Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Over the last two years, Australian households have experienced the largest fall in disposable incomes in the OECD. That's more than the UK, the US, Germany, France, Italy and Canada. With falling disposable income and sticky high inflation hurting households, why is the Albanese Labor government fighting the Reserve Bank while Australian families are going backwards?

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

I say respectfully to the honourable member that, if we agree that Australians are doing it tough, and I think that we do, it's a bit bizarre that those opposite want people to earn less and they want them to get less help with the cost of living. They didn't want everyone to get a tax cut. They didn't want every household to get energy bill relief. They presided over a decade of deliberate wage stagnation and wage suppression. So those opposite have got to make up their mind. They've got to decide whether they agree that people are doing it tough—we understand that people are doing it especially tough—and they've got to decide whether they want to be part of the problem or part of the solution. Part of the problem would be if they swung the axe at Medicare and pensions and all of the things that they're contemplating in their $315 billion in cuts. That would make things worse rather than better. The Leader of the Opposition has jumped—

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

The member for Spence is warned. Any member can take a point of order. The member for Hume is doing so. He has the call.

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

On relevance: there was no mention of alternative policies in the question, and the Treasurer's imagination is running wild as always.

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

The member for Hume was given the courtesy for a point of order. He does not need to add extra commentary to every point of order. The Treasurer is entitled to some compare and contrast, but I'll just draw him back to the question to make sure he is being relevant.

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

The point that I'm making is that I believe that everyone in this parliament understands, as indeed I believe every Australian understands, that people are doing it tough right now. The choice that we have, as the people's representatives here in the House, is whether we want to work hard to try and help people who are doing it tough or whether we want to further harm people doing it tough. If you attacked Medicare, as they did last time they were in office, if they cut wages like the Leader of the Opposition is proposing today—

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

Order. The Treasurer just needs to make sure his answer—he wasn't asked about the opposition, he wasn't asked about alternative policies, and he wasn't asked to give an opinion. As much as the Treasurer is giving his answer about the opposition, he won't be able to do that for the remainder of his answer. He's done a compare and contrast. He needs to return to the question.

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

We acknowledge, as the questioner did, that people are under pressure. We're doing something about it. We're providing a tax cut for every taxpayer to help people. We're providing energy bill relief for every household to help people. We're getting wages moving again to help people. We're making medicines cheaper to help people. We're making early childhood education cheaper to help people. We've boosted rent assistance twice in a row because we want to help people, especially, in that instance, people doing it tough in the rental market.

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

Order! The member for Hume is going to cease interjecting for the remainder of this answer.

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

The acknowledgement that people are doing it tough is important, and I think there's a consensus on that. The difference is: the choice that we have to make here is helping people or harming people, and we're helping people. We're doing that in the face of deeply irresponsible and deeply divisive opposition from the Liberal and National parties. We will continue to help people where we responsibly can, rather than acknowledge but then ignore the pressures that people are under.