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

Order! The member for Barker will leave the chamber under 94(a). We were getting on so well but—

The member for Barker then left the chamber.

Everyone needs to remind themselves when a member, no matter who it is, is asking a question respect has to be shown to that member. Out of respect for the member for Lingiari, she shall begin her question.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lingiari is a proud Territorian. I've visited some very beautiful parts of her electorate with her. She's also absolutely committed to seeing the people in Lingiari get a tax cut. She wants to see them earn more and keep more of what they earn, whereas those opposite want to see them work longer for less. In fact, in Lingiari 43,000 taxpayers will benefit to an average of $1,621 a year.

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

The member for Longman is warned.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In my portfolio, there are many passionate Australians fighting to protect the environment.

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

The minister will pause. She is less than one minute into her answer. She's being directly relevant to the question, so I hope this is not a point of order on relevance. You're entitled to take the point of order.

Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a point of order on standing order 75, which is relevance and tedious repetition. The point is I now know how the tax cuts are going to affect almost every constituency in this country and almost every sector of this community. I think these tax cuts are important, but there are many other issues facing this country at the moment, and I think that they deserve to have an airing as well.

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

The member is entitled to raise a point of order, but, just as she is entitled to ask a question of her choice, any member of this parliament is able to ask a question of their choice. Out of respect for the member for Lingiari, she is entitled to ask the question of her choice.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I really thought the crossbench would be interested in what our hardworking environmental scientists are doing and how they're benefiting.

Australians love boating, camping and fishing. They love escaping into nature. We've got a government that will invest in nature and invest to support the people who are caring for nature. We've doubled funding for our national parks, and that means, in places like Kakadu, Indigenous rangers are able to do things like fix the missing croc-warning signs that those opposite didn't replace. That Indigenous ranger on $77,000 a year will get an extra $1,604 a year in their pocket because of our tax cuts. We doubled funding for the Australian Institute of Marine Science, saving 100 jobs in Townsville and growing another 100 jobs. For the scientists working there, every single one of those people will get a tax cut.

The ecologists that were looking after the handfish in Tasmania, taking them out of the Derwent River to protect them from warming waters and earning, say, $100,000 will receive a tax cut of $2,179. I'm very happy to report to the House that the handfish are doing really well after Christmas. A plumber working in Antarctica on expeditions down there, in one of the harshest environments in the world, will receive a tax cut of about $3,729 a year on their $156,000 salary.

You can count on Labor to invest in protecting the environment because we know that Australians who love their boating, camping and fishing want their national environment to be there for their kids and their grandkids. You can count on Labor to stand up for the people who are working to protect our environment.