Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The price of beef has increased by 65 per cent since this government came to office, but real wages have gone backwards, falling $700 in the last year alone. Hasn't it become harder for working families to make ends meet under this almost decade-old government?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question on cost of living, because there are considerable pressures on cost of living: the inflationary environment that we're facing and the economic uncertainty that is a function of many things, but including what we're seeing in Ukraine. In particular, in Ukraine—

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) | Link to this | Hansard source

Those opposite seem to be puzzled by this. They seem to not understand that troops amassing on Ukraine's border—and the impact that has on gas prices and petroleum—has consequence for this country. That's what happens when you have an opposition and a Labor Party that doesn't understand the serious issues of national security. I was taking the interjection, Mr Speaker.

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

The Prime Minister will return to the question.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) | Link to this | Hansard source

But I'll return to the question. On the cost of living, the inflationary pressures that Australia faces mean financial management of the budget—and I noticed yesterday that the Opposition Leader sought to refer to his homework, when he was a young person. That's called a budget. I've done three as a Treasurer, three as a Prime Minister and one as the member of the Expenditure Review Committee. That's what you need when it comes—

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

On relevance: the question was about the price of beef going up, as an example of pressures on the cost of living. The Prime Minister spoke—

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

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. No-one can hear you, Leader of the Opposition. I will say to the Prime Minister that the question was quite specific around cost of living, and I would ask the Prime Minister to return to the question.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker; I'm addressing what the pressures on inflation are in this country, which goes to cost of living. And an important way to ensure that we can control those inflationary pressures is the financial management of the government. That financial management has ensured that Australia has maintained its AAA credit rating throughout the worst global pandemic we've seen in 100 years, and that is putting downward pressure on inflation. And that's why in Australia we are seeing inflation at less than it is in the United States and the United Kingdom. But let's compare the pair when it comes to—

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

No, there's no 'compare the pair'. The question was not asking for alternative—

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, let me address cost of living, and I make this simple point: electricity prices under our government since September 2018 have fallen by 2.9 per cent.

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

The member for Corangamite, you are so close.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) | Link to this | Hansard source

Under Labor they went up by 12.9 per cent. Food and beverages have gone up by 2.4 per cent, and we acknowledge that. In clothing and footwear it has been largely flat. On issues of communications, they have fallen by 2.6 per cent since I became Prime Minister. They went up by 0.8 per cent under Labor. Health costs—

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

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. Manager of Opposition Business, if you were going to raise point of order in relation to relevance, don't bother, because I was just conversing with the member for Corangamite because she was yelling out, so I didn't hear what the Prime Minister said.

The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order.

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

On a point of order, the Prime Minister is now going to the cost of communications, in an answer—

Government members interjecting—

That's what he went to. He went to the cost of communications and, Mr Speaker, given your previous ruling—that is defying the ruling that you gave. How on earth is communications relevant to prices of beef going up over eight years? The cattle don't use the phone!

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

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The question that was asked—and, really, the Manager of Opposition Business knows full well that the Prime Minister is being relevant at this time, because he's dealing with the cost-of-living issues. The Prime Minister has the call.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) | Link to this | Hansard source

The Labor Party might not think that what people have to pay on their phone bill and on their communications cost—they may think that's irrelevant to the family cost of living, but I don't. Another important cost of living is housing costs, which are putting a lot of pressure on Australians. In the last 3½ years of our government, housing costs went up by 1.1 per cent. In the last 3½ years under Labor, they went up by 4.3 per cent. And, as a direct result of the housing policies of our government, more than 300,000 Australians have been helped into buying their own homes— (Time expired)