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

My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer confirm that Australia has been in a household recession for the past six quarters and that this is the longest straight run of falling per capita output on record?

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

There he is. He is there after all. And what a relief for all of us that is!

As I said when the national accounts came out last Wednesday, the Australian economy barely grew in the June quarter. That's true in nominal terms, and it's true that the economy is weak per person as well. That's why it would be absolutely diabolical if we pulled $315 billion out of the economy as the shadow Treasurer wants us to do. If we had taken the free advice of those opposite, the economy would be in recession right now.

When we came to office, inflation had a six in front of it and it was rising. Interest rates were already going up. There were deficits as far as the eye could see. Real wages were falling when we came to office. Because of our collective efforts, we've got wages moving again. We're rolling out cost-of-living relief.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Order, members on my left.

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

If they truly cared about household income—

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

The member for Barker will cease interjecting.

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

they wouldn't have called for an election over our tax cuts for every taxpayer. If they really cared about household incomes, they wouldn't be against our cost-of-living relief. If they really cared about household incomes, they wouldn't be wanting Australians to work longer for less. We take a different approach to those opposite—

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Order, members on my left.

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

and it's clear in the response to the national accounts that came out last week.

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

The member for Hume has asked his question.

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

Those opposite were desperate for the economy to go into recession. They desperately want higher interest rates. They desperately want higher inflation. They desperately want the economy to go backwards, because it serves their political purposes. And they hope that, if we go into recession, nobody will notice that we're in the third year of a three-year parliamentary term and they still don't have any credible or costed economic policies. They still won't come clean to the Australian people on what their $315 billion in cuts means for Medicare—

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

The Treasurer will pause. There's far too much noise during this first question and first answer. I'm not starting the week that way. We'll have a lot more quiet as we move forward. But the shadow Treasurer will raise his point of order.

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

On relevance, Mr Speaker: it was a very specific question. We've seen a record six quarters of collapsing GDP per—

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

Resume your seat. The Leader of the House, on a point of order.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order is: the question went directly to households, which is what the Treasurer is answering.

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

Well, for there to be some comparing and contrasting they must, of course, at least outline what the government's policy is.

An honourable member interjecting—

Order! The remainder of the answer won't just be about the opposition, because he wasn't asked about opposition policy; he was asked about government policy. He has the call.

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

I'm talking about the madness of pulling hundreds of billions of dollars out of an economy which is already weak—already weak in per capita terms and already weak in nominal terms.

Now, what we've done is: we've managed this economy responsibly. We've maintained a primary focus on inflation but not ignored the risks to growth or the pressures that people are under. Per capita growth went backwards on a number of instances under those opposite as well. We understand that the economy is particularly soft right now. It would be even softer if those opposite had their way. Their approach to cuts in the budget would be a recipe for recession. We found a way to keep the economy growing at the same time that we're providing cost-of-living relief and getting the budget in much— (Time expired)

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The Leader of the Nationals and the member for Hume are interjecting far too much. That will cease immediately.