Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. In the next three months it is expected that around 150,000 households with fixed-rate loans are at risk of falling off a $95 billion refinancing cliff. This will see some homeowners with repayments increasing by 50 per cent overnight. Why then did the Treasurer use three-year-old data to claim that Australians are finding it easier to pay their mortgages?

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that the shadow Treasurer was expecting a rate rise today, because he's come in unprepared and had to read out yesterday's question! You could see him rifling through his folder looking in vain for something relevant to say.

When it comes to fixed rate mortgages, this is a substantial part of the pressure that a lot of Australians are feeling as a consequence of interest rates which started rising on their watch. The first interest rate rise in this cycle, which has put a lot of pressure on people, happened in May 2022 when they were in government.

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

The member for Deakin.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Interest rates have continued to rise in ways that have put extra pressure on people. We understand that and we have acknowledged that throughout. When it comes to people coming off fixed rate mortgages onto variable rate mortgages, this is a substantial part of the pressure. If you think about it in quarterly terms, the biggest number of fixed rate mortgages becoming variable was last quarter. We think, on the latest numbers, it was about 19 per cent of fixed rate mortgages last quarter and about 17 per cent this quarter. There are still substantial numbers of people, but it peaked last quarter and it is coming off. For those people, obviously, higher rates put extra pressure on their household budgets, and that's a big part of the story.

More broadly, we all know that interest rates have been rising because, like most advanced major economies around the world, we've got an inflation challenge in our economy. If the shadow Treasurer really understood and cared about the inflation challenge in our economy, he would acknowledge that the highest quarterly inflation in this cycle—actually for some decades—was the March quarter of 2022, when they were in office. What matters here—

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

Order! The Treasurer will pause and I'll hear from the member for Hume.

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order on relevance: the question was very specifically asking why the Treasurer was using three-year-old data to try to explain that Australians are finding it easier to pay their mortgages.

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

The Treasurer is being relevant to the topic of the question. As long as he's being relevant to the topic, he's within the standing orders. If he strays from the question, I'll listen carefully to make sure that he is being relevant. The Treasurer has the call.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Every time he opens his mouth he reminds us why he hardly ever gets a question. We get the scripted intervention and he looks down the camera, and we get the angry interventions from the Leader of the Opposition—

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

The Treasurer will return to the question.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

when the real issue here—

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

The Treasurer will pause. The Treasurer will just cool his jets.

Government members interjecting—

Order! Members on my right!

The member for Macnamara is warned. There's far too much noise. I want to hear from the member for Petrie on a point of order.

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's just on reflecting on the Leader of the Opposition again and reflecting on members. If we got up here and said, 'He's got big ears and he's got—

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

Resume your seat. I appreciate the member for Petrie's intervention. As I was trying to listen to the Treasurer, he was talking about the member for Hume, not the Leader of the Opposition. I'll just ask the Treasurer to remain relevant to the question.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I don't know where to begin with that point of order, Mr Speaker, so I'll leave it be. When the shadow Treasurer came up with his pre-scripted point of order, I was explaining to him—because he clearly doesn't understand—that the inflation challenge in our economy has been present for some time. That's why rolling out billions of dollars in cost-of-living help is the No. 1 priority of this government. We've got an inflation challenge. It's the reason why we've got a bigger surplus, taking the pressure off inflation. It's why we're investing in the supply side challenges in our economy. We are cleaning up the mess that they left behind after a wasted decade of missed opportunities— (Time expired)