Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has referred to Labor's stance on skilled migration as "cheap political opportunism", saying addressing workforce shortages is not just about skilled migrants.
"You won't see from us cheap political opportunism when it comes to skilled migrants. You will see that from the Labor party," Mr Frydenberg said as he went head to head with his Labor counterpart Jim Chalmers in the treasurers' debate at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.
"Those skilled migrants perform an absolutely vital role in our economy ... but it's not just about skilled migrants.
"It's also about labour mobility across state borders ... and it's about training up Australian workforce. And we have put aside $3.5 billion in the budget for 800,000 new training places with a fundamental structural reform to our schooling system."
Addressing a question about increasing skilled migration, Mr Chalmers said his party is working on striking the right balance on bringing in permanent and temporary skilled migrants.
"We are up for a sensible conversation about the optimal migration mix as we emerge from the pandemic.
"My colleagues, including Kristina Keneally and others, are trying to get the balance right between permanent and temporary [skilled migrants].
"But bringing people in should never be a substitute for training people for opportunities as well ... We've got a policy for fee-free TAFE — more than 400,000 places," Mr Chalmers said.
Other topics at the treasurers' debate ranged from the NDIS, cost of living, inflation, wages, interest rates and even dog-walking parks.
When asked by a journalist what each them feared most if their opposition wins the 21 May election, Mr Chalmers said he feared the government would remain on the path it has been on in the best part of a decade and continue to ignore the cost-of-living crisis.
"The biggest risk in this election is that nothing changes at all."
He said Mr Frydenberg wants to stay the course at a time of skyrocketing inflation, falling real wages, rising interest rates and plummeting consumer confidence.
"Why would Australian families want to stay that course," Mr Chalmers said.
Mr Frydenberg said his greatest fear if Labor gets over the line is that it would revert to its natural instincts, to tax more and spend more.
"Instincts that were on full display when they thought the election was in the bag last time," the treasurer said.
He said when you go to Labor's national platform it spells out increased spending on aid, paid parental leave and child care.
"We have totalled up the cost of the increased spending, it's more than $300 billion," he said
"Yet any hard question and Jim will dodge the answer."
Anthony Albanese criticises Scott Morrison's handling of Solomon Islands relationship
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has criticised Prime Minister Scott Morrison for not picking up the phone and speaking to Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare since the election was called.
"What's extraordinary is that the prime minister has indicated that he still hasn't spoken to the prime minister of the Solomons," Mr Albanese said.
raised the ire of Canberra and has led to criticism of the Morrison government's handling of the issue.
Mr Sogavare, who has criticised Mr Morrison for not telling him about the trilateral AUKUS security arrangement, took another swipe at Canberra, telling his parliament the use of the metaphor of the Solomons being in Australia's backyard was "offensive".
"It is where rubbish is collected and burnt. It is an area which supports the daily wellbeing of residents of the house," he said.
"I call on those people who continue to brand us as their backyard to stop calling us that name and start to respect us as a sovereign independent nation with one equal vote in the United Nations."
Mr Morrison said he has not contacted Mr Sogavare since he made the comments.
"I'd be looking forward to the opportunity on the other side of the election to continue to manage that relationship positively," Mr Morrison said.
"We are Solomon Islands' primary security partner. That is something that the prime minister has conveyed to me again and that is what remains the case."
PM says retirees need 'a fair go' from banks
Retirees must be given "a fair go" by the banks for staying loyal during the pandemic, the prime minister says.
Announcing a freeze to the deeming rate for almost 900,000 social security recipients, Mr Morrison said self-funded retirees had been "doing it tough" in the past two years.
"My message to the banks is to give [deposit holders] a fair go," he told reporters in Adelaide on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said retirees have been doing it tough recently, not getting much of a return on their deposits because of low interest rates. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
"They deserve the recognition of that, ensuring that those [interest] benefits are passed on directly to them."
The Morrison government is on the defensive after the central bank raised interest rates for the first time in more than a decade.
The deeming rate freeze will apply to 885,000 people, with the lower deeming rate set to remain at 0.25 per cent, while the upper deeming rate will stay at 2.25 per cent.
Social Services Minister Anne Ruston said the freeze would provide greater financial certainty for older Australians.
"We know that older Australians particularly have felt the uncertainty of the last two years very, very keenly and the decision today to freeze deeming rates for the next few years provides them with two years of certainty," she said.
Labor said the prime minister should be judged for not taking any responsibility when it comes to interest rate hikes, cost of living pressure and stagnant wages.
Mr Chalmers said while there were international factors that influenced the economy, there were also domestic pressures the government could control.
"Our issue with the prime minister isn't that he doesn't take responsibility for all of this, it's that he takes responsibility for none of this," he told ABC radio.
"That's the difference between him and Anthony Albanese."
Mr Chalmers said the interest rate rise was the first of many challenges to come as the Reserve Bank also forecasts increases to inflation.
"There are things that governments can do to try and manage the economy in the context of high inflation and the context of rising interest rates, and that's what our economic plan is all about," he said.
Senator Ruston defended the rate rise as inevitable following the pandemic.
"This is our economy coming out of a shutdown, it's our economy reopening," she told ABC radio on Wednesday.
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised the official cash interest rate from a historic low of 0.1 per cent to 0.35 per cent - the first rise since 2010 - ahead of the May 21 federal election.
Mr Frydenberg said the timing of the rise weeks out from an election "is what it is".
"They are an independent Reserve Bank, and it's not for me to criticise the board for the decisions that they take and they've explained the decision just yesterday," he told the Nine Network on Wednesday.
"It does, hopefully, reinforce in people's minds why strong economic management is so important.
"The timing is what it is and that's as a result of higher inflation that we've seen both globally, but also here in Australia domestically."
Mr Morrison campaigned in the marginal South Australian seat of Boothby in Adelaide while Mr Albanese was set to spruik Labor's TAFE policy in Melbourne.
