Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. How is the Albanese Labor government working to support our pensioners and low- and middle-income earners to ease cost-of-living pressures? What does it mean for the budget, and what has been the response?

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

Thanks to the wonderful member for Robertson for the way that he represents his community in this place. Cost-of-living relief in the budget is for everyone, in the form of tax cuts for taxpayers, energy bill relief for households and getting wages moving again for all Australian workers. But, as we are a Labor government, there is also a particular emphasis on the low-paid and people on pensions and payments. Two point nine million Australians earning less than $45,000 will get the tax cut they need and deserve, which would have been denied by those opposite. There are cheaper medicines, through our freezing the maximum cost of PBS medicines for five years for people with a concession card. We have frozen deeming rates for 876,000 people, including 450,000 age pensioners. And about 200,000 of the million people who will benefit from our increase to Commonwealth rent assistance are on the age pension as well. All of that means that the pension is up about $120 a fortnight since we came to office, JobSeeker is up about the same, rent assistance is up by about $81 a fortnight, and youth allowance is up by between $81 and $108 a fortnight. This is because of decisions that we've taken and funded in the budget, combined with the indexation of payments.

Until the member for Hume became the shadow Treasurer, that indexation of payments was more or less a bipartisan thing. Then he started talking about $315 billion of overspending in the budget, which includes the indexation of pensions and payments. He calls that 'overspending'. It should send a shiver up the spine of every age pensioner in this country that he thinks indexing their pensions is overspending. And, if he thinks there is $315 billion too much spending in the budget, why won't he come clean on his $315 billion of cuts? Could it be because the last time they came into office they smashed Medicare and they came after people on pensions and payments and they brought in robodebt?

It is easy to dismiss this shadow Treasurer because of his bumbling incompetence, his incoherence and his failure to explain even the most basic details in the Leader of the Opposition's budget reply, but it masks a much more dangerous—

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

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

Order! The Treasurer will pause. There is far, far too much noise on both my left—

The member for Hume, when I'm trying to deal with a point of order, it is definitely not the time to interject. He knows that. The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order?

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, Mr Speaker—standing order 90, reflections on members. You, commendably, have been working—

Government members interjecting—

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

Order! Members on my right, I want to hear this point of order.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You, commendably, have been working to increase standards in this House. The standing orders say that 'personal reflections on other members shall be considered highly disorderly'. In fact, the Leader of the House raised the very same standing order just a few moments ago. I ask that you direct the Treasurer to cease his repeated practice of undignified personal attacks.

Government members interjecting—

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

Order! This is a serious issue. Order! Members on my right! This is a serious issue—

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Very deadpan delivery.

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

The Minister for the Environment and Water is now warned. If she interjects again she'll be removed from the chamber. The Leader of the House on this serious issue?

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

On this serious issue, Mr Speaker. If the Manager of Opposition Business is seriously proposing that we want to set a standard where most of their questions are out of order then we can go there. But to be asking the questions that they've been asking today and then suddenly get precious, with a glass jaw, when anything comes back is absurd.

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

Before the Treasurer resumes, I just want to remind the House that it is highly disorderly to reflect on members. The Manager of Opposition Business makes a very good point. So if, moving forward, everyone can agree that in the questions we won't reflect on members and in the answers we won't reflect on members, we won't have this problem. The Treasurer can cease his critique and return to the question to make sure that we are getting an answer to the question that he was asked. He has the call.

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

Mr Speaker, we on this side of the House are supporting people on low and fixed incomes. We are providing cost-of-living relief to everyone at the same time as we clean up the mess that those opposite left in the budget. We've been turning Liberal deficits into Labor surpluses and we've been paying down Liberal debt. If they get their hands on the budget there will be more Liberal debt, there will be more waste, there'll be more rorts and there will be more attacks on Medicare and on pensioners, and on the lowest-paid Australians.