Budget 2022 reply speech live: opposition leader Peter Dutton responds to Labor’s October federal budget – latest updates

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What we learned: Thursday, 27 October

With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. Enjoy your night, we’ll be back first thing tomorrow for all the latest.

Here were the major developments of the day:

Updated at 05.23 EDT

And there we have it. Mike Bowers was there, and captured a moment prior to the speech when former PM Scott Morrison shook hands with Dutton.

The leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton gets a handshake from former PM Scott Morrison as he prepares to deliver the budget in reply in the house of representatives chamber of parliament house in Canberra this evening. Thursday 27th October 2022. Budget Reply October 2022. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Guardian Australia Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

As opposition, Coalition ‘will stand against Labor’s broken promises’

He concludes his speech with a shoutout to infrastructure investment, and the Coalition’s $120bn in funding for infrastructure over the next 10 years.

In contrast, this government’s first budget axed $2.8bn of infrastructure projects and further delayed $6.5bn worth of projects. Mr Speaker, we will work to restore that funding in government.

He digs in at Labor for the $2.2bn commitment to a Suburban Rail Loop in Victoria to “Daniel Andrews to help with his re-election”, which he says is a blow to regional Victorians.

We will work with farmers as they face difficult struggles because there was nothing for them in this budget. Labor’s intent to reduce methane emissions by 30% will drive up the cost of meat at the supermarket. It’s not only bad for farmers, but it’s just added to your grocery basket [if you eat meat].

Mr Speaker, in conclusion, Australians will recall that, prior to the election, prime minister Anthony Albanese promised that he would be a leader who wouldn’t run from responsibility. He promised to lead a government that steps up, does its job, and doesn’t always blame someone else. For all their moral posturing and for all their promises, Labor shows, time and again, that their rhetoric in opposition never matches their actions in government. You are never better off when Labor has its hands on the budget. As opposition, we will stand against Labor’s broken promises. We will have a clearly defined, positive and bold plan ahead of the next election to take our country forward. We will support hardworking Australians. We will support all Australians. And we will rebuild a stronger economy for your family and for our country. Thank you very much.

Updated at 05.17 EDT

Dutton also echoes the support in funding for Ukraine – a “devastating reminder” we shouldn’t take for granted peace since world war two.

He says the funding is a “signal of our values” and the Coalition will “stand shoulder to shoulder” to provide more support, including announcements made today.

The threat of conflict as we know in our own region is real. As many military leaders have warned, we have to be realistic about the increasing prospect of conflict.

He says the AUKUS deal will give Australia the “best chance of peace” by collaborating with our “two most important allies”.

I take this opportunity to thank the wonderful members of the ADF, along with first responders, local councillors, community leaders, volunteers, and many more for their efforts in supporting Australians and communities affected by the recent floods. In government, we invested a record amount in our veterans. I thank the government for continuing that investment. The number of veteran suicides in our country remains far, far too high. It is a national tragedy. And the Coalition strongly supports the government’s commitment to expand the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme.

Updated at 05.10 EDT

Coalition supports Labor’s funding to end domestic violence

Dutton praises Labor’s funding in the budget for ending domestic violence.

We are all here in parliament to improve lives of Australians, especially children.

He says his experience as a police officer particularly embedded this view.

I saw the best and worst in society has to offer. I attended countless domestic violence incidents … the Coalition will invest significantly in these family support services and also to protect women and children from sexual assault.

Updated at 05.13 EDT

On to jobs. Dutton says Labor has “no plan” to save predicted job losses in the coming four years.

Across the economy employers are crying out for workers – in June, the Coalition announced a policy to double the age and veteran service pension from $300 to $600 per fortnight … to allow older Australians and veterans to work more if they choose to do so without losing their pension payments … Labor’s policy is about 25% less than the Coalition’s proposal, and right now, we need more incentive in the system to get people more into work.

He says Labor’s budget will “empower unions” and be a “throwback to the 1980s”.

Labor’s changes will impose industry-wide one size fits all conditions … the last time they used strikes to pursue sector wide ultimatums, was in 1982. And in that year, unemployment reached 9.4%, inflation 12.4% and 2m working days were lost in industrial disputation.

Updated at 05.39 EDT

Labor housing promise a ‘Kevin Rudd design’ with no detail

Dutton says the Coalition would help first home buyers to access their super for the “super homebuyer support” plan, announced during the election campaign.

Currently, a superfund can be used to buy residential or commercial rental property, to buy shares or even livestock … except a home to live in … with $100,000 from super, the first home buyers wouldn’t have been able to afford their home. With access to super, they have a home to live in. If the house was sold after a decade, the $100,000 will be worth around $214,000. And if that was reinvested back, as would require, the couple would end up with a balance from that amount in the super when they retire of over $1 million.

Under the Coalition government, we will extend the same option to women … with very few housing options and those who are increasingly left homeless. The Coalition has a strong record when it comes to getting first-time buyers and second parent families into their first homes. We support initiatives to increase the supply of housing but the government initiative has no detail. The Labor government has promised 1m additional homes in five years costing $10bn. Now, does anyone believe that? It’s a Kevin Rudd design.

Updated at 05.06 EDT

Dutton turns to family. He says his teenage boys are in their exams period in Brisbane and his wife is there “making sure they are studying and not watching television”.

But I wanted to mention my parents, they are both unwell, unable to travel down but my dad was a bricklayer, my mum was a secretary … my parents had a very strong work ethic, the taught us to appreciate the value of money. We had a lot of support and love and not much money. It was a time when Labor was residing with high interest rates and unemployment. And it was a terrible time for the building industry. I was encouraged to get a part-time job as many kids in my generation [were] … From grade seven, I worked in a butcher shop after school and on Saturday mornings, scrubbing floors and washing up and serving on the counter. It was tough work but it was character building and gave me an appreciation for many different perspectives. I saved like crazy, one of my proudest achievements was buying my first home. It was nothing flashy and less than $90,000 from memory but it was mine. And today it is much higher.

Updated at 05.40 EDT

Dutton accuses Labor of planning to scrap stage-three tax cuts

Back to tax. Dutton says “cost-of-living relief is interconnected with tax relief”.

In a bit of a Thatcher throwback:

You should keep more of what you own, hard-working Australia should be rewarded and the best reward is lower taxes.

He touts the stage three-tax cuts, which will “lower tax for more than 10 million Australians” and “simplify our tax system”.

Our plan means that the top 5% of income earners will pay 33% more income tax, you can work hard, take an extra shift or get a pay rise … without suddenly being pushed into a high tax bracket. Stage-three tax relief comes into effect on July of 2024 and … after interest rate rises, that’s when our economy will need it most. That’s when Australians especially deserve it.

He says Labor has “laid the groundwork” to break their commitment to the tax cuts.

The budget is intended to soften up Australia, gives the government time, with more excuses by May of next year, to tax more.

Updated at 05.00 EDT

Australia must follow US, UK and others on nuclear energy

Now Dutton turns to nuclear energy.

He says Labor is “misleading Australians” when it says it can “run out billions of dollars worth of transmission wires, cables and towers for renewable energies in just the next few years”.

Regional communities … will be carpeted with up to 28,000km of new high-voltage transmission lines. Almost the entire coastline of mainland Australia or the distance of travelling from Melbourne to Perth four times. Every dollar spent will be paid for by consumers through higher electricity bills.

He says Canada, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and the US are all investing in “next-generation zero emissions nuclear small modular reactors to shore up energy security” and reach targets.

The imperative to create affordable, reliable and emission free energy by the Coalition is seeking an intelligent conversation on the role of these new-age nuclear technologies.

Updated at 05.01 EDT

Investing in renewables is ‘crucial’ but Labor is phasing out fossil fuels too soon, Dutton says

Dutton says investing in renewable energy and reducing emissions to protect the environment is “crucial” – quite a change of pace from the bring a bit of coal to work days.

“We want a sustainable and sensible pathway to reduce our emissions,” he says, but “the technology does not exist” at the scale currently needed to rely on renewable energy at night or during peak periods.

It is just the scientific reality. [We need to] use coal and gas, hydro, hydrogen, nuclear or battery as the energy source … when renewables are not fitting the system but Labor is going to phase out coal and gas before the new technology is being rolled out.

In this budget the government makes it harder for more gas supply at a time when we need it most. On Tuesday night we saw the government rip up funding for gas exploration and cancel gas infrastructure projects which will eliminate shortfalls and make your bills cheaper. They handed over funding to environmental activists who want to overturn gas project approvals … a push for 82% renewables comes without a plan.

Updated at 04.56 EDT

Dutton continues to languish in the past for awhile. He says Australia “emerged as the envy of most nations” from Covid-19 in terms of its economic position.

When you hear Labor carry on about a wasted decade, it is a distraction from the fact this government has no economic plan. And Labor will continue to misrepresent the truth until the next election to mask their bad decisions, most notably upon energy policy.

He says six months ago the prime minister promised electricity bills would go down under his government, by $275.

In this budget, instead of going down as promised, Labor’s plan was the electricity bills go up by more than 56% over the next two years [this wasn’t their plan as much as modelling].

Not only that, of course, but your gas bill will go up by more than 44%. Pensioners cannot afford that level of increase, and not just pensioners, self-funded retirees, families and small businesses as well, in fact, most Australians. In Europe we are hearing about people having to choose between paying their power bills or putting food on the table. Between heating or eating, this winter. Their electricity and gas bills are spiralling out of control … and despite those warnings and lessons, this government is following in the footsteps.

Updated at 04.53 EDT

Dutton: ‘We did not get everything right … but we kept the nation afloat’

Dutton lays out the Coalition’s priorities and where he says the budget has failed – energy policy, tax relief, housing, job shortages, industrial relations and infrastructure in the regions.

He says the budget shows “yet again” that Labor “cannot manage the economy when it forms government” – a line that has been repeated by the Coalition for decades.

Dutton contends there’s a “historical pattern” of Labor “creating a mess and the Coalition cleaning it up”, pointing to Howard after Keating, Abbott after Rudd/Gillard and the “back in black” 2019 budget … prior to Covid-19, and the biggest economic downturn since the great depression.

It was only due to our economic management over the seven years prior to the pandemic that we were in a strong position to implement a suite of support measures. With 2020 hindsight we did not get everything right and some of the state lockdowns went on for far too long … but under our policies, we kept the nation afloat.

Updated at 04.47 EDT

Dutton says the prime minister has “broken his faith” with the public by admissions in the budget papers that by Christmas, a typical family would be $2,000 worse off.

He admits this is amid war in Ukraine and surging power prices globally.

Under the Labor budget, electricity prices are set to rise by more than 56% and gas prices by more than 44%. And we note that at these difficult times, nations around the world are contending with economic challenges born from the pandemic and amplified by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but thanks to the Coalition … the fundamentals of the Australian economy are strong.

Cost of living is going up partly due to global conditions but also due to this Labor government’s decision. The treasurer said this government makes hard decisions for hard times but I say it makes … hard times even harder for all Australians.

Whether you are young, raising a family or retired, whether you’re an employee or running a business, on Tuesday, the treasurer failed to mention in his speech what Labor’s paper revealed, everything is going up except your wages. Cost of living, power prices, taxes, interest rates, unemployment and the deficit are going up or will be going up under the government’s predictions … you have every right to be anxious and disappointed.

Updated at 04.43 EDT

Coalition does not oppose everything in the budget

Dutton says the Coalition doesn’t oppose everything in the budget, nor is that the job of the opposition.

He says the Coalition supports the childcare subsidy, investment into medicine, combatting domestic violence and funding towards flood recover.

We do not disagree with everything in this budget and policy must be judged on its merits – if it is good for you, we will support it … there were several good measures in the budget. The extension of the childcare subsidy to more Australian families, the commitment to reduce the price of medicine. The initiative to combat domestic violence and the funding to help Australians recover from devastating floods. Peter Dutton delivers the budget reply in the House of Representatives in Parliament House in Canberra . Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated at 04.50 EDT

Labor budget ‘weakens Australia’s financial position’, Dutton says

Dutton says the budget didn’t address economic challenges Australians are facing to “inspire confidence”.

It is a budget that weakens Australia’s financial position rather than strengthens it and it adds to rather than alleviates cost of living pressures.

Then he’s straight to anecdotes.

“Kel” runs a multigenerational IGA supermarket in Queensland.

He negotiated a commercial and industrial energy contract when the Coalition was in government and power prices were much lower than they are now. Today, his business is threatened as he faces an increase of $160,000 on the power bill from last year alone. The energy costs will go up further.

A friendly reminder the Coalition were in government until the end of May.

Updated at 04.40 EDT

Opposition leader Peter Dutton responds to Labor federal budget

Opposition leader Peter Dutton is up.

He starts his speech praising the nation, calling the budget a “missed opportunity” to help Australians at a time of uncertainty.

We live in the best country in the world but for millions of Australians things are not easy now, [we are] facing increasing financial pressures, mortgage repayments, insurance premiums, visits to the supermarket, filling up at the petrol station. Cost of living is skyrocketing and may soon be out of control yet it can be kept in check. But not while this Labor government makes bad economic decisions.

Updated at 04.35 EDT

A reminder, we will be hearing from the leader of the opposition Peter Dutton at 7.30 tonight as he gives his budget reply. We’ll keep the live blog open for the duration of the speech.

Landry says not the first time Albanese has ‘treated me with disrespect’

Michelle Landry has issued a statement following criticisms regarding the conduct of the prime minister during Question Time today.

Speaker of the house and Labor MP, Milton Dick, has ruled that Anthony Albanese was not disrespectful in an answer to Landry this afternoon, saying he was directly responding to interjections from the leader of the opposition.

Landry sees it differently. She says she was “yelled at and screamed at” across the chamber and felt “intimidated and bullied”.

I respectfully ask the prime minister to publicly apologise to me in the House of Representatives.

Updated at 04.07 EDT