Sam Lim (Tangney, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Why is the Albanese Labor government's cost-of-living help so important? And how does this compare to other approaches?

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

The member for Tangney is a much loved and respected member of our team, and I'm very grateful to him for the question. As the employment minister was saying a moment ago, the government's submission to the annual wage review today is all about a decent pay rise to help Australian workers on awards with the cost of living. We know that people are under pressure. We saw that in the inflation and confidence numbers this week. We know they're worried about developments in the Middle East and what that means for us, especially when it comes to fuel. From a purely economic and markets point of view, the end of the war in the Middle East can't come soon enough.

But, in the interim, we are working very hard, engaging with suppliers, regulators, industries and states and with our international partners to secure supply. We are doing what we can to ensure that the war is no excuse to rip people off at the bowser. That's why the increases to the penalties that passed the House today, and hopefully will pass the Senate this arvo, are so important, to make sure Australian motorists aren't being treated as mugs. That legislation passed the House earlier today despite the bizarre efforts we saw from the opposition. They came in here this morning, they suspended standing orders, they demanded that it be considered immediately—and then they voted against it! They gave angry speeches about how urgent it was, and then they voted to delay it. And it gets worse. When it came time for the final vote, when it came time to support the motorists and drivers of this country, they literally scurried out of the chamber. Doesn't that say it all?

Today is not the first time the member for Hume has voted against the interests of Australians who are under pressure. As it turns out, today is the one-year anniversary of when the member for Hume got all those colleagues to vote against tax cuts for 14 million Australian workers. And, one year ago tomorrow, he promised that if he was the Treasurer of this country he would repeal those tax cuts for 14 million Australians. He took to the election a policy of higher taxes, bigger deficits and more debt. If he had his way, Australians would be worse off, and the budget would be weaker.

And we know they haven't learned a thing from the last election. We know they haven't changed a bit, because they then went and made him the Leader of the Opposition. But his successor as shadow Treasurer is no better. The shadow Treasurer has spent recent weeks betting against Australia on the share market, getting the fuel excise wrong and behaving in here like some kind of karaoke clown. But we have been dealing with these serious issues in a serious way. The tax cuts are part of that. Our efforts in fuel markets are part of that, and our efforts to get a decent pay rise for award workers are as well.