Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Under this government, Australians are paying on average $8,000 a year in additional costs. People with a mortgage are paying $24,000 a year—they're worse off. Energy costs are up by $1,000, and food prices are up nearly 10 per cent. Prime Minister, isn't every Australian worse off as a result of your broken promises and bad decisions?

Government members interjecting—

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

Order! Before the Prime Minister—I'll just ask him to pause. Ministers, the home affairs minister and the Treasurer, that was far too much noise. I couldn't hear the question, and the Leader of the Opposition will state his question again. I need to hear the question, so that means: don't interrupt.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Silence!

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

I don't need any assistance from the member from Riverina but appreciate the sentiment. I give the call to the honourable the Leader of the Opposition.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

With much pleasure, Mr Speaker. Thank you very much. My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, under your government, Australians are, on average, $8,000 a year worse off. People with mortgages are $24,000 a year worse off, energy costs are up $1,000, and food prices under your watch are nearly 10 per cent higher. Prime Minister, isn't every Australian worse off as a result of your broken promises and bad, bad decisions?

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

I thought I was going to get a question about our cost-of-living tax cuts, but I got a much more general invitation into the difference that this government has made. When we came to office, inflation peaked, as a quarter, in March 2022, at 2.1 per cent—in one quarter. The latest annual inflation figure, of course, is 4.1 per cent. One of the reasons why that has occurred is by producing the first budget surplus in 15 years, turning a $78 billion deficit into a $22 billion surplus.

Of course, when it comes to cost of living, wages matter. Outside of the pandemic, the biggest drop in real wages this century occurred in—guess which quarter?—March 2022, down 1.4 per cent in one quarter. Now we have the fastest wage growth in 15 years, with real wages rising for two consecutive quarters in a row.

On jobs, we inherited a sluggish labour market. Employment growth has doubled, with around 650,000 jobs created on our watch and a record number of women in jobs and working full time. Productivity growth on our predecessor's was the worst in 40 years. Productivity rose in the September quarter by 0.9 per cent. In construction, it was 4.4 per cent. Business investment declined under them to the lowest level since the early 2000s. Business investment has grown in every quarter under Labor, up 12 per cent in real terms. Of course, under them, they had tax policy that would have seen Australians who are the lowest paid get not a single dollar. Now every Australian will get a tax cut. Eighty-four per cent of them will get a higher tax cut under us.

If they really thought their system was better, they'd be voting against it and promising to role it back. Unless they do that—and who knows? They change their position every day. It's still possible. Now they're voting for it.

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

The Prime Minister's time has concluded. When the House comes to order—the member for Page, the Leader of the Nationals and the member for Hume were making too much noise during that answer—we'll hear from the member for Solomon.