Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Today a ninth interest rate rise since May is widely expected. Three months out from the election, the Prime Minister committed to reducing costs for families and promised: 'Australians will be better off under a Labor government.' A rate increase today would mean the typical family is paying $1,400 more each month on their mortgage, without taking into account increases in grocery and power bills. I ask the Prime Minister: why do Australian families always pay more under Labor?

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! There is far too much noise on my left and my right—it is the first question. I will hear from the Prime Minister.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. Indeed Australians, when they went to their chemist at any time from 1 January, were better off because of the reduction from $42.50 down to $30, the first reduction in 75 years. Australians who want to get the skills that Australia needs will also benefit when they enrol in a TAFE course, because 180,000 of them will be fee-free as a result of the measures that we have put in place. Australians who have children in child care also will be better off as a result of the measures that will benefit some 1.2 million Australian families in July. The fact is we are acting responsibly.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister for infrastructure will cease interjecting.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are making targeted relief to take pressure off. Cheaper medicines, cheaper child care, energy price relief, paid parental leave, fee-free TAFE—all of these measures are there. Of course, interest rates started to increase under the former government—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Groom will cease interjecting.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and before the election they acknowledged that that was an inevitable consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine placing pressure on supply chains and placing pressure on inflation globally.

But, when it comes to supply chains, of course, there's another measure that's before this parliament. The National Reconstruction Fund is something that is placing pressure on inflation—inflation being the result of our failure to build things here, to make things here, in Australia. Those opposite have turned the coalition back into the 'no-alition'! Not only do they want to bring Tony Abbott back onto their Senate benches but they also want to go back to the policies where they just said no to absolutely everything. The political party that told the car industry to leave is going to oppose a national reconstruction fund that the business community—the Australian Industry Group and others—is crying out for to make us more competitive, to grow our economy and to grow jobs. That is because they've learned absolutely nothing. The Leader of the Opposition this morning spoke about bad luck. Well, it wasn't bad luck to leave Australia with a trillion dollars of debt; it was a bad government. It wasn't bad luck that inflicted a decade of wage stagnation; it was bad policy—a deliberate policy from those opposite to undermine wages and to drive wages down as a key feature of their economic— (Time expired)