Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. On Monday, the Prime Minister needed help from the Treasurer before he could tell the House that 800,000 households would be facing higher mortgage payments when they move from low fixed rates to higher variable rates this year. Prime Minister, how many small businesses will move on to variable rate loans this year? Why do Australian families and small businesses always pay more under Labor?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think the question is: why does the shadow Treasurer exist if he's incapable of asking a question to the Treasurer? Why is it? Why is that the case? This is a bloke—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my left, I simply cannot hear the Prime Minister. If this continues, people will have—

The member for Herbert is warned. When I am speaking, that is also not the time to interrupt. The Prime Minister has the call and will be heard in silence, and if this continues people will leave the chamber. It's that simple.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Mr Speaker.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister has the call, and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition is warned as well.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is about interest rates from the shadow Treasurer, who's been incapable of asking a question of the Treasurer in a week in which—yesterday we thought there'd be a question to the Treasurer and there wasn't. When we were talking earlier today, I said to the Treasurer: 'I think today's the day, mate. I think today you are going to get a question from the shadow, so you'd better be ready.' And he said, 'I'm up for it.' And he waited and he waited and he waited, and nothing happened.

But of course, the shadow Treasurer did have something to say about interest rates when he was a part of the government, which was: 'We're facing circumstances in what's happening here in the Ukraine and Russia that were not expected and very hard to predict. These pressures are driven by extenuating circumstances.' Well, what we're doing, through the good work of this Treasurer, is making sure—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Hume, on a point of order.

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On relevance: he doesn't know how many small businesses are facing higher—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is not a point of order. The Prime Minister is in order. The question was broad.

The Minister for Climate Change and Energy is warned.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The mob who came in here and voted against energy price relief for small businesses have the hide to stand up here and speak about the costs when it comes to small business. But of course, we heard from the Leader of the Opposition, who had this to say:

Well, I'm the opposition leader, right, and the joy of being the opposition leader is that I'm not in government.

That's what he had to say. I'm not paraphrasing. That's exactly what he had to say.

I tell you this: we were in opposition for some time, and we had no joy in it. They have joy in it, because whether they're in opposition or in opposition in exile, sitting on the opposition bench, they're never for anything, only against it.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Order! The member for Bowman is warned. I repeat: when people are on their feet, that is not the time to interject.