‘You’re a bunch of sooks’: MP erupts

On the floor of the house, the Prime Minister got caught up in a tit-for-tat with Angus Taylor, who had quizzed him on rising interest rates.

“Can the Prime Minister confirm that this year more than half of mortgage holders in every state will move from a fixed rate to a variable rate,” he began.

“Doesn’t this mean families will be hit with significantly higher repayments as the result of nine consecutive rate rises on this government watch?

Mr Albanese responded by accusing Mr Taylor of rewriting history given the rate hike cycle began under the former government.

“I thank the shadow treasurer for his erasure of history there and the fact that the interest rates started increasing while they were in (government),” he said before picking apart previous comments made by Mr Taylor and opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume.

“He was very clear that the world has changed dramatically even in the last few months. We’ve seen a rapid shift to an inflationary environment, interest rates are bucking decades of downward trend, that’s what he had to say.

“He was right then, he is wrong now.”

A frustrated Mr Taylor, who had his attempts to raise a point of order denied by Mr Albanese’s abrupt end to his answer, continued his commentary after being seated on the frontbench.

While the microphones did not pick up the exchange between the two men, the pair pointed their fingers as they expressed their frustration at one another.

The matter came to a head when the Speaker, Milton Dick, requested Mr Taylor withdraw his remark.

Fellow frontbencher Dan Tehan quickly jumped to his feet to demand the Prime Minister take back his own comment.

“I would ask the Prime Minister to withdraw what he said as well. It was uncalled for,” he said.

“You said that you want decency in this place, then you should withdraw … what you said if you’ve got the decency.”

“Well, tell him to stop it,” Mr Albanese responded, pointing his finger at Mr Taylor.

The Prime Minister would not repeat what he said in his defence but concluded he would withdraw his comment “if it assisted the House”.

Not everyone in the House agreed with the decision, however. The ever colourful Solomon MP, Luke Gosling, shouted out his 2 cents from the backbench.

“You’re a bunch of sooks,” he cried out.

The dramatics played out in front of a packed public gallery. Australian of the Year Taryn Brumfitt and Ukraine ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko had front row seats for the Monday matinee.

Former treasurer Joe Hockey and former US navy secretary Richard Spencer were also in attendance.

The opposition renewed their attack on the government’s energy price promise, leading Mr Albanese to quiz why Peter Dutton refused to ask him “a single positive question”.

His answer drew the attention of former prime minister Scott Morrison, who turned to his right hand man Alex Hawke to have a good chuckle over Mr Albanese’s comment.