QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Dr CHALMERS (Rankin—Treasurer) (14:25): If anybody is looking for evidence that the member for Goldstein is not the sharpest tool in the shed, how about him asking about tax cuts on the day that their party room decided to vote against tax cuts for 13 million Australian workers? Mr Gosling interjecting— The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Solomon.
Dr CHALMERS: Of all the things to ask us about today, maybe they could have waited for another day to ask us about bracket creep, when this side of the House, this week in the House of Representatives, will be returning bracket creep and that side of the House will be voting to keep bracket creep. It's almost as if somebody who writes these questions is deliberately setting him up, because, only a few hours ago in the coalition party room—that meeting of minds down that end of the building—they decided to repeat the same mistake that they made not that long ago: to vote against tax cuts for Australian working people.
This side of the House will be voting for tax cuts, won't we? We'll be voting for tax cuts when the— Mr Gosling interjecting— The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Solomon will leave the chamber under 94(a).
Do not interject while people are approaching, and use correct titles in this House. The member for Solomon then left the chamber. The SPEAKER: Member for Goldstein, a point of order?
Mr Tim Wilson: The question was specifically about whether the Treasurer could confirm the working Australians tax offset will be chewed up by bracket creep within a year. I know he enjoys spraying abuse— The SPEAKER: Resume your seat. The Treasurer wasn't asked about the opposition or their policies, so I'm going to bring him back to the question.
If he continues to talk about the opposition, he'll be sat down. Dr CHALMERS: I was asked about the working Australians tax offset. We'll be voting for it, and they'll be voting against it.
That's the decision that was taken today in their party room. Now, when it comes to returning bracket creep, this is a government which has returned bracket creep on five occasions, using three different mechanisms. In fact, there'll be another tax cut on 1 July, less than a month from now—the same tax cuts that they said they would repeal.
The difference here is very clear: a Labor government led by this Prime Minister cutting income taxes—again and again and again—for millions of Australian workers, versus an opposition which votes against tax cuts for Australia's working people. The point that I'm making about the working Australians tax offset is that, because of our efforts, Australians will be getting another tax cut.
If they had their way, Australians would be paying higher income taxes, not lower income taxes.