Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services. In the face of global instability, how is the Albanese Labor government taking practical action to protect Australians from rising cost-of-living pressures and to crack down on unfair fees and hidden charges?

Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the amazing member for Holt, who has been an absolute champion for consumers throughout her time in this place. We know that Australian families, Australian workers, farmers and businesses are doing it tough right now. Conflict in the Middle East means higher fuel costs, higher inflation and supply pressures. That's why the Albanese government is focused on strong practical action that makes a real difference to household budgets and helps Australians deal with cost-of-living pressures right now.

We've acted to make fuel cheaper for the people who need it by halving the fuel excise and reducing the road user charge for heavy vehicles to zero, cutting costs for families at the bowser and for truck drivers moving goods across the country. To ensure these savings are passed on, we've backed that up by increasing maximum penalties for price gouging to $100 million so unfair and illegal profiteering is met with real consequences.

Today we also welcomed efforts by regulators and industry—

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

Order! The minister will pause. The member for Fisher has been injecting all throughout question time. So you'll leave the chamber. Constantly in the last answer and this answer, your voice continues to chime in. Don't act surprised. If people are going to continually interject non-stop—everyone's had a pretty good go this week, but people have just got to control themselves.

The member for Fisher then left the chamber.

Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today we also welcomed efforts by regulators and industry that provide support at this difficult time through greater flexibility in the tax and in the banking systems, practical support to ensure businesses can continue operating, employing Australians and delivering essential goods and services. We're also cracking down on unfair business practices that quietly drain family budgets. Whether it's hidden fees added at the last click or subscriptions that are hard to cancel, this government, through the hard work of Assistant Minister Leigh, who introduced legislation to ban unfair trading practices today, is putting a stop to business tactics that cost Australians time and money and which sap their confidence. By strengthening protection against unfair contract terms, banning unfair trading practices, tackling subscription traps and banning drip pricing, we're cracking down on sneaky tactics that quietly rip people off.

There are many products that deliver little or no value—subscriptions to news sites that you only use once, ongoing charges for apps that your kids downloaded or membership of the Liberal Party. That's because while under our consumer laws—

Honourable members interjecting—

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

No. The minister was—

I'll deal with this. You don't need to say it, so you can resume your seat. The minister wasn't asked about opposition policies or talking points. I'm going to ask the minister to be directly relevant. There was no tag in that question.

Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On this side of the chamber, we've been getting on with the job. Yesterday we supported the Reserve Bank's decision to ban card surcharging. This puts an end to excessive and confusing fees at the check-out, particularly when families are under pressure and every dollar counts. These had been nuisance fees that had rightly been annoying consumers for too long. It's this government that has acted.

And while supporting Australians and standing up for consumers is in this government's DNA, the opposition, as always, continues to oppose or delay practical support. In uncertain times, Australians expect their government to be on their side, and that is exactly what we are doing.