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Scott Morrison says he "misspoke" when he got the details of the unemployment benefit wrong on the campaign trail, brushing off questions about whether he is out of touch.
Key points:
- Scott Morrison was asked about how to reduce cost-of-living pressures in Perth
- Mr Morrison says he "misspoke" when he said JobSeeker payments had increased to $46 a week
- The gaffe comes after he mistakenly called a journalist "Mr Speaker" on Sunday
The Prime Minister had been asked about what the Coalition had been doing to ease cost-of-living pressures, particularly for Australians experiencing rental stress.
Mr Morrison cited the increase to the JobSeeker rate last year as evidence his government was working to boost support.
"As you know, we increased [JobSeeker] from 40 bucks a week to 46 bucks a week since the last election," he said during a press conference at the Henderson shipyards south of Perth.
The JobSeeker payment is around $46 dollars per day, not per week.
At another campaign event later in the day, Mr Morrison was asked whether he knew the rate.
"$46 a day," he replied.
Journalists followed up by asking whether his stumble was indicative of being out of touch with Australians who were on JobSeeker, and asked whether he conceded he had got it wrong.
"Oh, I misspoke, " he said.
"It was pretty straightforward."
He brushed off further questions, posing for photos with children at a BMX track in the Liberal-held seat of Pearce in Perth's north.
On Sunday, Mr Morrison used the phrase "Mr Speaker" when being grilled by the travelling press pack about his post-election frontbench line-up — a phrase heard regularly during parliamentary debate, not during scrutiny from the media.
Mr Morrison's gaffe at the start of the second week of the election campaign comes after criticism of Labor leader Anthony Albanese failing to recall the national unemployment figure and the Reserve Bank cash rate.
"When I make a mistake, I'll 'fess up to it and I'll set about correcting that mistake," he told reporters last Monday.
The Coalition has repeatedly used the Labor leader's error to criticise his economic credentials and attention to detail.
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