Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer remind the House of the Morrison government's strong record in delivering tax cuts to Australian families and businesses, including in my electorate of Braddon? Treasurer, are you aware of any alternative approaches?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Braddon and acknowledge his experience as a farmer, as a soldier, and also acknowledge his commitment to lower taxes, including for 40,000 of his constituents, who are getting tax as a relief as a result of policies pursued by this side of the House. At every turn, we have sought to cut taxes. It has been a real priority for this government—cutting taxes for families. So if you are earning $60,000 a year, you paid $2,160 less tax this year than you would have under the Labor Party. We have been cutting taxes for small business to the lowest level in 50 years, putting record incentives through our tax system for investment, which is helping to drive investment even through the COVID recession. The patent box has been encouraging innovation in the biotech and medical sectors.

But we have been opposed by this Leader of the Labor Party every step of the way when it comes to cutting taxes. Indeed, this Leader of the Labor Party said, when it came to cutting taxes for families, that we were cutting taxes for the top end of town. He described small business and families as the top end of town. And this Leader of the Labor Party has supported a carbon tax, a mining tax, a congestion tax, a retirees tax, a housing tax, higher taxes for income earners, higher taxes for superannuation, higher taxes on family businesses and, most damning of all, a death duty. Higher taxes—

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer will resume his seat. The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, you made rulings on this yesterday. We've now got to the comic example of the Treasurer wanting to refer to something that apparently happened in 1991. That's before he'd even been sacked for the first time!

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There's no valid point of order. I have pulled the Treasurer up in the past on 'alternative approaches', but he is entitled, on the basis of the question that's been asked, to explore alternative approaches, and that's what he's doing. He's not engaging at this point—and I hope he doesn't—in any character assessments.

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take this interjection from the Leader of the Opposition. He says we're making it up.

The Manager of Opposition Business said we've invented things. This is what the Leader of the Opposition has said at a Labor conference: 'Comrade Chair, I am pleased to move the resolution calling upon the government to consider the imposition of an inheritance tax.' I'm not making it up. That's the Leader of the Opposition's own words.

Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Point of order, Mr Speaker: he's defying your ruling.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, he's not.

Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He is. How can it possibly be an alternative approach when he's talking about something which happened in—

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The Treasurer has the call.

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I refer the Leader of the Opposition to a very good article on the front page of the Australian today titled 'Anthony Albanese's historic battle cry in war on family wealth', where it says:

He insisted people earning incomes of more than $100,000 … did not "actually earn them."

And:

Accumulated income in the form of capital is for all socialists at least part of the source of many social injustices.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, Mr Speaker.

Honourable members interjecting—

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just before you make your point of order: there is so much interjection in the House, on both sides.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order is that the Treasurer was just quoting former Senator Robert Ray, not me. We don't look like each other.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The Leader of the House?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I just refer to the earlier ruling that you made about the abuse, by the opposition, of this process, of points of order, when there is no point of order. It's an opportunity to either reprosecute or to put some new fantasy into the debate. By defying your ruling, Mr Speaker, they make it very difficult for us. We're happy to hear a point of order on relevance, which is within the standing orders. There is the ability to ask one point of order on relevance, and that's it. So far we've had three contributions, none of which have been within the standing orders. I seek your advice as to how on earth we can stop this blatant abuse and the glass jaw that's constantly on display.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I also seek your advice. When the Treasurer is actually using a quote from someone else and purporting it to be from me, if it's allowed to stand—

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. If the Leader of the Opposition considers that he's been misrepresented then he has an appropriate way of dealing with that. As I've previously said—

Opposition members interjecting—

No, a member can't say anything he or she wants, but I'm not an arbiter of fact. The Treasurer has the call.

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This Leader of the Opposition stands for higher taxes. He stands for death duties and that's why the member the Fenner, who's hiding in the back, has said, 'The Albanese supporters were known as the Bolsheviks.'