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

My question is to the Prime Minister. In January of this year, a record 125,410 visa holders arrived in Australia, far outstripping the housing stock available here in our country. Given permanent and long-term overseas arrivals are outpacing the construction of new homes at a rate of almost four to one, can the Prime Minister tell the House how many new homes or units were built in January?

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

I'm asked a question about migration. Indeed, just last week the Centre for Population put out a population forecast which showed that the Australian population is now expected to be smaller in 2030-31 than the pre-pandemic forecast published by the former government, when this bloke here was the cabinet minister responsible for migration. Here's what the population statement said:

For 2030-31, the expected population is … 0.6 million people (2.1 per cent) below what was projected prior to the onset of the pandemic in the 2019-20 MYEFO.

But it's not just when he was the minister, because this is what the Leader of the Opposition has said with his current title, of Leader of the Opposition. He said this on 2 September 2022: 'We do need an increase in the migration numbers.'

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

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

Order! Members on my right will cease interjecting.

The minister for industry will cease interjecting. I'll hear from the member for Deakin on a point of order.

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question asked the Prime Minister how many homes were built in January. If he is unable to answer that question, he should sit down.

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

The Leader of the House.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Speaker, it's become a practice now from those opposite standing up to take a point of order to not nominate any standing order at all that they think is being breached. In previous parliaments, when it has got to this point, there have been times when the Speaker has simply insisted that, at the start, someone has to nominate what standing order they're raising, because otherwise it's just being used as extra speeches.

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

I think we'll sort this out one way or the other. Moving forward, if you get up and don't say what the standing order is, you'll leave the chamber immediately. Just so that everyone is crystal clear: there will be no more coming to the dispatch box, giving a speech or asking a question. Under the standing orders, there is one time to take a point of order on relevance. It's pretty easy to do. You simply get up and say, 'I'm taking my point of order on relevance.' This is the warning shot. It is happening more and more. Question time is not going to operate like that. If you do that, you won't stay. The Prime Minister in continuation.

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

Of course, he didn't say it just once. He went on to say this in October 2022: 'In addition to a domestic workforce, of course, we need migration. We need migration.' It wasn't a stutter. It was a repeat of how important it was, just to emphasise it. Then, in his first budget reply, because there was no policy there at all, he said this:

… I … brought in record numbers of people …

Boasting he was. But it wasn't just him. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition said this:

… we know that urgently business needs a workforce and much of that workforce … needs to come from overseas.

That's what they had to say. The shadow minister for immigration said:

… we need to get our international students back, we need to get our working holiday visa maker visa holders back.

The whole of their front bench were out there saying, 'We need more people!'

And of course that's before I have time to go through the wrecked migration program, with that troika that were there—

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

The member for Hume. The Treasurer will cease interjecting.

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

the reports from Dr Parkinson, from Christine Nixon and from Dennis Richardson, all showing what a failed migration system looks like under those opposite. Well, we're getting on with fixing it, with a minister who actually has a migration policy.

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! There is far too much noise. The Treasurer and the member for Hume can cease their dialogue across the chamber. That will assist greatly.