Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. In April 2022 you told the Australian public that there would be no tax increases under a Labor government. Why have you broken this promise by increasing taxes on Australian and international tourists—

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Point of order.

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

I normally wouldn't do this, but you have to listen to what I'm saying. I give the call to the Leader of the House.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Something like 23 seconds ago, Mr Speaker, you gave a ruling asking us to only use the term 'you' when we were referring to you as Speaker. Immediately following, it has not been met. It was given as a direction to ministers, but obviously it applies to the whole House. I thought I should draw it to your attention.

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

I'm just going to reset—take 2. I give the call to the member for Page.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. In April 2022 the then shadow Treasurer told the Australian public that there would be no tax increases under a Labor government. Why has the Treasurer broken this promise by increasing taxes on Australian and international tourists, by raising the passenger movement charge, when we have the most globally competitive tourism market we have ever seen? Why do Australians always pay more under Labor?

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

Order! The minister for infrastructure and the shadow Treasurer will cease interjecting.

The minister for the environment and the Assistant Treasurer.

Honourable members interjecting—

If anyone interjects, they will be removed from the chamber. I need to hear the Treasurer.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There's a pattern emerging here. Early in the pack the shadow Treasurer got a question. It didn't go so well, so they gave it to someone else. Now we're on to plan B. I thank plan B for his question.

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

The member for Groom will leave the chamber. You've been warned. You've had a good go.

The member for Groom then left the chamber.

I call the member for Page on a point of order.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order is hubris. If it's not a technical point of order, it should be because—

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

Resume your seat. I ask the Treasurer to continue with his answer.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The change in the budget that the honourable member is referring to is a change to the passenger movement charge, which hasn't been indexed since I think 2017. Governments from time to time index the passenger movement charge. There's a difference in the budget measure. The payment you make to leave Australia has gone from $60 to $70—a $10 increase, which reflects the indexation since 2017, which seems to me to be a responsible way to go about it. Tourism is obviously a central part of our economy. One of the strengths in our economy is our tourism sector. You can see why—people want to come here.

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

Order! The member for Page is on a warning.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our advice is that a $10 increase to the passenger movement charge—from 60 to 70 bucks, which reflects indexation since 2017—will have no impact on the number of tourists coming here. Those opposite have to decide whether they want more tourists coming here or they want fewer tourists coming here. One of the reasons why the net overseas migration number is a bit high is that more long-time tourists are coming to Australia. The first question that got asked suggested that there are too many tourists coming to Australia. In the first one there were too many tourists coming to Australia. The most recent question suggested that there aren't enough tourists coming to Australia. They have to make their mind up.

Tonight the opposition leader gets an opportunity to clean up all of this rubbish—one shadow minister saying one thing and another shadow minister saying another thing. It is his opportunity to get up and say whether or not he supports cost-of-living relief for people. He can do that from the dispatch box at 7.30 pm.

Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Youth. How will the Albanese Labor government's budget support young Australians by providing targeted cost-of-living relief?

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bennelong for his question, and I will just take a moment to acknowledge the interest that he has and the fine work that he is doing in representing the wellbeing and welfare of young people and children in Bennelong.

It's fair to say that all of us on this side know that young people are doing it tough. The budget that the Treasurer delivered on Tuesday night, a proudly Labor budget, builds a strong foundation for a better future. It invests in young people from early childhood right through to their adult working lives. The budget delivers powerful, impactful and targeted relief to some of the most vulnerable young Australians. Those young people on income support payments, whether it be Austudy or youth allowance or JobSeeker, will get an increase to those payments. Those young people who are renting will benefit from the largest increase in Commonwealth rent assistance in 30 years. For those struggling to pay their power bills, we're providing responsible and meaningful energy bill relief in partnership with state and territory governments.

Our budget also means that young Australians with stable or ongoing health conditions, including mental health conditions, will now only need to visit a GP and a pharmacist half as many times for a repeat script for over 300 medicines on the PBS, halving the cost of essential medicines for those young Australians. We're tripling the bulk-billing incentive. This will benefit 11 million Australians right across Australia, and that will include young Australians, by helping them to gain access to the medical care that they need.

We've already delivered cheaper medicines for Australians, and we're also supporting young Australians in different ways. We've supported young Australians to earn a better wage through our IR reforms that were passed last year. We're increasing access to education and training, fee-free TAFE and university places. We're looking after their mental health and wellbeing.

For a young person who turns 20 this year, for almost half of their life—almost a decade—under the previous government they were forgotten, at best ignored, and as a result many young people lost faith in the institution of government. The Albanese Labor government want to change that. We will continue to invest in young Australians, we will continue to listen to young Australians, because we know that when young people thrive, so does Australia.