Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) 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. Today's national accounts show productivity, Australia's economic potential, has flatlined this quarter and collapsed by 4.7 per cent since Labor came to office. After four years of Australians going backwards under Labor, when will the Prime Minister finally accept the buck stops with him?

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

Thank you for the question. The truth is that the current account figures today show that the Australian economy is growing at the fastest rate it has in three years, and it's growing faster than any economy—any advanced economy—in the world. That's what the facts show. They also show that per capita living standards are positive and are growing. That's what the figures show today. They also show an improvement in productivity across the year. The figures today—

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

It's up one per cent in a year.

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

Order! Members on my left. The Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting, and the Treasurer will cease interjecting.

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

They've got no idea.

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

Order! The Treasurer is now warned. Honestly! I want to hear what the Prime Minister has to say. He's giving information to the House. He's been asked a question. The member for Capricornia deserves an answer as well. So the Prime Minister is going to be heard in silence.

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

It's because we have put in place the measures that we took to the Australian people last May, and we've been ticking them off one by one as we implement them to make a difference to people's cost-of-living issues. We know that people have been under pressure. That is why we have put these measures in place. But all those measures were opposed by those opposite.

Just two days before the election, of course, the two economic shadow ministers put forward their costings. Their costings would have cut the three-day guarantee, removing affordable child care for 100,000 families; cut 41,000 frontline workers; cut student debt relief; cut free TAFE; cut the Commonwealth prac payment; cut cheaper home batteries; cut five per cent deposits for first home buyers; cut Help to Buy; cut Build to Rent; cut the National Reconstruction Fund—

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

Order! The Manager of Opposition Business.

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

He hasn't been on TV for a minute.

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

Order! We're going to hear this point of order. The manager will state the point of order.

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

Direct relevance. The question was about today's national accounts and productivity.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, in every point of order that the Manager of Opposition Business has taken today, he has referred to a tiny part of a much longer question in every single instance. The tag that has been used on almost every question opens the relevance rule right up. Now, the Manager of Opposition Business knows this. He's been around long enough to know that every one of the points of order is not valid, and it's simply being used as a way to disrupt the House.

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

The Leader of the House is correct. I'm almost at the end of my tolerance of accepting points of order. If you're going to have a broad political question—I made this point earlier today. Questions earlier in the week have been tighter and specific, and we've been dealing with those. But these broad questions about when the buck stops with someone—come on, there are going to be really broad answers with that, and you're just having a go if you try and disrupt this now. So, if you want tight answers and you want to take points of order, that's fine. But don't ask very broad questions, because you're going to get a really broad answer. I'll keep saying it, and hopefully it'll get through.

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

What I'm comparing is the growth that we've seen in today's national accounts with what would have happened had we not been elected. So, yes, I accept responsibility, to go directly to the question of what we have put in place. But, two days beforehand, the then shadow Treasurer and shadow finance minister's plan—it was hidden, of course, a bit like they tried to hide their election review. If most Australians had known that all these cuts were there, including cutting production tax credits for the resources sector and cutting the Housing Australia Future Fund—we all know they wanted to cut the income tax cuts that we put in place. But what is absolutely extraordinary is that the then shadow economic ministers, the now Leader and Deputy Leader of the Opposition, managed to do all that—and here's the kicker—with bigger deficits over two years, and more debt.