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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, it's heartening to see you changed your mind on the stage 3 tax cuts and taking cost-of-living seriously, but families in Fowler living on a median wage of $521 a week are still under stress. Your government has collected almost $20 billion from fuel excise. Fuel has gone up from around $1.82 in March last year to $2.26 today. When will families in Western Sydney be given immediate relief through a fuel excise cut?

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

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is warned, and if she interjects one more time she won't be here for the remainder of question time.

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

I thank the member for Fowler for her question and for her acknowledgement that Labor's cost-of-living tax cuts will provide tax relief for every single taxpayer in her electorate. They will do something more than that: they will provide more tax relief for 90 per cent of taxpayers in Fowler. Ninety per cent will benefit. Ninety-eight per cent of young taxpayers in Fowler will benefit. More than 90 per cent of women in Fowler will benefit. We have found the best way to provide cost-of-living relief for people in her electorate and in every electorate around Australia, by providing tax relief for all 13.6 million taxpayers. We could have sat back and said, 'Well, we acknowledge the fact that low- and middle-income owners are under pressure, but it's too difficult to do anything about it.' That would have been the easy decision. What we didn't do was that. What we did was to make a difficult decision in the interests of Australian taxpayers—in the interests of middle-income Australians in particular. But also many of those in the member for Fowler's electorate will be amongst the 1.2 million Australians who will benefit from either being taken out completely from the Medicare levy or having their Medicare levy reduced.

I thank the member for Fowler for indicating her support for our tax package. It comes on top of our energy relief plan as well. I noticed yesterday the Leader of the National Party out there on morning TV saying, 'Why don't they consider doing something about energy price relief?' As we say—

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

 Order! The Prime Minister will pause.

Honourable members interjecting—

Order! The Prime Minister will just pause, so I can hear from the member for Fowler, and the Leader of the Nationals will not interject while I hear from her.

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

Mr Speaker, on relevance: I asked about fuel excise and immediate relief through the fuel excise tax cut.

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

Yes. The question contained a reference to cost of living and tax cuts. The Prime Minister is answering the question. He's being directly relevant. I refer to my earlier remarks regarding being directly relevant in answering questions.

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

We found a much more effective way of providing cost-of-living relief every single week.

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

Order! The member for Casey will cease interjecting.

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

When taxpayers in your electorate get their pay packet, they will benefit not just from the tax relief but from the fact that they're earning more. They're earning more as a result of the fact that real wages have increased in the last two quarters. We want people to earn more, and we want people to keep more of what they earn. That's our position. Those opposite in the Liberal and National parties want people to work longer for less.

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

The Treasurer will cease interjecting.

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

But I am pleased, and I congratulate—at least there's one person on that side of the House who can get a question about cost-of-living issues.