Sunrise host Nat Barr takes on PM over claims kids are stealing school lunches to eat: ‘Under your watch’

Sunrise host Nat Barr has gone head-to-head with Anthony Albanese over the country’s cost-of-living crisis.

The Australian prime minister appeared live on Sunrise on Tuesday to discuss the Reserve Bank’s decision to pause interest rate rises.

WATCH VIDEO ABOVE: Nat takes on Aussie PM Anthony Albanese.

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During the interview, Barr took on Albanese over heartbreaking claims kids are being forced to steal school lunches to eat.

“We hear this morning, Prime Minister, that students are pretending to go to the toilet at school, then they are rummaging through other kids bags to steal their lunches,” she said.

“That’s coinciding with the interest rate rises. This is under your watch. How do you feel about that?”

In response, the prime minister said the government was working hard to “make a difference”.

“We have had global inflation, (it’s) had a real impact here as it has around the world,” he said.

“Our interest rates are still lower, of course, than they are in Europe and the United States — even across the ditch.

“And that’s why we are working each and every day.

“We do have record jobs growth. We do have an increased surplus and we do have lower inflation. They’re all positive signs but for people out there, they are doing it tough.”

Not letting up, Barr confronted the prime minister over the crippling conditions hitting Australians with a mortgage.

“A third of Australians have mortgages and they are being smashed,” he said.

“They are writing to us every day, they are barely able to cope.

“We know that, but someone is still spending, retail spending is up. What else can you do for the people who are still spending?

“Because it seems the people with the mortgages are just the ones being hit all the time. What’s your message to the Reserve Bank?”

Albanese conceded it was a “difficult” situation to address.

“Well you’re right, Nat, some people are doing OK while others are doing it really tough,” he said.

“And that’s why the government has a difficult task to manage. That’s why we have to target our spending in a way that doesn’t put pressure on inflation, that targets that relief plan that we have.

“That’s why we were conscious about the surplus, we put additional money into public housing.”

He continued: “It is a difficult task, but one of the things that we have to make sure that we do is that monetary policy — that is what the Reserve Bank have been doing — works with fiscal policy.

“And that’s why we’ve banked those revenue upgrades to the bottom line so that we didn’t provide the Reserve Bank with any more arguments that they should have further increases.

“That’s why we welcome yesterday’s decision, which I think is in part a response to the fact that inflation is going down and that the news that our surplus will be in excess of the $4 billion that we predicted in the budget in May.”

Earlier in the show, Barr also confronted Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neill over the cost-of-living crisis, asking whether the government was doing enough.

“But are you though? Because inflation is what they’re calling sticky, it’s not coming down fast enough,” Barr said.

“Retail spending went up in May, building approvals even were slightly higher.

“So it’s not going down fast enough and this might be a reprieve, but people’s mortgages have doubled if not more in the last year, people are hurting out there and it’s on your government’s watch.”

In response, O’Neill conceded that “people are doing it tough”.

“Look, Nat, I completely understand. And you know, the discussions I’m having with my community at the moment are genuinely heartbreaking,” she said.

“People are really doing it tough. That is why the government is doing everything it can on the cost of living side – remember that big childcare package, the bulk billing incentives, lots of increases to payments that help Australians who are doing it most tough now.

“I can’t pretend that that’s gonna make these problems go away.”

“Remember, these are global issues we’ve got all developed countries experiencing, facing the same kind of problems.

“Our government’s focus is delivering responsible budget management first surplus in 15 years, that is not anything to sneeze at.

“But at the same time, making sure that we’re doing everything we can to help families. And I think the fact that the Reserve Bank has stepped back a little bit does illustrate that we’re getting the balance right.

“It’s just a really hard time for families and for the economy.”