Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. What cost-of-living relief is the Albanese Labor government delivering, and what plans to push prices up have the government rejected?

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

I thank the member for Holt for her question, and I thank the member for hosting me at JD Propagation, in Pearcedale—a nursery in which 14 million seedlings are done every year. We were right there. It is about the same number of Australians who got tax cuts on Monday, just perchance! The workers who we met at that nursery are some of the 83,000 taxpayers who got a tax cut this week in Holt. That's 83,000 in just one electorate. In addition to that, of course, many of those workers that we discussed will get a pay rise in their next pay packet, because we want Australians to earn more and to keep more of what they earn. In addition to that, every single household will receive $300 in power bill relief. The freezing of the cost of PBS medicines will make a difference as well. In addition, some—certainly not all of the constituents of Holt, but some—will benefit from the two weeks extra paid parental leave that will make a difference for families there. All of these measures are designed to help people under pressure and take pressure off inflation.

What we know is that real wages have actually grown more in the last year than grew under the entire length in which they were in office over there. That's more in one year under us than in 10 years under them. That is the common thread of what we've been doing—providing that assistance while taking pressure off inflation. Cheaper child care, cheaper medicines, fee-free TAFE—it's all of those measures. The other thing that all of these cost-of-living measures have in common is that they were opposed by those opposite. Not only do those opposite barrack for the worst outcomes for Australia; they vote for it. We want to see growth up, productivity up and wages up. They're only interested in cutting wages and talking the country down. We want to create jobs in manufacturing powered by cheaper, cleaner energy. They want to wreck investment and then charge taxpayers for the most expensive form of new energy that's available with their nuclear reactionary plan. We're building more homes and making super stronger; they want to wreck super by making people raid their super. We are getting bulk-billing back in business. The Leader of the Opposition wants a second crack at destroying Medicare after the attempts that were there in the 2014 budget. (Time expired)

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. In a new survey, Finder reports 13 per cent of mortgage holders have extended their home loan in the last year in order to lower their repayments. Finder home loans expert Richard Whitten says the average Australian household has much less disposable income compared to a few years ago. Prime Minister, after three failed budgets, why are Australian families paying the price for Labor's economic incompetence?

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

I didn't think he'd get a question today after he got rolled again on divestiture powers in the supermarket sector, but I welcome the question from the shadow Treasurer. The question is about mortgage stress. Obviously, we understand that, after rates began rising on their watch, that has put additional pressure on Australians with a mortgage. I think that's self-evident. Because of that, this is one of the reasons—the fact people are under pressure—that we are rolling out substantial, meaningful but responsible cost-of-living relief this week. If the shadow Treasurer really cared about the pressures that people are under in communities right around Australia, instead of opposing our cost-of-living relief, as he did on the radio this morning, he would support it, and he would support it enthusiastically. If the shadow Treasurer really understands the mortgage stress that people are under, he would enthusiastically welcome the fact that every single taxpayer is getting a tax cut this week. He would enthusiastically welcome the fact that every household is getting energy bill relief this week. He would enthusiastically welcome the fact that we're giving extra help to parents, that we're making medicines cheaper and that millions of Australians on award wages will be getting a pay rise this week with our full-throated support.

These questions from the shadow Treasurer would have much more credibility if he came out and said that he supported our cost-of-living relief. Instead, just this morning, when he was asked about this cost-of-living relief on radio, on 2CC, he dismissed it as a handout, and he said it would make it worse. That will be news to new parents who need extra help via the extension to paid parental leave. That will be news to people who pay a lot more medicines but, because of us, will be paying a little bit less. That will be news to people who need and deserve higher wages, particularly people on lower wages and people on award wages.

We understand the pressures that people are under. More than that, we are responding to them, we are acting on them and we would expect that any coalition, any opposition, who truly cared about cost-of-living pressures would support them not oppose them, as the shadow Treasurer did this morning.