Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, since my election in May 2022 I have repeatedly raised concerns about the rising cost of living. As your government's term ends, what real reforms will you introduce now to fix the electricity market and bring down energy prices for families, small businesses and councils? Councils are now paying double just to keep the streetlights on, with those costs passed down to ratepayers. Australia needs more than just a one-off $300 bandaid rebate.

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

I thank the member for her question both in her capacity as the member of Fowler and as the deputy mayor of the council that she refers to in Fairfield. I also thank the member for the very terrific event that she and I were at, along with the member for McMahon; the member for Werriwa, the Labor candidate for Fowler, Tu Le; and others, where we celebrated 50 years since Vietnamese refugees migrated to Australia. These refugees were welcomed to Australia, and the Vietnamese community have made an extraordinary effort and contribution to our nation.

When it comes to the cost of living, of course, the most important thing that we can do is to get inflation down. What we have done is deliver inflation down to 2.4 per cent. When we inherited it, at time of the election of the member for Fowler, she would recall inflation had a six in front of it and was rising. It's now got a two in front of it and it's falling. One of the things that I talked about with people in Fairfield on Saturday evening was the fact that real wages are increasing. In addition to that, the member for Fowler's electorate has particularly benefited from the fact that every single one of her constituents who's a worker, working hard for their family, got a tax cut as a result of the changes that we put in place because we want people to earn more and to keep more of what they earn.

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

The member for Fowler, on a point of order.

Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's on relevance. I asked about what reforms the Prime Minister and the government will introduce now to fix the electricity market and bring down energy prices.

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

Your question was also about the issue of the cost of living. I can appreciate that you want part of the question answered, but the Prime Minister is entitled to answer the question and to be directly relevant. Talking about inflation and tax cuts is addressing the direct relevance of the question, so he is being directly relevant, but I'll make sure he remains directly relevant for the remainder of his answer.

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

Constituents in Fowler have also benefited from cheaper medicines. More than a billion dollars has been saved. Of course, for an electorate with a lower-than-average socioeconomic outcome, our cost-of-living measures have been unapologetically aimed at particularly assisting low- and middle-income earners. There aren't too many billionaires living in Fowler, and we have ensured that everyone has had a tax cut. People are benefiting from cheaper medicines. Many of her constituents are benefiting from free TAFE. The urgent care clinics are reducing the cost of health care. The crackdown on supermarkets is making a difference on inflation as well. Indeed, when it comes to energy, of course, I'm sure the member for Fowler supported our $300 rebates that are making a difference. That's $75, $75, $75 and $75 that's clicking onto those bills, reducing the cost of the bills that people have to pay. We're also reducing the bills of small businesses in the member for Fowler's electorate. (Time expired)