Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is again addressed to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister confirm that since 2002 only two Australian treasurers have presided over an unemployment rate that is higher than the OECD average? Will the Prime Minister agree to have a debate in this parliament on Australia's economy today, and will he admit that the only two treasurers who have had an unemployment rate that is higher than the OECD average are the current Treasurer and himself?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm interested in the jobs of Australians. That's what I'm interested in. The Leader of the Opposition is clearly only interested in his own job, because all he wants to do is have a talkfest in this place. I'm interested in the jobs of Australians and taking action to ensure Australians are in work.

More and more Australians are in work, and more Australians are in work today as a share of the Australian population than at any other time in Australia's history. The Leader of the Opposition may think that this place and the chatter that goes on here is terribly important to him and his position, but I'm going to remain focused on those Australians who simply want us to get on with the job of ensuring that we're providing the stable, the calm and the responsible financial management which has brought the budget back into surplus.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a spurious point of order, I am assuming.

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Members on my left!

Mr Brendan O'Connor interjecting—

Member for Gorton, I need you to cease interjecting. You're literally yelling into my left ear. The Leader of the Opposition, on a point of order?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On relevance. There were two parts to the question. One part went to whether the current Treasurer and the current Prime Minister are the only two Australian treasurers who have presided over an unemployment rate higher than the OECD average. He hasn't mentioned that. And, the second is, if he's confident, let's have a debate about—

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

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. I'm just going to say to the Leader of the Opposition that, whilst there's additional tolerance extended to him and to the Prime Minister because of their positions, points of order are not going to be used to ask another question or to make a political statement. There were two parts to the question. The Prime Minister can address one or the other, or both. That's the way it works. The Prime Minister has the call.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition may want to come into this place and throw a tantrum at question time over whether or not someone's going to agree to what he wants to do. He's entitled to do that, but the tantrums of the Leader of the Opposition in this place only reinforce the Labor Party's addiction to panic and crisis. They love panic. They love crisis. Even when circumstances don't bear out their argument, they seek to create them, because they will look for any excuse to put their hands in the pockets of the Australian people and to rapidly increase spending to a reckless level.

I referred earlier to the catalogue of Labor Party failures in government when it came to policy. The reason they engaged in those failures is that they could never break their cycle of panic and crisis. They put in ill-considered measures. They didn't think them through. They just smashed them through and into the Australian community, and Australians have been paying for them ever since.

At the last election, I said: if you vote Labor once, you pay for it for the next decade. It seems exactly the same thing is true under this Leader of the Opposition. He can throw as many tantrums as he likes. We'll just get on with the job of good government.