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

My question is to the Prime Minister. ANZ and Westpac are both forecasting per capita recessions, while inflation remains higher for longer. Australians are working harder for less under this government. When will the Prime Minister take responsibility for making things worse for middle Australia?

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

I thank the shadow Treasurer for his question. The Treasurer, though, is very disappointed. You're on question 1. He thought this was the moment, and it still didn't happen! The shadow Treasurer is up there, having been part of the government that presided over the highest quarterly inflation increase this century of 2.1 per cent. He also decided, while that was happening, to bring down a budget that splashed money everywhere and projected, of course, a $78 billion surplus—unlike what this government has done, which is to produce a budget under this Treasurer that projects a $4.2 billion increase.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The shadow Treasurer is once again talking down the Australian economy. He is talking it down.

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

If it was so easy, why didn't you do it?

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

The Treasurer will cease interjecting.

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

I'm very proud of our economic record. There are 465,000 reasons to be proud.

Opposition members interjecting—

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

We inherited the biggest—

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

The Treasurer will cease interjecting or will be warned.

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

This is the most jobs created in the first year of any government in Australian history—the most jobs created by any new government in Australian history. We are the party of jobs, jobs and jobs, and that is confirmed. We also have wages growing, after the period in which those opposite were saying that real wage depression was a peak feature of their economic architecture. We also have the highest number of women in full-time work in Australian history. They over there have the hide, having presided over the first recession in three decades, to come in here and talk down the Australian economy. Well, we on this side will continue to promote our positive plans for economic growth, our positive plans for employment, our positive plans for an economy that works for people, not the other way around, at the same time as we're making substantial investments in social policy and making a difference, such as our announcement on Saturday of $2 billion additional funding for public housing, to make a difference to the economy so that jobs will be created, so that people will have a place to live—a sort of commitment that would never be made by any coalition commitment.