Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind her that electricity prices in Sydney have risen 96 per cent since Labor came to power, water and sewerage prices have risen 50 per cent and insurance costs have risen 45 per cent. Given that the Prime Minister said that getting back to surplus is 'the best thing we can do to help families with cost-of-living pressures', I ask: when will her government ever, ever deliver a budget surplus?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question, though I am a bit surprised that he would raise in this parliament cost-of-living pressures for the people of Western Sydney when the Leader of the Opposition has a plan to ensure that more than half a million people in Western Sydney pay more tax, that 115,000 families in Western Sydney lose their schoolkids bonus, that 240,000 pensioners lose pension increases, that 1.1 million people in Western Sydney lose their low-income superannuation contribution. And then, of course, the cuts go on because of what the Leader of the Opposition has planned for schools and for hospitals and also the attacks that he has got planned on small businesses, with 120,000 small businesses—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, in the absence of you calling the Prime Minister to order, I raise the point of order: how can this answer be in the least bit relevant to a question about when the government will deliver a surplus?

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There was a rather large preamble to the question. The question is the entire question. Unless you want to narrow down the question posed, relevance goes to all the words in the question.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was asked a lengthy question including references to cost-of-living pressures in Western Sydney, and I am addressing that part of the question. Important for families in Western Sydney is the flow-through of lower interest rates to the burden that paying the household mortgage is for families in Western Sydney, with the average mortgage now costing them $5,000 less per year than it did when the Leader of the Opposition was a minister in government. So, for cost-of-living pressures for people in Western Sydney, we are very concerned.

We understand that, though our nation has a resilient economy, for many families it can be very difficult to make ends meet, which is why we will keep working with families in Western Sydney and indeed around the nation: working to provide benefits like the schoolkids bonus; working to better support their childcare costs than they have ever been supported before; working to ensure that they continue to enjoy the benefit of tax cuts, with more than half a million people in Western Sydney having their tax cuts at risk as a result of the policies of the Leader of the Opposition; making sure that we help them at the time that a new baby is born, through paid parental leave both for mums and for dads, making sure that that special support is available; and, for those older citizens in Western Sydney, continuing to provide pensions at an increased level—indeed, having delivered a historic increase and then adding to it. So cost-of-living pressures for people in Western Sydney and around the nation are at the forefront of the government's policies and plans to work with modern families as they work their way through the stresses and strains of modern living.

On government budget matters: the budget will be unveiled in May. I trust that, on the Thursday when the Leader of the Opposition replies, he will stop running for cover and hiding—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will return to the question.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and produce a complete set of figures.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the Leader of the Opposition have a supplementary question?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, yes, Madam Speaker; let me try again. Given the Prime Minister's statement that getting back to surplus is the best thing we can do to help families with cost-of-living pressures, I ask: when will her government ever deliver a budget surplus?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are a number of things we can do to help people with cost-of-living pressures. We can continue to provide the schoolkids bonus. We will; the Leader of the Opposition will not. We can continue to provide the tax-free threshold at $18,200. We will; the Leader of the Opposition will not. We can continue to provide a Paid Parental Leave scheme that meets the needs of families. We will; the Leader of the Opposition wants to put their grocery bills up. We will continue to bring pressure on the Barry O'Farrell government—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Mr Dutton interjecting—

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

the O'Farrell government in New South Wales—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will return to the question. The member for Dickson will desist from interjecting.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to adopt our plan, which of course is about stopping electricity prices continuing to skyrocket because of gold-plating of the network and other factors.

Again, to the Leader of the Opposition: we will always work with families around the nation, including in Western Sydney—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Madam Speaker, you asked the Prime Minister to return to the question about when the government would deliver a surplus and she has completely ignored you. I would ask you to bring her back to the question.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I again state that the entire question is for the relevance rule, but I had pulled up the Prime Minister when she was straying into state matters. I think that is going off what this government has to do or what the Prime Minister's responsibility has to do.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On budget matters: of course the budget will be produced in May, and my challenge to the Leader of the Opposition is to make sure that, on budget reply night, he details how many families in Western Sydney will be worse off under his plan.

Opposition members interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will return to the question.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How many families will be worse off because—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will return to the question.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

he will take away their tax cuts, their schoolkids bonus, their childcare support—and the list goes on—the low-income superannuation contribution and the pension increase? The people of Western Sydney are entitled to know that.

An incident having occurred in the gallery—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That word is not acceptable from anybody in this place. If anybody in the gallery or anybody on the floor utters that word again, they will be removed from the chamber.