Bill Shorten Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
2:15 pm
My question is to the Prime Minister. This Prime Minister promised he would deliver a fair budget. How is it fair for this Prime Minister to, on one hand, impose a $2.2 billion petrol tax and, on the other hand, provide $22 billion in a paid parental leave scheme to millionaires?
Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
2:16 pm
It is very hard to take the Leader of the Opposition seriously—
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General
It's hard to take you seriously!
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The member for Isaacs has been warned as part of a general warning and is further warned.
Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
about a $2.2 billion tax when he keeps voting in favour of a $9 billion tax. There is the King Kong of taxes, the carbon tax, which the Leader of the Opposition loves. Notwithstanding having promised to terminate the thing before the last election, he keeps voting in favour of it after the election. It is simply impossible to take this Leader of the Opposition seriously. How on earth can he promise, before the election, to terminate the carbon tax and yet consistently vote in this parliament to keep the carbon tax? I repeat: every time your power bill goes up, there is the Leader of the Opposition with a smile on his face—because that is his pet carbon tax just doing its job. Every time you turn on your heater this winter, there is the Leader of the Opposition standing beside you saying, 'Your power bill is higher than it should be.' Your heating is more expensive than it should be, thanks to his beloved carbon tax.
He also asked me about paid parental leave. As the Leader of the Opposition well knows, members on this side of the House stand for wage justice.
Opposition members interjecting—
We do. If it is right for public servants to be paid at their wage when they go on parental leave, it is right for every single person to get paid at his or her wage when he or she goes on parental leave. Why does the Leader of the Opposition have this terrible double standard—this terrible and hypocritical double standard? He thinks that public servants should get access to their wage when they get paid parental leave, but not the rest of the economy.
Ms Butler interjecting—
Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
I am sure, in order to avoid hypocrisy and double standards, what the Leader of the Opposition wants to see is paid parental leave for public servants paid at the minimum wage—at a welfare wage—because, if there is to be any consistency and any integrity from the Leader of the Opposition, that is the obvious conclusion to draw. He wants public servants—
Ms Plibersek interjecting—
Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
to go on parental leave; he wants people like his own staff to go on parental leave at a welfare wage, not at their real wage.
Mr Bowen interjecting—
Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
I want every single Australian who goes on paid parental leave to be paid at his or her wage. That is fair, that is right, and that will be delivered under this government.
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
I rise on a point of order. It goes to the issue of whether staff are fair game in this place.
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
There is no point of order. Resume your seat.