Ms WELLS (Lilley—Minister for Aged Care and Minister for Sport) (14:30): I thank the member for the question. It's not in my portfolio, but I'm happy to expand on what I discussed this morning. I was asked: how is this a budget that assists middle Australians? And I said, 'This is a budget for middle Australians because middle Australians are facing energy bills, middle Australians have children, middle Australians need to pay for medicines and middle Australians like to go to the doctor, preferably a bulk-billing doctor near where they live'. This is a cost-of-living budget with a $14.6 billion package designed to decrease the price of child care. I've had three kids in child care at the one time. Ms Ley interjecting— The SPEAKER: The minister will pause. The question was about how the budget puts downward pressure on inflation. The minister is answering that, regarding examples and also regarding government policy. I will hear from the deputy leader, but I hope she was listening to what the minister was saying, otherwise I'll ask her to sit down as well. Ms Ley: Indeed I was. My point of order is on relevance because it was a tight question and it specifically went to the Minister's own quote that, 'the budget would put downward pressure on inflation'. My question was: how? The SPEAKER: Resume your seat. I do want to hear from the Leader of the House. Mr Burke: Just to the point of order, the question does not relate to the minister's portfolio. The minister has taken it anyway. The minister, in answering the question, has been absolutely relevant to every aspect. The only objection from the shadow minister is that her question is being answered and she doesn't like the facts that are coming out. The SPEAKER: I'll hear from the Manager of Opposition Business. Mr Fletcher: It was suggested that it's not in the Minister's portfolio. It deals with the budget. The minister has responsibility for a portfolio which involves budgetary expenditure. The SPEAKER: I'm going to keep things moving. The question was about comments the minister made about the budget regarding inflation. She's giving examples in her portfolio and broader government context. She can't really be more relevant than she is already being. I'm going to ask the minister to return to the question. I'm going to listen carefully to make sure she's reflecting what the member asked. I give her the call. Ms WELLS: I was saying that I have three kids who are in child care and that, come 1 July, our decision to reduce the cost of child care for people makes a huge difference to the cost of living. We have made decisions to put downward pressure on the price of child care and downward pressure on the price of electricity bills, rather than the cash-splash bonanza that you lot tried to do when you had the levers of power. We are making decisions to give subsidies to people on things like energy bills and childcare bills because that puts downward pressure on inflation. Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER: Members on my left! The Deputy Leader of the Opposition has asked her question. Ms WELLS: We're also giving a pay rise to aged-care workers to the value of $11.3 billion. That's an extra 140 bucks a week for personal carers or 200 bucks a week for registered nurses. Giving pay rises to people assists with their cost of living. That's a $14.6 billion package that I was talking about in my comments on Today this morning. This is a budget for middle Australia. That was the question that I was asked this morning. People who represent middle Australia, in the suburbs of Brisbane, have said to me, since Tuesday night, that they're grateful that they've got a government that is prepared to get the balance right between responsible decisions on spending and responsible decisions on saving. I am grateful for the fact that we have managed to find $36 billion in funding for aged care, an industry that has been neglected for nine long years. Aged-care workers are some of the most vulnerable workers in this country who suffer the cost of living first when inflation goes up—inflation being a tax on the poor, and the poor being the kind of people who are in our care economy, who do the best thing by our care economy and who need their budgets to serve them best. That is why we are making a cost-of-living package which does things like cheaper medicines, which does things like Commonwealth rent assistance, which does things like tripling the bulk billing rates for people so it is affordable for them to take their kids to see a doctor, all of which are downward inflationary pressures. (Time expired)