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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Since being elected, the Prime Minister has been just four hours in Alice Springs. At the moment local residents, business owners, school principals and the mayor have all been pleading for support from you, Prime Minister. Yet locals have seen little evidence of the $250 million package that you promised making any difference to improve community safety. In fact, the situation has got much worse. Children are committing serious crimes. Sexual abuse is at a record high. Juvenile crime and domestic crime and abuse is at a record high. When does the Prime Minister intend to visit Alice Springs?

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

I have visited the Northern Territory, including Alice Springs, more than the three previous Liberal Prime Ministers combined, in two years.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Order! The Leader of the Opposition has asked his question. He was heard in silence. Members of my left, we are going to hear the Prime Minister. It's a serious question, and we're going to listen to the answer.

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

Last week I took the entire cabinet to the Northern Territory. We had ministers in Alice Springs, in Katherine, in remote Northern Territory as well. And I visited a remote community to commit to $4 billion to fix housing in remote communities. That's something that was never done by those opposite, who, when they were in government, in the 2014 budget, ripped money out of it, just like, in their last budget in 2022, they left funding going off a cliff, including in Alice Springs, for community organisations—for organisations that looked after women's safety; for organisations that looked after children. All of the funding stopped on 30 June of that year.

We had to engage and find money, including $250 million, which we have done with our 'A better, safer future for Central Australia' plan. We are delivering—

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

Order. The Prime Minister will pause. The Leader of the Opposition will withdraw that comment so we can continue on.

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

I withdraw.

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

A bloke who barely leaves his office, who doesn't get out and about—

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

The Chief Government Whip will cease interjecting.

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

except for his Wednesday night appearance on Sky News—

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

Order. The Prime Minister will pause. The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order.

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

Mr Speaker, it's on relevance. I know the Prime Minister's got a glass jaw. He was there for four hours—

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

Resume your seat.

Honourable members interjecting—

Order. The Leader of the Opposition knows that's an abuse of process. I've been very lenient—very lenient—with taking points of order on relevance and explaining my process of dealing with relevance. That sort of interjection is highly disorderly and highly disrespectful. I'm warning the Leader of the Opposition. I just want some silence for the remainder of this question. The Prime Minister has the call.

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

Thanks, Mr Speaker. The Leader of the Opposition shows his weakness with his incapacity to stand up, on any difficult issue, to his backbench—any whatsoever. And we saw it again today, with a group whose lesson taken from the last election was that they weren't right wing enough and they weren't conservative enough and they weren't reactionary enough; a group who have gone from being reactionaries to being nuclear reactionaries, with the one policy that they've come out with. But then they won't come out with any detail.

As I said, I have been a regular visitor to the Northern Territory. I will continue to be a regular visitor to the Northern Territory—just as, I suspect, this bloke will be a continual, regular visitor to Gina Rinehart's parties.

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

Order. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is not helping the House come to order. I'm going to hear from the member for Werriwa.