Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. On 1 July, AGL electricity prices in New South Wales will go up by 16 per cent. With power prices going up, why is the Prime Minister cutting the $365-a-year energy supplement for pensioners, a cut that will make it even harder for pensioners to stay warm in the wintertime?

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

I thank the member for her question. The question is with respect to the energy supplement, otherwise referred to as the compensation for the carbon tax. Of course, the carbon tax was only in for the briefest period of time. The carbon tax also had the habit of driving electricity prices right up. We all remember that. What the member now complains of is government policy—

Mr Conroy interjecting—

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

The member for Shortland is warned!

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

to end the supplement that was meant to compensate for a tax that did not actually go ahead. What the member fails to tell the House is that the savings achieved from that measure the Labor Party has already banked and spent. When you have a look at Labor's fiscal plans, they are absolutely explicit on page 30 on all the measures which we have openly and transparently said that we would pursue and which they have said they would reverse. There is a big long list of them. They would not proceed with applying a one-week ordinary waiting period. They would not proceed with changes to pension affordability. The list goes on. Mysteriously absent from the list is the energy supplement. So it is just like the changes to the pension assets test. We all remember that—when the member for Jagajaga's party announced during the election campaign that they would support—

Honourable members interjecting—

Mr Taylor interjecting—

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

The members on my right will cease interjecting—the member for Hume, in particular.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I have a point of order on relevance. The minister could at least talk about pensioners once—

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

The member for Jagajaga will resume her seat.

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

I am waiting for interjections from the member for Isaacs to cease.

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

Members on this side of the House think it is quite relevant when members on that side complain about a savings measure they have already banked and spent. We actually think, as a matter of fiscal management, that is quite relevant.

The point is that the member for Jagajaga is probably the single greatest threat to this country ever returning to surplus, because there is not a savings measure that she has ever agreed with. The press release comes out before the savings measure is even thought of, binding the shadow cabinet to whatever the member for Jagajaga thinks is the case! That is why the member for Jagajaga gets herself into these awkward situations such as her party agreeing to a change to the pension assets test at the same time as she is collecting signatures on a petition opposing it. I ask her: what did you do with those signatures? What did you say to the pensioners whose signatures you were collecting opposing a measure you support? What do you say to the House when you are complaining about a savings measure you have already banked and spent? The next time you get up, you better work out whether you actually support it, whether you do not support it, whether you are going to support it or whether you oppose it. There are so many positions here, it is more like Bikram yoga!