, we’re rolling out a new mandatory food and grocery code to make sure that supermarkets are treating consumers fairly and not taking advantage of shoppers. The code will hold supermarkets accountable and put the needs of Australians first when it comes to grocery pricing.

Katy's Explainer:

Greens Blocking Housing in the Senate

Labor believes that ordinary Australians should be able to own their own home. That’s why we introduced the Help to Buy scheme to help 40,000 low- and middle-income Australians get into the housing market.

We passed our Help to Buy Bill in the House of Reps earlier this year, but last week in the Senate the Liberals, Greens, and One Nation teamed up to block this important legislation from passing.

What will Labor's Help to Buy Policy do?

Labor's Help to Buy program is what's called a shared equity scheme. Basically that means that the government would loan applicants part of the upfront purchase price of a new home - either 30% of an existing property or 40% of a new build. This policy would help 40,000 low and middle income families buy a home with a smaller deposit, a smaller mortgage and smaller mortgage repayments.

What Else is the Government Doing on Housing?

Labor’s housing agenda is about more than just Help to Buy. We’ve made the biggest boost to rent assistance in 30 years, expanding the Home Guarantee scheme to help more Australians buy homes. We're also working with states and territories to introduce planning reforms so we can reach our target of 1.2 million new homes built over the five years from June 2024, and to improve renting conditions, including ending no-grounds evictions. We want to add Help to Buy for low and middle income earners to this list and it's really disappointing to see the Liberals and the Greens blocking it.

Paid Parental Leave Passes

Back in March, Labor announced that we would pay superannuation on Paid Parental Leave, and last week we delivered on that promise in the Senate.

Here's what I had to say earlier this year about this historic step 👇

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAFD7rohRVE/?igsh=ejM2bWhkamVzNHVj

30 Years of Affirmative Action

Achieving equal representation doesn't happen on its own.

Yesterday, we celebrated 30 years since the Labor Party introduced a historic affirmative action policy at the 1994 ALP National Conference to ensure women were pre-selected in winnable seats. Thanks to these reforms, in 2022, the Albanese Labor Government became Australia’s first majority women federal government.

Here's what I said when we celebrated earlier this month 👇

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAWxCC0sGih/?igsh=MXNpa3Vnd2hldnFxZA==