Gary Hardgrave (Moreton, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Following the member for Lilley is always a treat. ‘Slogan Central’ is where he gets his inspiration from, and we certainly had a happy little trip through all parts of government activity—but no tax policy. To paraphrase the great Sir James Killen, my predecessor in the seat of Moreton, the Australian Labor Party would like to propose a tax on brains because, after all, they know they will all be entitled to a refund every year. That was something Killen said in this place once, and it is very apt after listening to the member for Lilley.

Listening to him lamenting 15 years of solid economic growth made me wonder if there was a recession he wants us to have somewhere in his kitbag. Woe betide if this man should ever be the Treasurer of Australia. He talked about the accord—the accord of a quarter of a century ago when the Hawke and Keating governments got together with the ACTU. Maybe the member for Batman was at that meeting. They worked out how to freeze wages—actually, they worked out how to suppress wages growth in this country because it would be good for the economy if the average worker copped it in the neck and in the hip pocket!—whilst this government has presided over a growth in the economy that has delivered dividends on a weekly basis into the pay packets of workers.

One of the true things about the government’s Work Choices legislation is that we want good, productive workers to trade their skills and experience and earn more money. The Labor Party is frightened that there will be a liberation in the workplace where Australian workers with ability, experience and credentials will be able to earn more money—and they are doing it now in an economy with some 20 per cent growth in wages underpinned by improvements in productivity. There is a lot of money circulating in the economy. Real estate agents in my electorate are reporting record quarter takes in turnover and sales of real estate in the southern suburbs of Brisbane. I have no doubt that people expect the sort of direction and underpinning that this government has provided in Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2007-2008 we are debating tonight. While the Labor Party cannot announce a tax policy and look at the idea of lowering wages through an accord type mechanism—longing for the idea of a recession they might want to have—this government has cut tax for the fifth consecutive year. In this budget, Australian families will benefit from $31.5 billion in tax cuts and the 30 per cent tax threshold will increase from $25,001 to $30,001. In other words, it is not until you earn $30,001 that you pay tax of 30c in the dollar.

For those eligible for the senior Australian tax offset, this government has made sure that there is no tax on incomes up to $25,867 for single persons or $43,360 for couples. For seniors, we have also made a one-off $500 bonus for concession card holders and those receiving the utilities allowance. Both eligible members of a couple will receive this bonus. There is a one-off $1,000 bonus for those receiving carers payment and a one-off $600 for those receiving the carers allowance, to recognise their dedication in helping those who suffer from a disability.

I make those points because, whilst the economy is motoring along and whilst workers with skills and ability are receiving the reward in their pay packets, it is important that we look at those with fixed incomes and look at ways to assist them—for example, the additional money, through the Medicare rebate, for those who need access to dental services. The state government in Queensland runs a dental scheme. If you went to the QEII Hospital hoping to get your dentures fixed, you would be waiting for five, six, seven or eight years. It is a parlous set of circumstances. Nevertheless, there are those who are suffering health problems as a complication of dental related problems. The government wants to increase their access to dental services and will assist them with Medicare rebates, provided that the doctor signs off that they need access to that. For the 350,000 hearing-impaired Australians, there is an additional $70.7 million investment in hearing services.

This government is also increasing payments by $50 a fortnight to veterans with a disability who are on the special rate pension and to those on the intermediate rate pension by $25 a fortnight from July, just a couple of months away. I would like to see another increase, particularly for those veterans with a disability. The government have made this additional step possible because our strong economic management has delivered a dividend that we want to share right across our economy and our society. We are doubling the funeral benefit paid under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act from $1,000 to $2,000 and providing an extra three months in which war widows and war widowers can claim a war widow’s or war widower’s pension. We know that this in itself says to those who have served our country: ‘When our democracy is put under test, we value all that you have done—the nation building, the nation defending.’

Managing Australia’s $1.1 trillion economy is not something you can do because you used to be an academic at the Queensland University of Technology, as the member for Lilley was. I remember interviewing him 20-odd years ago when I was a journalist at Channel 7. There was not a lot of insight, but there was always a lot of Labor Party rhetoric. It actually requires experience and discipline—and, from our point of view, we on this side of the chamber are very determined that the continuation of the strong economic management that we have brought and the discipline and the experience that we have gained are assets that we can bring to the table as we manage the way forward for Australia. The way in which the government has cut taxes for small business and further reduced compliance costs from 1 July—businesses with a turnover of less than $75,000 will not need to register for GST—is proof of the way in which it wants to retreat from the way it impacts upon the engine room of our economy and to provide the necessary room for those businesses to manoeuvre.

We also want to make certain that people who want to educate themselves can take advantage of the further opportunities to gain additional skills, so they can trade their skills and experience for higher wages that are possible under the Work Choices legislation. We are providing eligible apprentices with a $500 voucher for course fees and a $1,000 tax exempt payment to help with living costs. The $800 Tools for Your Trade grant—which never existed and was never imagined by those opposite, who pretend to represent the workers of Australia—continues to be paid to tens of thousands of people who are starting an apprenticeship.

I have talked to small businesses in my electorate—electricians, plumbers, carpenters and builders have been renovating my house, so I have spoken to quite a few of them—and a number of them have told me about the difference it has made to young blokes as they start their trade to know that the government’s contribution—the taxpayers’ contribution—is there. Many of those businesses have continued to do what good tradespersons in the past have done for them and have actually added to that $800. Many award conditions often reflect the need to also make a contribution, but businesses always go a step further. Quite frankly, in the current climate, if an employer does not want to take further steps to reward good workers then they do not deserve to keep those workers. They will walk down the road and get a job somewhere else. We are seeing that in the economy today. For many businesses these measures, such as the $800 tool kit, the cutting of taxes and providing eligible apprentices with these vouchers to study and train, are the difference on the margins when it comes to deciding whether to invest in somebody new.

The member for Lilley, and indeed the opposition leader, lamented the fact that the government has continued its rollout of Australian technical colleges. I know the member for Deakin knows a little bit about Australian technical colleges, and so do I. There are now 20 of them. There will be 21, with the one on the Pilbara coast operating very soon, and the additional three that have been announced. They are all centres of excellence. While the Australian Labor Party promise to fund skills centres in every school—and teachers all around my electorate are just bending over with laughter at this proposal—they are promising a system of mediocrity, of one size fits all, giving everybody work experience. They are admirable aims on paper, but the detail of the proposal needs a lot of examination. The Australian government, with its Australian technical college program, is extending centres of excellence, providing opportunities for local businesses to take up the challenge to provide the leadership that we expect of them, to ensure that the education and training fits into the work requirements of these young people involved.

Many people in this place do not represent electorates which are used to school based apprenticeships—a concept, again, which never existed until this government came to office. It was a proposal by the former member for Goldstein, Dr David Kemp, the former Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs. It was a proposition that was taken up by the Queensland coalition government in 1997. In fact, at that time, former Senator Santoro was the Queensland Minister for Training and Industrial Relations, and former Liberal Party leader Bob Quinn was the Minister for Education in Queensland. They wholly adopted the Australian government program for school based apprenticeships. The reason I tell this story is that, in Queensland, we are more experienced with school based apprenticeships—that is, year 11 and year 12 students contesting their workplace responsibilities, contesting their requirements to train at certificate III-and-above levels when it comes to training and still contesting their higher education certificate.

I know that I am incurring your wrath, Mr Deputy Speaker Barresi, and no doubt that of the member for Hotham, because, as two Victorians, you are both very proud of the way that the Victorian system operates. Victoria is now coming second to Queensland in providing school based apprenticeships. Victoria has also realised that there is a very real need to give kids the opportunity to study a trade while they are still at school.

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