‘Who knows what they stand for’: PM’s sledge at ‘inexperienced’ Labor

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has attacked Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese’s “inexperience” at a time of seismic global changes.

As petrol and grocery prices rise, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is ramping up pressure on Labor’s small-target campaign and economic “inexperience” as Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said he will take a “wait and see” approach in tackling cost-of-living pressures.

In a pre-election pitch in Perth, Mr Morrison said the world was facing the biggest energy shock since the 1970s, uncertainty in Europe and Australia’s own region, and looming high inflation which would push up interest rates, grocery prices and more.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Seeking to positioning his Government as a safe set of hands, he said Mr Albanese had never held an economic or national security role in his 25 years in Parliament.

“This is someone who is seeking to be prime minister at a time when we face the biggest global shocks not only to our energy economy, but also our broader global economy and the national security challenges that we face,” he said.

“Who knows what they stand for. I don’t know. They clearly don’t seem to know, and aren’t prepared to tell anybody about it anyway. The election is not far away and it’s time they started coming clean with the Australian people.”

Mr Albanese, in Brisbane yesterday, argued cost of living pressures had not happened overnight pointing the finger at stagnant wages.

The Opposition Leader highlighted the party’s childcare, electric vehicle and anti-wage theft policies as ways to ease cost of living pressures.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese in Brisbane on Wednesday. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

But he refused to outline what Labor would do to provide immediate relief to Australians, saying the Opposition would “wait and see” what was in the upcoming Federal Budget.

“There’s a range of measures that could be looked at in terms of cost of living. We’ll wait and see,” Mr Albanese said.

The federal election will be called shortly after the March 30 Budget, which will have a strong cost-of-living focus.

While there has been pressure on the Government to freeze or reduce the 44.2c-a-litre petrol excise, there are other measures also under consideration as it finalises the Budget.

Originally published as ‘Who knows what they stand for’: PM’s sledge at ‘inexperienced’ Labor