Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question goes to the Treasurer. How is the Morrison government's strong and decisive economic management throughout the COVID-19 pandemic ensuring the Australian economy will respond strongly and recover strongly by international standards, and is the Treasurer aware of any alternative approaches that may jeopardise this recovery?

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

I thank the member for Fairfax for his question. I acknowledge his more than 20 years of business experience that he has brought to this place and his strong advocacy for a stronger economy and lower taxes. He has seen firsthand, at the Ginger Factory in Yandina, how 85 jobs were saved by JobKeeper.

If we take our minds back to 2020, at the start of this pandemic, we saw 1.3 million Australians either lose their jobs or see their working hours go down to zero. Treasury feared that the unemployment rate could be as high as 15 per cent, with more than two million Australians unemployed. We put in place programs like JobKeeper, which saved more than 700,000 jobs, the cash flow boost, and $750 payments to pensioners, carers, veterans and others on income support. The net result is that we now have one of the strongest economic recoveries in the world. In fact, Australia has outperformed all major advanced economies in our recovery. Our unemployment rate today is at 4.2 per cent. We have 250,000 more people employed today than at the start of the pandemic. In the United States they have 2.6 million fewer people employed today than at the start of the pandemic. Our lower taxes are rolling out across the economy, providing more money in people's pockets.

Now, there is a significant threat to that economic recovery that is not yet locked in, and that's this inexperienced and weak Leader of the Labor Party, a leader of the Labor Party who has never had a Treasury portfolio, a leader of the Labor Party who attacks our tax cuts for families as being for the top end of town, and a leader of the Labor government who is too weak to take on the unions and the Greens. He does have an economic recovery plan. It consists of a national drivers licence. It consists of taking fuel excise off electric vehicles. The only problem is there is no fuel excise on electric vehicles. And of course there's a $6 billion cash splash to give money to people who have already had the jab.

But the reality is that they talk a big game in opposition; they deliver very little in government. They talk about secure work, but unemployment was 5.7 per cent under Labor. It's 4.2 per cent under us. They talk about higher wages, yet real wages were falling under the Labor Party. They talk about a lower cost of living, yet electricity prices double. They talk about lower debt, yet they have promised more than $80 billion of extra spending, and that's so far. And they talk about lower taxes, and they took to the last election $387 billion of higher taxes. So this weak, inexperienced—

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

Order! Order!

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

leader of the Labor Party—

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

The Treasurer—

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

is a major threat to the Australian economy.

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

The Treasurer will resume his seat. I've spoken to the Treasurer about that once—in fact, more than once before. I don't want it repeated again, please.

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

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order on disorderly conduct. You have raised that before. The Treasurer knew that that was contrary to your ruling and said it anyway. At the very least, he should be asked to withdraw.

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

Yes. It's a character assessment that I have picked the Treasurer up on in the past. I will continue to do it, because the question is very simple. He is asked to comment on alternative approaches. It doesn't give him free rein to make a gratuitous character assessment, as I said yesterday. The Treasurer will return to the dispatch box and withdraw that.

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

Which—

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

I don't want you to repeat it, as has often been done by another member in this House—

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

I withdraw, Mr Speaker.

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

and has been done by other members. I just want to say something on that. When a member of this House is asked to withdraw a comment, I'm going to take a very dim view if the member takes that opportunity, in some smart way, or half-smart way, to repeat the offence. I will take a very dim view if that's done again, and I think the member knows exactly who I'm talking about.