QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Prime Minister) (14:37): I'm asked about the tax cut that comes in today—the tax cut that is a part of our trajectory, which when we came into office had the first income tax bracket being at 19c and has taken it down to 15c today and 14c next year on 1 July. That is making a substantial difference to working families. But it's not just tax cuts, of course.
It's also paying them more, which is why the minimum wage increases that have come in today, our fifth lot, will make a difference, because we want people to earn more and keep more of what they earn. I'm asked about the tax cuts today and about coalition policy, believe it or not. I have been that lucky!
Coalition policy for the tax cut that came in today was to have come into this parliament if they were successful on 3 May last year and to have reversed it. So their policy was zero. To be fair to the member for Lyne, she wasn't here then.
But everyone who was here, in the right-wing parties—even if they were in different parties at that time, because it's hard to keep up, to be fair, with the titles over there—voted for $75 billion in higher personal income taxes. They voted for $14 billion of higher taxes on the resources and manufacturing sectors by abolishing production tax credits. They voted for higher taxes on motorists by abolishing the EV concession, and higher taxes on housing construction by abolishing Build to Rent.
They voted for, or wanted, higher student debt by abolishing the 20 per cent cut, and they wanted to, of course, abolish the Cheaper Home Batteries Program—like everything else in the renewable space. And, of course, they also—I was asked about your policies! The SPEAKER: Resume your seat, please, Prime Minister.
We'll hear from the Manager of Opposition Business. Mr Tehan: Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. It goes to relevance.
The question was around tax policies, comparing our $400 to your 70c a day. It wasn't about all these other— The SPEAKER: Resume your seat. Mr Tehan interjecting— The SPEAKER: The microphone's turned off when the Speaker says, 'Resume your seat.' That's how it works.
The Leader of the House on a point of order? Mr Burke: Just to the point of order: the Manager of Opposition Business would have to have known that, when they asked about opposition policy, the answer was going to involve opposition policy. The SPEAKER: We'll hear it.
We'll give the manager the opportunity to raise his point of order as well. Mr Tehan: There have been rulings by speakers on this. Sure—compare and contrast on tax policy, because that's what the question was asked about.
But the Prime Minister cannot just wander off and talk about anything else that he likes, and there are rulings to that accord. The SPEAKER: The way I'd like to handle this, with the support of the House, is: if the question referred to coalition tax policy, particularly the tax back guarantee, the Prime Minister has covered that. So I'm going to ask him to assist the House and return to coalition tax policy, because the manager was correct: that's what he was asked about.
He wasn't asked about any other coalition policies. If he was, he'd be able to talk about every policy. But, if the Prime Minister can refer to the coalition's tax policies, that will assist the House and, I think, address the member's question.
Prime Minister? Mr ALBANESE: I'm more than more than happy to, because they went to an election under this leader, who was the shadow treasurer, and called for higher taxes. They were opposed to the tax cuts that came in today.
And then, in the parliament, just a matter of weeks ago, with this year's budget, they voted against the working Australians tax offset. They voted against tax cuts. Not something that, in their own mind, when the three parties of grievance have this right-wing nirvana sometime down the track— (Time expired) Mr Hastie interjecting— The SPEAKER: The member for Canning is not assisting the House.
When the House comes to order, we'll hear from the member for Holt.