Sunrise's Nat Barr slams Anthony Albanese over cost of living crisis: 'Under your watch'

Sunrise host Natalie Barr got into a heated argument with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over the country's cost of living crisis.

Mr Albanese was on the show on Tuesday to discuss the Reserve Bank's decision to pause interest rate rises when Nat revealed claims children have been forced to steal school lunches in order 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 told him. "That’s coinciding with the interest rate rises. This is under your watch. How do you feel about that?"

"Well, I know what it’s like to do it tough, Nat. And for many families out there, they are doing it tough," Mr Albanese. "And that’s why my Government will work each and every day to make a difference."

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"A third of Australians have mortgages. And they are being smashed," Nat said.

Nat revealed the Sunrise team has been receiving countless emails from viewers who have been struggling with the cost of living.

"They are barely able to cope. We know that," she added. "But someone is still spending. Retail spending is up."

Karl Stefanovic hits out at the PM

Karl Stefanovic also slammed the Prime Minister, telling him that rising rates would ensure Australians would "turn on you".

"I am one of millions of Australians who welcomed the decision of the Reserve Bank yesterday," Mr Albanese said.

Karl said it was "nothing to celebrate" as future hikes may follow.

"PM, if you don’t get this right they will turn on you," Karl said.

"I get that people are doing it tough," Mr Albanese said. "For me this isn’t about politics, this is about assisting people. I know what it’s like to do it tough, and I get that people out there are under pressure and that’s why the Government is doing everything we can."

During an appearance on the ABC, host Michael Rowland questioned the Prime Minister over whether more support would be given to struggling Australians given the surplus is forecast to be almost $20 billion.

Mr Albanese responded, by saying cheaper child care will kick in on July 1, as well as some other forms of support.

"We saw paid parental leave be extended. We saw a tripling of the Medicare bulk billing rate so that more Australians, 11 million Australians, can see a doctor for free," he said. "We saw Energy Price Relief, a $3 billion plan between the Commonwealth and state and territory governments to take that pressure off energy price increases as well.

"We do need to understand, of course, that if the Government just splashed money around, that would put upward pressure when it comes to inflation, which would work counter to what the Reserve Bank is doing on monetary policy."

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