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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Twelve months ago I asked the Prime Minister: was he adding 1.5 million people from overseas during a rental and housing crisis and a cost-of-living challenge? The Prime Minister denied that was the case. Tuesday's budget revealed these problems have only worsened and now around 1.7 million people are coming into our country when building activity is at an 11-year low. Will the Prime Minister admit that his weak leadership and bad decisions over three budgets have made it harder for Australians to buy or to rent a home?

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

Of course, we inherited a broken migration system from those opposite, and the migration system that the Leader of the Opposition talks about is the system that he presided over. What we are doing is fixing the system. In the words of Dr Parkinson, who did the review:

This is a 10-year rebuild. This is not something that you can do quickly because it is so badly broken.

He said it was 'a deliberate decision to neglect the system'. We also had the report from Christine Nixon, who found that systemic failures in the visa system under the Leader of the Opposition's watch paved the way for foreign organised crime syndicates, including the Albanian mafia, to infiltrate the country and engage in illicit activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, violence, modern slavery, sexual exploitation and corruption. The former deputy secretary of the immigration department, Abul Rizvi, indeed found:

In total there were between 100,000 and 120,000 asylum applications lodged'—

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

Order! The Prime Minister will pause. I heard what the Leader of the Opposition was interjecting then. The Prime Minister—I'm listening carefully—is reading direct reports regarding the question he was asked, and these reports are recent reports. They're not something to do with the comparison. I'll just ask for the Prime Minister to be heard in silence.

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

He found:

In total, there were between 100,000 and 120,000 asylum applications lodged while Dutton was in charge. This is by far the largest number of asylum applications under any immigration minister in our history.

Dennis Richardson also did a review—the former ASIO director-general, someone who is widely respected.

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

The Prime Minister will pause. The member for Moreton will cease interjecting.

The Minister for Home Affairs will cease interjecting. The Leader of the Opposition has the call on a point of order.

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

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. The question was about the migration intake and housing for Australians. Can the Prime Minister defend what was in his budget last night, or is he—

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

Resume your seat.

Honourable members interjecting—

Order! No. I'm listening extremely carefully to the Prime Minister on this one. Trust me. He is reading from direct reports from different reviews regarding the question he was asked about the decisions that he has taken. So that was the question, or part of the question, as well. So of course he's going to be directly relevant. If he were reading a report from 20 years ago or if he were reading a report from five years ago, he wouldn't be relevant, because he's been asked about decisions that have been taken. If he strays into territory regarding comparisons or contrast, he won't be able to do that, because the question was specific about the decisions that the government's taken. On a further point of order?

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

To your ruling, Mr Speaker, the question was: will the Prime Minister admit that his weak leadership and bad decisions over three budgets have made it harder for Australians to buy or rent a home? How can he be in order when he has no relevance to that question?

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

Order! Resume your seat. I'll tell you how it's being relevant: because he was asked also about the remarks that he made 12 months ago, which were referred to in the first part of your question. I just want to repeat to the Leader of the Opposition: it's not an opportunity to repeat the question.

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

I'm proud of the time when I was a minister in the past, and it's no wonder that the Leader of the Opposition is embarrassed by his performance.

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

Please return to the question.

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

Dennis Richardson said this: he spoke about 'a lack of proper due diligence' resulting in public money being handed to individuals and businesses suspected of seeking to circumvent US sanctions against Iran, money laundering, bribery, drugs and arms smuggling into Australia, and corruption. We inherited a broken migration system, and we're working to fix it. Under our government, net overseas migration is on track to halve next year. We've announced we will limit international student numbers. At the same time, we know that we have skills shortages in our economy, so we're ensuring that our migration settings are meeting Australia's needs in areas like nursing, aged care and construction. The opposition should be clear about where their cuts will come from and what it means for business and for our economy.

Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How is the budget tackling the challenges we face today while building for a better future? Is there anything standing in the way of making our future here?

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

I thank the member for Boothby for her question. Indeed, our budget on Tuesday night was about helping people with their cost of living in a way that doesn't add to inflation but also about making our future here in Australia. It's a budget for every Australian, not just some—tax cuts for every single taxpayer, not just some; energy price relief for every household, not just some; stronger Medicare in every single community; more homes right around the country; a better deal for every working parent, with paid parental leave; more help for households who are doing it tough.

But we're also, while we're dealing with the immediate challenges, looking to the future. What does the economy look like due to the global changes that are occurring, and how do we set Australia up for success? We do that by making more things here in Australia, making sure that we take advantage of the opportunities which are there. For two years those opposite have said no to everything—no to cheaper medicines, no to helping people with their power bills, no to tax cuts for every taxpayer. And on budget night this year they said immediately—it didn't take them long; they haven't seen the legislation yet—that they're saying no to making more things here in Australia. They're saying no to Australian jobs. They're saying no to Australian ingenuity. They're saying, 'We should just export resources, wait for someone else to value-add and then import it back once the value has been added.'

They were a government, of course, that told the car industry to bugger off. They just told them to leave. And they got the message, and they left. But, of course, when the car industry left, it didn't just affect the people who were working in that industry; there was a multiplier impact—just like making more things here in Australia will have a multiplier impact. They drove the car industry out because they didn't want things built in Australia then, and they don't believe we can do it now. It's the same mob—the same coalition mentality—that has built trains that don't fit on stations, that are the wrong gauge and that don't work, and ferries that can't fit under bridges. They say we can't do it. Well, we have faith in the Australian people, in Australian workers and in Australian businesses. That's why Tuesday's budget will back them. (Time expired)