Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is today ramming legislation through the parliament that will mean a single income family with two kids earning $65,000 a year will be $6,000 a year worse off. Why is the Prime Minister trying to hide his unfair budget that will hurt Australian families?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do accept that there are changes in the budget. Obviously, there are changes in the budget. There have to be changes in the budget to ensure that we address the debt and deficit disaster that members opposite created. The member who asked this question I believe used to work for the member for Lilley.

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Silence on my right.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why were members opposite incapable of delivering on the four years of surpluses that they claimed to deliver in the 2012 budget?

Mr Sukkar interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Deakin will desist!

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why, indeed?

Dr Chalmers interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Rankin has asked his question. He will listen in silence.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The problem is that members opposite—

Dr Chalmers interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Are you anxious to leave the chamber?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

simply could not be trusted with public money. That is the problem. The member has asked me about a single income family with two children. I can inform the member who asked me the question about a single income couple with two dependent children aged from six to 13. When one of them earns $60,000, this couple will continue to get in 2016-17 $8,348 from the taxpayer.

The difference between the members opposite and this government is that under this government benefits are sustainable because they are being paid from a budget that is back in balance, and not from a budget which is simply out of control. That is the problem with the member for Rankin: he obviously was not much good at advising the member for Lilley because the member for Lilley was incapable—utterly incapable—of delivering us a balanced budget, let alone a surplus. This government will undo the damage created by its predecessor to the enduring benefit of every single Australian.

Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Social Services. Will the minister please confirm, for my seniors and for seniors throughout the country, that the energy supplement will continue to be paid to pensioners and that pensions will continue to go up every year?

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Herbert for his question and commend him on the fine representation of the people of Townsville and surrounding areas that he brings to this House. I can confirm for him, and for his pensioners, that the energy supplement will continue to be paid to pensioners and, indeed, to all current recipients of the energy supplement—that is, $361 for singles and $542 for couples. In addition, as the member asked, the pension will continue to increase in March and September of each year and so too will the pensioner supplement continue to be paid. That is worth some $1,635 for singles and $2,464 for couples. Of course, that does not stop the ALP from misleading about these things. First of all, we had Senator Cameron claiming that pensioners in the future would not receive a payment they do not even get.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There will be silence on my left.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That was from Senator Cameron. But now we have other members—

Ms MacTiernan interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Perth will desist.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

of the opposition. On Sunday, the member for Batman put out a tweet.

Honourable members interjecting—

Yes, he put out a tweet along with a poster in which claimed he that pensioners will lose money. He said that pensioners would lose $350 a year if single and $530 if a couple. I looked carefully at this poster. And who is it authorised by? It is authorised by Jenny Macklin. Ah! The member for Jagajaga has authorised this poster. It is simply wrong. This is another misleading claim from the opposition. First of all—

Opposition members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat. I have said there is a general warning. The next person to break it will leave the chamber immediately—no matter if it is the Leader of Opposition.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is wrong. Firstly, the rates are over a year old or 18 months out of date. Secondly, pensioners are not losing the energy supplement; they will continue to be paid it The opposition cannot even get their basic information right. And then I saw that it had been retweeted by the former member for Eden-Monaro. Remember the former member for Eden-Monaro, Mr Kelly? He has retweeted it. What is he doing now? He is an adviser to the Leader of the Opposition. So I say to the member for Jagajaga that she should correct her colleagues about the facts; the Leader of the Opposition should reprimand his staff; the member for Batman should correct the record and not seek to mislead older Australians; and the Australian Labor Party should stop misleading pensioners.

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister, who promised before the election that he would, 'reduce cost of living pressures'. Why is the Prime Minister today ramming legislation through the parliament which will see a single-income family, earning $65,000 per year with two kids, be around $6,000 a year worse off?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the Prime Minister, that does seem to be a remarkably similar to a question we had earlier today. Indeed, the question has been dealt with, but if the Prime Minister wishes to answer it for a second time he may.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very happy to inform the Shadow Treasurer that the single-income couple with two dependent children aged between six and 13 where one of the couple is earning $60,000 will continue to receive $8,348 from the taxpayer in social services benefits. It is very important that we continue to be a generous society, but we can only be a generous society if we have a sustainable budget. The tragedy is that thanks to the incompetence and the untrustworthiness of members opposite—

Mr Pat Conroy interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Charlton.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

we faced a debt and deficit disaster.

Honourable members interjecting—

I can hardly hear myself think because of the caterwauling from members opposite—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. I have said there is a general warning. I think I have been most generous to many of you, but if there is another break that person will leave.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We can only continue to have a generous social security system if we have a sustainable budget. Unfortunately, thanks to members opposite—

Ms Chesters interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bendigo will leave under standing order 94(a).

The member for Bendigo then left the chamber.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

we had a debt and deficit disaster. We had debt and deficit stretching as far as the eye can see. It had to end.

Mr Conroy interjecting —

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Charlton will join her!

The member for Charlton then left the chamber.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Even with the changes that this government has made, even with the changes that members opposite are denouncing as cruel and immoral, we still only get to balance in four years time. That indicates the scale, the absolute scale of the debt and deficit disaster which members opposite created. I say again to the Leader of the Opposition that this government has had the integrity and the decency to say to the Australian people exactly how we are going to deal with Labor's debt and deficit disaster. We have told the Australian people how we will fix the problem the Leader of the Opposition created. Now the Leader of the Opposition needs to tell us how he will fix the problem that he and his colleagues did create.

Russell Matheson (Macarthur, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Justice. Will the minister inform that House how the budget will help make the streets of my electorate of Macarthur safer and address the previous government's under-investment in community safety?

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Macarthur for that question. I was very pleased to join the Prime Minister in the Macarthur electorate several weeks ago to announce that we will be spending $350,000 from our Safer Streets Program for 20 mobile CCTV cameras for Campbelltown City Council. As the member knows, as a veteran of 25 years in the New South Wales Police Force before coming to this place, CCTV does two very important things.

Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why did you cut them in Blacktown?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Greenway will leave the chamber under standing order 94(a).

The member for Greenway then left the chamber.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, it acts as a deterrent for people to do the wrong thing in places where it has been placed. Secondly, if people have been doing the wrong thing where CCTV is present, it helps police to catch the perpetrators. As I have moved around the country and spoken to police officers about the utility of CCTV, they have given me numerous examples where it has helped them to catch people who have been doing the wrong thing. It saves them time and it also can save the court time because it is very hard for somebody to say they have not committed a crime if it is there in black and white on CCTV footage. The commitment we made to Macarthur is part of our $50 million Safer Streets Program, which we announced in October 2012 and which we were very pleased to deliver in this budget.

Mr Brendan O'Connor interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Gorton will desist.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What about Marrickville?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And so will the member for Grayndler.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have made 150 individual commitments over 60 electorates all around the country.

Mr Brendan O'Connor interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Gorton will remove himself under standing order 94(a).

The member for Gorton then left the chamber.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This $50 million is being provided from the criminal Confiscated Assets Account—money which, when Labor was in government, they froze. Previous governments of all political persuasions have spent proceeds of crime money on fighting crime, with the exception of the Labor government, when, in their frantic search for savings to prop up the budget they had destroyed, froze proceeds of crime money and refused to spend it on crime fighting initiatives. The member for Lilley has been suspended from the services of the House, but I hope he got a chance to write a thank-you note to Tony Mokbel, 'Thanks, Tony, for helping me prop up the budget bottom line that we had so destroyed.'

Opposition members interjecting—

This is exactly what you did. You took the money from criminals to prop up you dodgy budget bottom line.

Opposition members interjecting—

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The member should withdraw.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You can address that point of order slightly more, Member for Grayndler.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, we object, on this side of the House, to the suggestion that we are associated with criminals. It should be withdrawn.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I accept the point of order in that the standing orders say one is not permitted to reflect on another member. Indeed, that could be construed that way. I would ask the minister to withdraw.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To assist the House, I withdraw. The point I was making was that they were taking money directly from criminal activities to prop up their dodgy budget bottom line and that is exactly what history will record.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will withdraw without qualification.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw, Madam Speaker. I am not sure how else you could characterise freezing proceeds of crime spending which had always been used by governments of both political persuasions to fund crime fighting initiatives all around the country, a practice which only ceased under the previous Labor government.

Ms Owens interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Parramatta will leave in one minute if she is not quiet.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We will use proceeds of crime to fight crime. That is exactly what previous governments have done—something Labor could not manage in their six years in office.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

After 21 well-answered questions, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper