Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

They're certainly better off since 2013. The HILDA Survey the member refers to was conducted to December 2017. Since then, the unemployment rate has come down from 5.6 per cent to 5.2 per cent. The wage price index has increased from 2.1 per cent to 2.3 per cent. Real wages have increased, the participation rate has increased and the ABS household income and wealth survey, released earlier this month, which takes into account the full 2017-18 year, shows that real median household disposable incomes have increased by over $2,000 per year compared to 2007-08.

The other point about the HILDA Survey is that, when it comes to the poverty line, it says it has 'fluctuated over time, but the broad trend has been downwards'. This is especially true since 2007, when 12.4 per cent of the population was in relative poverty. By 2016, the proportion in poverty had fallen to 9.6 per cent. The bottom line is that this government, this side of the House, has been responsible for helping to create the conditions where more than 1.4 million new jobs have been created. Lower taxes have ensured that Australians can earn more and keep more of what they earn.

I will tell you what will lead to worse outcomes for the Australian people, lower household incomes and a lower standard of living, and that's $387 billion of higher taxes. The Leader of the Opposition can stand up today and tell the House that those policies are no longer the policies of the Labor Party. The Prime Minister says he can. The Prime Minister said the Leader of the Opposition can, but he won't because he needs to wait for Jay Weatherill—

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