We had a Labor Treasurer delivering a Labor Budget again. Congratulations to Jim Chalmers and Katy Gallagher on the first Budget – a true Labor Budget – delivering on our plans and building a better future. We’ve been left to clean up a mess by the previous government and this Budget starts that.

Here’s the 5&5.

BEST

One Treasurer, one Budget
Getting wages moving again
Passing legislation to help with cost of living
Paid family and domestic violence leave becomes law
A beautiful speech remembering John Spender

WORST

Peter Dutton’s geographic expertise
The Opposition’s Budget focus
New Greens Party MP tries to block supply
Peter Dutton’s Budget in reply speech
Angus Taylor’s credibility problem

1. Budget Day is the only day that the Treasurer doesn’t show up to Question Time. The Prime Minister opened with these words... “I advise the House that the Treasurer will be absent from question time today. The Assistant Treasurer will answer questions on the Treasurer's behalf, given that we have only one Treasurer.”

2. After a decade where wages were deliberately kept low we took the next step this week to get wages moving again. I introduced our Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation, which is aimed squarely at those in low-paid work, particularly in female-dominated professions. We’re going to get wages moving again – and this Bill will do that, by making it easier for employees and employers to bargain. Australian workers need a pay rise – we’re backing them in.

3. This week we continued to deliver on our election commitments – passing our Cheaper Medicines bill, as well as legislating our commitment to early childhood education. The Cheaper Medicines legislation and our Cheaper Childcare reform will make a difference to millions of families across the country.

4. We passed the law for universal paid family and domestic violence leave. This will change lives. A special thank you to all those who contributed to debate. Senator Nita Green and Minister Dr Anne Aly both shared powerful accounts of their own lived experience with family and domestic violence.

5. Condolence motions always bring the House together. This week’s for late Liberal MP John Spender was no different – except his daughter was one of the speakers on the floor. Allegra Spender ended her heart-warming tribute to her father with this gem. “Thirty-five years ago my father gave a condolence speech in the House for his father, my grandfather, who also served in federal parliament. There is a certain poignancy in that – though if any of my children stand for parliament I'll know it will be time to get my affairs in order!”

1. “He didn't know his Yeppoon from his Yeppen.” The Prime Minister used Question Time to give Peter Dutton a bit of a geography lesson. Nats MP Michelle Landry wanted to know about infrastructure funding in Rockhampton. The PM referred to funding he’d invested as Infrastructure Minister for the Yeppen Floodplain. The Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, thinking he was a genius, interjected “It’s pronounced Yeppoon!”. The PM’s response was one for the ages.

“Yeppen Floodplain'; Yeppoon's a different place. And you might want to ask the member for Capricornia, because Yeppoon is on the coast, north of Rockhampton, and Yeppen Floodplain is to the south; it's the southern entry of the Bruce Highway into Rockhampton.” I reckon there’s a fair chance they will never ask Anthony Albanese a question on infrastructure – or Queensland – again.

2. You’d think that on Budget Day, the Opposition might want to ask us about the Budget. Apparently not. Guess how many questions they asked about the Budget on Budget Day? *crickets* … Not one.

3. Speaking of the Budget – the new Greens party member for Griffith also covered himself in glory on Tuesday. Max Chandler-Mather moved an amendment which if carried would have blocked supply. That means public servants around the country would have had their pay reduced to zero. As I said on Tuesday night “This place is not a university SRC. What happens here is real. What happens here affects the whole of the nation.”

4. Peter Dutton gave his first Budget reply speech this week. He had half an hour to tell the Parliament and Australia about his plans for the future. What did we get? The same old culture wars and a push for the most expensive form of energy – nuclear power. As Jim Chalmers put it “He takes very seriously his responsibility as the leader of the leftovers!”

5. The Prime Minister finished an answer stating that the shadow Treasurer (and former Energy Minister) has “no credibility”. Given the former government changed the law to hide an upcoming spike in power prices – while in caretaker mode – that seems pretty reasonable. In one of the dumber things Peter Dutton did this week (it’s a competition) he raised a point of order claiming that the Prime Minister had been unparliamentary and should withdraw. The PM responded “Mr Speaker, that's one of the nicest things I've said about the shadow Treasurer!”

Senate Estimates starts today and will continue when the House returns on the 7th of November.

‘til then,

Tony

P.S. Today’s song of the week is dedicated to Peter Dutton’s geographic expertise. Here’s Australian indie rock band Jungle Giants with ‘All The Wrong Places’. ⬇

5&5: Budget Edition