Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Prime Minister, families are paying over $2 per litre at the pump today, which is increasing costs and inflation across the supply chain. It's one of the reasons interest rates have increased, which is hurting working Australians immensely. Fuel prices will go up and down, but a cut to fuel excise would lower costs and reduce inflation now. Why won't the government reduce the fuel excise at a time when it has a budget surplus and provide instant cost-of-living and mortgage relief to families, especially in Western Sydney?

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

():  I give the call to the Prime Minister. I thank the member for Fowler for her question, and I certainly acknowledge that so many people, including in her electorate, are doing it tough at the moment as a result of a range of factors, not the least of which is what has happened with oil, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine but also, we know, with the Middle East crisis, which is being undertaken—

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

The member for O'Connor is warned. If he interjects one more time, he'll leave the chamber. The Prime Minister will be heard in silence.

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

We inherited, when we came to office, a decision of the former government that they put in their budget in March 2022—a limited-time pause on fuel indexation. They put that limited period there because, when it comes to the issue of petrol indexation, one of the concerns in the economy, including from the Reserve Bank, which feeds into interest rates is how much cash there is in the economy. So we have purposefully targeted cost-of-living relief through the increase in payments, which the Minister for Social Services spoke about earlier today and the Minister for Health and Aged Care also spoke about, with cheaper medicines and the tripling of the bulk billing incentive. We have very consciously targeted the relief at families, through child care relief as well. We will always look at measures to—

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

Order, the Prime Minister will pause. There's far too much noise. The member for Fowler on a point of—the Prime Minister has concluded his answer.