Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Under Labor, Australia is the only advanced economy where living standards have gone backwards. Australia's inflation rate is higher than South Africa. the United Kingdom, the United States, India, the Netherlands, France, Canada, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain. After four years of Australians going backwards under Labor, will the Prime Minister finally accept the buck stops with him and that Labor's policies are fuelling inflation?

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

The living standards measure in today's national accounts went up. They also went up through the year. We know from the OECD that growth in annual per capita incomes in Australia is more than twice the average of the major advanced economies.

When we came to office, living standards were falling sharply. We've been able to recover some of that lost ground, including by eight of the last nine quarters having seen real wages growth. Real wages fell five consecutive quarters in the lead-up to the 2022 election. If those opposite really cared about living standards, they wouldn't have appointed a guy as shadow Treasurer who wants to privatise Medicare or end work from home, or dismantle superannuation, or end the dual mandate so that there are higher interest rates and higher unemployment—

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

The Manager of Opposition Business, on a point of order?

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Speaker, can I ask the Treasurer to use correct titles, please. It's not too hard.

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

The Treasurer referred to the shadow Treasurer as the shadow Treasurer.

Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He said, 'This guy.'

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

We're going to draw a line in this. This is getting ridiculous. We had the argument where people were being called their electorate names. It works both ways, because that term was used by the shadow Treasurer. So we're going to ensure correct titles are being used, but have some commonsense about this, everyone, please.

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

Living standards measure up in today's national accounts, and one of the appropriate measures has Australia per capita income growth at more than twice the average of the major advanced economies, according to the OECD. That's the first point.

The second point goes to international comparisons. What today's national accounts show is that our economy is growing stronger than every major advanced economy. Every major advanced economy has weaker economic growth than Australia does, and I know that makes the shadow Treasurer unhappy. I know that he would prefer if we had weak growth in this country. But Australia has strong, broad private sector led growth, and most objective observers would consider that a good thing, even if those opposite do not. If he wants to make the international comparisons, make all of them. Stronger growth than the major advanced economies, lower debt than the major advanced economies, stronger job growth than the major advanced economies, lower unemployment than most of them as well—these are the international comparisons which the shadow Treasurer refuses to talk about.

There's got to be a reason why the shadow Treasurer is always talking the Australian economy down. There has to be a reason for that. For those who are trying to understand why he's always talking the economy down, I refer the shadow Treasurer and the House to a story in the Guardian—and, I think, also a story in the Australian Financial Review. What this story says is that the shadow Treasurer has shares which make more money for him when the Australian market underperforms. He has invested in shares which ensure the worse the Australian market and economy performs the more money he makes out of it. Those are the facts.

Opposition members interjecting—

That's why you're talking the place down.

Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Get over it. Grow up.

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

Order! It is completely and utterly unacceptable to just rise in your place and start yelling at someone. The member for Goldstein can use the forms of the House if he claims to be misrepresented—in an orderly way. This continual sniping and yelling is completely undignified for this House of Representatives. It is getting out of hand. Everyone is going to follow the standing orders and show a little more respect.

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

The story says:

The Liberal MP's updated register of interests shows he is invested in a leveraged product that makes money when Australia's benchmark ASX 200 falls.

He should stop talking the Australian economy down. If he's going to make international comparisons, make all of them.