Leah Blyth SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence Infrastructure
2:28 pm
My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Wong. Productivity fell 0.7 per cent in 2024-25, and the latest quarterly figures show it falling again. The latest ABS data shows GDP per hour worked fell 0.6 per cent in the March quarter and increased just 0.3 per cent over the year. Minister, can you identify a single year since Labor came to office in which productivity growth has reached the long-run average necessary to sustainably increase Australian living standards?
Penny Wong SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs
2:29 pm
I welcome the question on the economy from the senator. What I would say first is that I think we all recognise the challenges that we face as a nation in increasing productivity. We know that we had a very large productivity push a number of decades ago. As the Treasurer has said, many what we would describe as low-hanging fruit reforms have been done, so we have to focus on more of a multifactor approach to how we increase productivity in this country, because the senator is—
Jane Hume Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations
Lower taxes; lower energy prices.
Penny Wong SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs
I'll take the interjection from Senator Hume. The senator for higher taxes is now interjecting to say, 'Lower taxes.' The incoherence of the economic policy of those opposite is quite remarkable, really. What I would say is that productivity, as the RBA has identified, has been a longstanding challenge in the economy. That's why it was such a focus in the budget. In the budget, we delivered the broadest productivity push for many decades, with 15 reforms in the budget which are all about trying to increase productivity, trying to attract and absorb more investment, making it quicker and easier to build and slashing compliance costs. These include the better targeted research and development tax incentive and the incentivising investment and innovation package, which had $3½ billion in new measures that lowered taxes for business. I'm happy to go on reducing red tape by about $10 billion a year— (Time expired)
Leah Blyth SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence Infrastructure
2:31 pm
I'm going to take it that there isn't one single year you can point to. Minister, you have repeatedly pointed to the government's productivity agenda and the measures announced in the budget. If those policies are working, why has the government been unable, after four years, to produce a sustained improvement in Australia's productivity growth, and by what date does the government expect Australians to see one?
Penny Wong SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs
2:32 pm
I was going through the measures in the budget which are about pushing forward on productivity, which has been a challenge for governments of both political persuasions for some years. You might recall that, in fact, productivity went backwards under the Morrison government—
Jane Hume Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations
It didn't go backwards.
Michaelia Cash WA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
No, it didn't.
Penny Wong SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs
Actually, it did four times: December 2018, March 2020, June 2020 and September 2021. So my point is that, if we can move away from perhaps the sorts of politics that you're trying to engage in here, I think we all agree productivity is important for the country because it is about future growth. That is why we have—
Bridget McKenzie Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development
You have done nothing on productivity since the roundtable.
Michaelia Cash WA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
During COVID, apparently.
Bridget McKenzie Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development
The mythical productivity roundtable.
Sue Lines President
Order! Senators Cash and McKenzie, it's not a chat between the two of you. The Minister was on her feet trying to answer a question without interference.
Penny Wong SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs
That is why the budget includes the four packages I've described in relation to investment and innovation, red tape, barriers to trade and a single national market. (Time expired)
Leah Blyth SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence Infrastructure
2:33 pm
Minister, you can't outline any year where productivity increased under your watch. You can't outline how, let alone when, any of your policies will have an effect. Minister, does the Prime Minister have a plan to address Australia's productivity decline that is cutting living standards and killing our economy, or do you admit that Labor isn't working for Australians?
Penny Wong SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs
First, I look forward to you leading the charge from inside the coalition to support some of these productivity measures, Senator, such as reducing red tape, which, as I understand it, the coalition has not yet backed in. I look forward to you participating and actually trying to improve—
Do you have to keep shouting, Senator McKenzie?
Penny Wong SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs
Those opposite voted against—
Bridget McKenzie Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development
This is an absolute joke.
Penny Wong SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs
Those opposite come in here and complain about productivity but voted against the EPBC reforms, which are all about productivity. They voted against regulatory reform, which is all about productivity. Why don't you put up or shut up on this issue? Why don't you put up or shut up? You complain, but you always vote the other way. You and One Nation are voting against economic reform because you're too worried about the voters which are going with One Nation, instead of behaving like a party of government should.