Thank you for joining our live coverage of question time in the House of Representatives. Here’s what happened:
- The Coalition stuck to a tight line of questioning on the government’s handling of the economy, specifically attempting to have Prime Minister Anthony Albanese take personal responsibility for the cost of living. The tactic was lambasted by government ministers who said recent data from the national accounts proved the economy was improving.
- Albanese announced that 200 Australians were safely travelling on a flight from Dubai to Sydney, set to arrive late this evening. The Emirates flight is the first to leave the Middle East since war broke out between the US, Israel and Iran.
- Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson broke out in song to attack Treasurer Jim Chalmers, and was sledged by Albanese, who labelled the performance a “human rights issue”.
Join us again tomorrow for more coverage, and follow along today with our rolling blog of the Iran war.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged the Liberal caucus to read the previously secret election review into last May’s poll, saying the opposition has learned nothing from their worst-ever defeat.
The prime minister’s spray came after he was asked this question by Opposition Leader Angus Taylor:
On Labor’s watch Australians have endured the longest household recession on record. Prices are up sharply, real wages are down. Australians are working harder for less, and government is getting bigger, but lives aren’t getting better. The only things increasing are inflation, interest rates and population by 1.9 million. After four years of Australians going backward under Labor, when will the Prime Minister finally accept the buck stops with him?
Albanese started his response by jabbing Taylor for his “tight question” before listing a number of figures he said had improved under Labor, including the creation of 50,000 full-time jobs, 725,000 students accessing fee-free TAFE and a narrowing of the gender pay gap.
The prime minister said he tabled the secret election review in the House yesterday, “so their backbench and their frontbench, including the shadow cabinet, could read their election review. I suggest they go back and read it, because they’ve learned absolutely nothing.”
Every question the opposition has asked today has had two unifying aspects. Each has begun with a claim that Australia is the only advanced country in which living standards have gone backwards in recent years, and has ended with a request for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take responsibility for it.
The tactic follows Monday and Tuesday’s sittings, in which all questions were focused on the return of the so-called ISIS brides.
This may suggest a tactical change under Opposition Leader Angus Taylor to focus on single issues and slogans in each sitting. Under Sussan Ley, the opposition would often move between various topics throughout the course of question time.
Albanese has argued today’s tactic is a lame duck, saying this morning’s national accounts invalidated the line of questioning.
“The figures show the fastest economic growth of any major advanced economy. And what we’re really seeing here is the projection that, clearly, yesterday they briefed The Australian that they were going to talk about the economy today. Clearly, they wrote the questions yesterday before they saw the facts of the accounts,” he said.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has attacked shadow treasurer Tim Wilson, referring to reports in the media that Wilson has made personal investments in such a way as to benefit from an unsuccessful Australian economy.
“There’s got to be a reason why the shadow treasurer is always talking the Australian economy down. There has to be a reason for that. And for those who are trying to understand why he’s always talking the economy down, I refer the shadow treasurer and the House to a story in The Guardian, I think, also a story in the Australian Financial Review,” Chalmers said.
“What this story says is that the shadow treasurer has shares which make more money for him when the Australian market underperforms. He has invested in shares which ensure the worse the Australian market and economy performs, the more money he makes out of it. Mr. Speaker, that’s the facts.”
After the comments were made, Wilson rose to his feet and began calling out to the treasurer before being reprimanded by Speaker of the House Milton Dick.
Wilson returned to his seat, but in subsequent questions appeared rattled by the attack.
Once is an instance, twice is a hobby, thrice is a habit, and it’s clear that the opposition has found a new habit with the attack line: “the buck stops with him”.
We’ve just had the third question from the Coalition, this time from deputy Nationals leader Kevin Hogan, who asked the prime minister: “Under Labor, Australia is the only advanced economy where living standards have gone backwards. Today’s national accounts show the government share of the economy growing twice as fast as the private sector, which economists and business leaders say is fuelling inflation. After four years of Australian Australians going backwards under Labor, when will the prime minister finally accept the buck stops with him?”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers immediately rose to answer the question as Albanese remained seated, triggering jeers of “he’s passed the buck already” from the opposition backbench.
Chalmers said the national accounts released today showed a rise in living standards, and said that a key driver of public demand in the economy came from increased defence spending, which the Coalition has campaigned for.
“They’ve called for more [defence spending] Mr. Speaker, and that just goes to the absolutely torpedoing of their economic credibility that began with the member for Hume [Angus Taylor] and continues today with the member for Goldstein [Tim Wilson],” he said
“Mr. Speaker, living standards went up in today’s data. They really should know that.”
Returning to Tim Wilson’s … singing … for a moment, we’ve got the moment just before question time for you to watch for yourselves.
Wilson was criticising the government’s economic management, although that message may have been lost somewhat.
Here it is, but fair warning:
It follows in a great tradition of MPs bursting into song at bizarre moments. Step forward, Craig Emerson with “Whyalla wipeout” from 2012.
With apologies to the Skyhooks and Billy Joel.
Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson has risen to ask the prime minister about the performance of the economy, showing a change of tactics to focus on cost of living after the Coalition centred their tactics on so-called ISIS brides in the last two sittings of question time.
“Under Labor, Australia is the only advanced economy where living standards have gone backwards. Real wages are now down, now 2.1 per cent lower than four years ago, and the Reserve Bank forecast they will continue to fall this year. After four years of Australians going backwards under Labor, when will the prime minister finally accept the buck stops with him,” Wilson asked.
An earlier question from Opposition Leader Angus Taylor also used the phrase “buck stops with him” in reference to Albanese.
Albanese began by again sledging Wilson for singing in the chamber earlier this afternoon, saying: “We congratulate [Wilson] on getting a question on the economy today, and I thank you for not singing the question. I thank him sincerely.”
The prime minister said the Coalition was seeking to “talk Australia down”, before listing a number of election commitments, including paid parental leave, as examples of cost-of-living measures.
This morning we brought you news of Emirates flight EK414 from Dubai to Sydney, the first out of the Middle East since strikes on Iran by the US and Israel.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just told the House that over 200 Australians are safely on board, a drop in the bucket of the 115,000 stranded in the region.
The flight is expected to arrive in Sydney shortly after 10.30pm (AEDT) tonight.
The first question of question time has come from Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, who has asked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese if he will take responsibility for falling standards of living compared to other countries.
The prime minister started by attacking the Coalition for not asking questions on the economy in the past two sittings of question time, before sledging shadow treasurer Tim Wilson for performing a rendition of Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire attacking Treasurer Jim Chalmer’s budget management shortly just before question time began, which he described as a “human rights issue for all those who had to listen to it”.
“They always pull Australia down. Australia, which has faster economic growth the Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK or the United States. The UK and Germany have recently experienced recessions. Mr. Speaker, Australia has a lower unemployment rate than Canada, France, Italy, the UK and the United States,” Albanese said.
“We have stronger employment growth than Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. Higher participation rates than Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the UK and unlike G7 nations, Australia’s budget has been in surplus in recent years.”
Welcome to our live coverage of question time in the House of Representatives. My name is Nick Newling, I’ll be taking you through the afternoon’s proceedings.
This is the third question time of the week, and both previous sittings have been dominated by opposition questions grilling the government on the return of so-called ISIS brides.
You can watch a livestream of question time below, and follow along with our blog for updates.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
