Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, the capital gains tax and negative gearing changes announced in the May budget were significant and market-sensitive measures—so significant that your government has already walked parts of them back in recent days. Can the Prime Minister give the House a strong assurance that no government MP or their close relations used prior knowledge of those changes for private financial benefit before they were made public?

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

I'm not particularly happy with that regarding the standing orders and the imputations that were contained in that question. We don't want to go down a path where people are being accused of things or there are allegations in questions. There are some imputations in that question. I'll hear from the Leader of the House. Member for Fowler, we'll get through this.

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

I know that there's normally some level of levity that's taken, but the rules are that the question can't contain argument, inference, imputation or insults. It's all there.

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

We'll deal with this, and then I'll give the member for Fowler the call. When you're saying things about whether MPs, the Prime Minister or their close relations are using prior knowledge, it's a dangerous path to go down. Is the member for Fowler seeking to rephrase the question?

Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm happy to rephrase the question. Can the Prime Minister give the House assurance that this information was properly safeguarded before the budget and was held so that no-one connected to or in government was able to act on it for private financial benefit?

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

I'll just ask the Prime Minister to ignore the last part of the question because that is not within the standing orders.

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

I would say to the member for Fowler that, if she's got a suggestion or an allegation about anyone in the chamber, she should actually say what it is and preferably say it outside. This isn't a council. This is a serious parliament, and one of the things that we do—

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

The member for Fowler, on a point of order?

Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

I think the Prime Minister should have some respect in the House.

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

Resume your seat. The House is going to come to order so the Prime Minister can deal with the question.

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

No-one has done more for local government in this House than me. Part of the critique from some in the three right-wing parties and their cheer squad outside has been that there wasn't enough consultation before the tax announcements that were made. We were very careful, as always occurs and, I'm sure, has always occurred for as long as I've been here, across the board, whoever has been the Treasurer and gone through our ERC processes. That is something that we have in this country that we should cherish and we should honour, not denigrate to try to score a cheap point.

I make this point—around 65,000 taxpayers in Fowler will benefit from the WATO. When it comes to student debt relief, 24,000 people benefited. There have been 3.4 million cheaper scripts in the electorate of Fowler. There is the Liverpool Medicare Urgent Care Clinic—I note that all our urgent care clinics are now open—has received 19,900 visits, and there are now 86 fully bulk-billed practices in Fowler—

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

Order. The member for Fowler has taken her point of order. Resume your seat. I'm not entertaining the point of order.

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

And I had the pleasure, it must be said, with the member for Werriwa and the member for McMahon, of being in south-west Sydney just yesterday. It's a great part of Sydney. We were there for the opening of an Assyrian community hall at St Yosip's. It's a fantastic community and it was great to spend more time in south-west Sydney. I look forward to spending more time in the months and years ahead in south-west Sydney, advocating for the interests of the people there genuinely.