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

My question is to the Prime Minister. If the Prime Minister cares about cost-of-living pressures for working families, why has he spent a decade undermining real wage growth and job security?

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

I completely reject the assertion made by the Leader of the Opposition at the dispatch box. If we still had the same tax rates for personal incomes today that we inherited from those opposite when we were elected to office back in 2013—if we still had Labor's tax rates today and we hadn't embarked on a process of tax reform so Australians can keep more of what they earn—then someone on $90,000 today would be paying more than $50 extra in tax every single week. If we'd kept Labor's tax rates, that's what would have happened. If we'd kept those tax rates, people would be paying higher taxes and higher taxes and higher taxes, because you know what you get from Labor? Higher taxes. That's what we know.

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

The member for Corangamite is warned.

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

On Thursday night, the Leader of the Opposition will have the opportunity to put their alternative budget to what we are putting forward tonight. I look forward to hearing it, because they've had three years to ponder what an alternative budget would be.

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

Yes. The Prime Minister is halfway through his answer and he hasn't mentioned real wage growth or job security, which is what the question was about. I know they haven't got much to say about it—

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

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The Prime Minister has been dealing with tax rates. The Prime Minister is in order and has the call. 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

Yes, just to clarify the ruling. Have you just ruled the Prime Minister is in order because he's talking about something that wasn't in the question?

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

No.

Member for Solomon, I will not tolerate reflecting on the chair. The member for Solomon is warned. The Prime Minister has been referring to tax rates, which clearly—the Prime Minister, in my view, is in order. He is being relevant to the question and he has the call.

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

I look forward to hearing what might come from the Leader of the Opposition on Thursday on these matters, because there's not a lot for them to say when it comes to these issues. But this is what we can say. We can say that under our government electricity prices have fallen by eight per cent in the last two years. Under our government, we can say that to deal with the rising cost of living we've been getting Australians into jobs at record rates. Unemployment has fallen to four per cent. Even the Reserve Bank governor has highlighted how wages are set to rise, as a result of the pressures in the labour market, because we're running a strong economy.

The best remedy, for higher wages, is a stronger economy. And the way you get that stronger economy is the responsible economic policies that have seen our government oversee an economy that has outperformed the advanced world through this pandemic, where unemployment has fallen from 5.7 per cent under Labor to four per cent under the Liberals and Nationals, and that unemployment figure is falling further still. Our record of getting Australians into jobs, our record of getting Australians into homes, our record of getting electricity prices down to ease the cost of living and our record of addressing these urgent issues is there for all to see, and it's a good record.

They say they're going to have a minibudget. (Time expired)