Albanese distances PM from staffer scandal as Labor faces budget scrutiny

Parliament was rowdy on Wednesday as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese worked to put distance between himself and Rhys Muldoon, the former Play School host who had been stood down the previous day after offensive social media posts surfaced. When Liberal frontbencher Tony Pasin pressed Albanese directly—asking whether he had involvement in Muldoon's appointment as a Labor adviser or had provided a reference for his role as an Australia Day ambassador—the prime minister's answers were unequivocal. On his involvement in the appointment: none. On the ambassador reference: his Australia Day role began under the previous Coalition government, Albanese said, and his appointment had zero to do with me.

Muldoon had served as a casual relief staffer for Senator Dowling, and once his comments became public, the senator took immediate action. Albanese said it was appropriate that Muldoon was immediately stood down. The prime minister also clarified that while Muldoon had been an Australia Day ambassador since 2014, he was not serving in that role this year. When the assistant minister with responsibility for those issues took action to say it was not appropriate for him to continue as an ambassador, Albanese made his position clear: I find his comments outrageous and completely unacceptable.

The day's parliamentary debate, however, centered more heavily on the government's budget decisions. Health Minister Mark Butler faced sustained questioning over the decision to cut private health insurance rebates for Australians over 65. Independent MP Monique Ryan pressed the government on why it had targeted pensioners when other options existed—why not properly tax coal and gas, she asked, or reconsider the $368 billion Aukus defence agreement, or cut the $11 billion diesel fuel rebate. Butler held firm. He acknowledged that the initial decision by former Prime Minister John Howard to provide higher rebates to over-65s had been made in a very different economic scenario. The government, he said, had to make hard decisions to fund the aged care investment that was necessary. He pointed to modelling showing the average impact on private health insurance members would be in the order of 70 cents per day.

Ryan's own modelling, commissioned from the parliamentary budget office, had found that half of the $3 billion in savings would be paid for by pensioners. She asked pointedly whether pensioners were really the only place the government could find budget savings. Butler maintained that the changes were necessary and that submissions were still coming into an inquiry examining them. He also noted that the changes restored arrangements to their original design, which had not differentiated between private health insurance holders based on age. When the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists warned that the rebate cuts would lead to increased costs for older women requiring gynaecological care, Butler acknowledged the submissions but did not shift position.

Albanese himself defended the government's approach when challenged by Ryan on the broader budget strategy. He took aim at the crossbench, saying that while independents did not have to come up with a budget, the government did. I expect the Independents don't have to come up with a budget, and that's fine, he said. All care – no responsibility. But as a government, we have to. He spent considerable time defending the Aukus agreement, which had become a focal point for budget criticism.

Immigration Minister Tony Burke acknowledged that net overseas migration does need to come down, ahead of his scheduled address at the National Press Club the following day. When regional independent Helen Haines asked whether the government would speed up visa processing for regional areas struggling to get critical workers, Burke did not directly answer but said the government had more tools at its disposal to improve the migration system and would have more to say about it tomorrow.

The session grew heated at points. Treasurer Jim Chalmers, responding to Liberal MP Tim Wilson's question about concerns among his colleagues over inflation and rate rises, lashed out. Chalmers referred to Wilson as the karaoke clown, prompting uproar in the chamber. Speaker Milton Dick put Chalmers on a warning, and he was forced to withdraw the remark. Chalmers then said he took his colleagues seriously and would continue to engage with the parliamentary party in good faith. By the end of question time, Liberal MP Henry Pike had been booted for interjecting too much, and the session had taken on a notably rowdy character.