Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Yesterday in question time both the Prime Minister and Treasurer refused to explain what the Treasurer meant when he referred to 'excesses in negative gearing'. So, Prime Minister, I ask again: what are the excesses in negative gearing?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question about negative gearing. Recognising its central relevance to housing affordability, I invite the Minister for Social Services to provide him with some further details on affordability.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

Government members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat for a second. Members on my left and right will cease interjecting.

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The next Treasurer. The cat's out of the bag.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lilley will cease interjecting. The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I think we are just as surprised as the Treasurer by what has just happened here. While the Prime Minister can provide a question to the relevant minister, there is no precedent for him providing it to a minister who does not have portfolio coverage of what the question goes to, which is exactly what has just happened.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will hear from the Leader of the House.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, the standing orders are very clear that the Prime Minister can direct the question to any member of the front bench that he chooses. Fortunately, in this government we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the people that the Prime Minister can choose from. Of course, the minister for housing is entirely appropriate, as would be, for example, the Minister for Small Business, the Assistant Treasurer, the Treasurer or, indeed, myself as the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science. The Prime Minister has chosen to do so; he is entirely in order.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is right. The Prime Minister did not direct it to the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, but the point you make is quite right under the standing orders and under the practice. I call the Minister for Social Services.

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Obviously housing affordability and rental affordability is an issue we deal with very often in the portfolio of social services. Indeed, it is a very pleasing thing to be able to provide an answer on this issue, particularly with respect to a government under whose watch—between 2007 and 2008, and between 2013 and 2014—the proportion of low-income households in rental stress increased from 35.4 per cent to 42.5 per cent. And yet they pretend in this place that they have some magic silver bullet to both rental stress and housing affordability. What is the magic silver bullet? A new tax.

Look, having been referred this question by the Prime Minister, I might quote a previous Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, who said, 'Those of you who have spent time in Australia know that we are not given to overstatement'. That is something that is true, I think, for the majority of Australians but stops short of the Labor caucus, because when they came up with this policy they described it as—

Ms O'Dwyer interjecting—

Ms Julie Bishop interjecting—

Mrs Sudmalis interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat. The Minister for Small Business, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the member for Gilmore will cease interjecting. The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On direct relevance, Mr Speaker. It was a tight question. There was no preamble. If the minister is the one who is going to answer, he still has to be directly relevant to the question. He is nowhere near it.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. I will make a couple of points. It was a short question. The Prime Minister in his answer linked negative gearing and housing affordability, and that is within the broad policy area. The minister is referring to taxation, and I would ask him for the remainder of his answer to stay on the subject matter of the question. I call the minister.

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Indeed, Mr Speaker. The premise of the Labor policy is that it is a cure to the very complicated issue of housing affordability—

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Isaacs is warned.

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They have described it as the most important structural reform in a decade. It is a new tax. Some category of Australians was not paying the tax in 2015, and that same category will be paying it in 2017 under this policy. It is a $585 million new tax, and that is supposed to be the most important structural reform in a decade? They have form in this area of overstatement on tax. Apparently the mining tax which was meant to raise $12 billion worth of revenue in the first two years—

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Sydney, that is your final warning.

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

was described as 'historic'.

Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Hunter cannot raise a point of order on direct relevance; only one point of order can be raised.

Mr Hunt interjecting—

The Minister for the Environment will cease interjecting. The member for Hunter—

Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will just let you go.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No. The member for Hunter does not have the call. The member for Hunter cannot raise a point of order on direct relevance.

Mr Joyce interjecting—

I will give him the call but I will not accept or tolerate frivolous points of order. I am giving the member for Hunter fair warning now.

Opposition members interjecting—

Members on my right. Member for Hunter, on a point of order?

Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And, of course, Mr Speaker, I would not—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Your point of order?

Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

104(c).

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Hunter will resume his seat, and is warned! Where were we?

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We were at the point where we were discussing what is self-professed to be the most important structural reform in a decade. I was pointing out that they have form on overstatements about tax. The mining tax from the member from Lilley was to be a historic reform. Of course, if you measure historic as 'historic failure to raise revenue', then it was indeed a historic reform with a 97 per cent failure on the estimate to raise $12 million worth of revenue. What we have here is the idea that you can take the two-thirds of Australians who have been receiving a tax benefit, who were negative gearing and who earn under $80,000, and make them pay more tax on housing— (Time expired)