Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister confirm that, according to yesterday's data, population growth driven by immigration has grown by 1.9 million since 2022? At the same time, Labor has missed its housing targets by tens of thousands of homes.

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

I'm asked about numbers. I can tell them what their housing figures, their target, was. It was zero. It was zero because they didn't even have a housing minister. They didn't even have a housing minister. When it comes to migration numbers, we have cut the net migration figures by over 40 per cent in a year. The number of people arriving now is lower than it was under the coalition. The latest population statement released in early January confirmed that population growth is expected to slow to 1.3 per cent in the current financial year and 1.2 per cent from 2026-27 and that this is lower than the average of 1.4 per cent experienced during the 2010s. They are just the facts, and the fact is also that after COVID, when the borders were closed—see if you can think about this—and Australians weren't allowed to come home, when the borders opened there were more people coming here than when the borders were closed. The figures show—I'm asked about them, but they don't want to hear them—that by 2030-31 Australia's population is expected to be 754,000 smaller than what the former coalition government forecasted prior to the pandemic. That's the fact.

But I'm asked about numbers. Here are some numbers for you: 1.2 million more jobs, three out of five of them full time and four out of five in the private sector, and 14 million—there's a number for you—is the number of Australians who get tax cuts under us and would have got tax increases under them. Here's another figure for you: $233 billion better budget bottom line accumulatively over the seven years to 2028-29. There are 1,300 extra GP practices that are now bulk-billing—1,300! There are 130 urgent care clinics up and running. It would have been zero under them. There are 3 million Australians who got a cut in the student debt. The average relief is $5½ thousand. And there have been 18 gigawatts added, unlike what happened under them.

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

Once again, there was far too much noise in that answer. The member for Goldstein was continually interjecting. We need to have the MPI today, so for the MPI to succeed he needs to cease interjecting. If the member for Goldstein keeps interjecting, we won't have the MPI today.

Honourable members interjecting—

Well, I'd like there to be an MPI, and I hope every other member does to. I'm sure the member for Goldstein does. So I hope everyone is clear that that is the course of action. If you interject, we won't be having an MPI today.

Great. The member for Forrest is now warned for his interjections.