QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Dr CHALMERS (Rankin—Treasurer) (14:26): I hope the shadow treasurer is aware that, when he blows on the dog whistle, they can hear it in Goldstein too. And, when the shadow treasurer said he was prepared to be in a government with One Nation, I think they heard that in Goldstein too. When it comes to the migration numbers in the budget and the housing numbers in the budget, it's very inconvenient to those opposite that, when we came to office, the net overseas migration number was surging.

What we've been able to do in the four years that we've been in office is to see net overseas migration come down 45 per cent off its peak. And there are additional steps in the budget to put more downward pressure on net overseas migration. So 45 per cent down from the peak after the surge that we inherited from those opposite—that's on the net overseas migration numbers, down 45 per cent from their peak.

In the last full year, that came in as 30,000 fewer than the Treasury forecast in the budget. We've been managing that down. Obviously there are calculations around departures and the like which are altering the forecast this year and next year, but, overall, net overseas migration has come down.

I didn't see you mentioning that when you were traipsing from disappointed door to disappointed door in Farrer. That's the first point. The second point—and the housing minister just made this point, I think, in a very compelling way—is our budgets, and not just the budget on Tuesday night but all our budgets, have been— Mr Littleproud: Gutless Jim!

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer will pause. We're not going to have that sort of language. I ask for that to be withdrawn.

Mr Littleproud: I withdraw. The SPEAKER: I thank the member for Maranoa. Dr CHALMERS: The point that the housing minister was making is that our big investments in the budget on Tuesday night in housing supply were not the first time that we had come to the table with very substantial investments.

An extra $2 billion in the budget means an extra 65,000 homes, because it invests in the small-scale infrastructure, the drains, the power infrastructure and the local road infrastructure to get more projects over the line. That's just the latest instalment in this government's enthusiastic investment in trying to make up the lost ground from the decade of those opposite doing almost nothing when it came to housing supply.

I'm asked about housing and I'm asked about progress that this government has made. Let me give you a few sets of numbers. Dwelling commencements are up 26 per cent; they were falling 28 per cent under those opposite.

Dwelling building approvals are up 13 per cent; they were falling 21 per cent under those opposite. Dwelling investment is up 5.5 per cent; it was falling 3.6 per cent under those opposite. We know that there's more work to do to build more homes in local communities, and that's why there's extra investment in the budget.