Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I am very keen to continue talking on the Tax Laws Amendment (Personal Income Tax Reduction) Bill 2008 because it is probably the most substantial business that the government is going to transact, certainly thus far in this chamber. And that is a good thing, of course, because it was coalition policy that the government adopted following its complete lack of a tax policy in the lead-up to the election—something that I found extraordinary, as I would assume that a lot of Australians found extraordinary, going into the campaign in 2007. The Labor Party had no tax policy; all they could was to copy ours when it came out. That is a very sorry indictment on the economic credentials of the Australian Labor Party and the Treasurer.

Prior to being interrupted by question time, I was saying that it is a fundamental Liberal principle that the government collects what it needs in order to conduct the business of the Australian government and to provide the services that the Australian people expect the Commonwealth government to provide. When a government has collected excess money, it makes sense—and it is the morally correct thing to do—to return it to the Australian people. After all, they were the ones who earned it in the first place. Sadly, if you believe the Treasurer, this will be the final time that this parliament passes such substantial tax cuts. In the future, the new government are going to keep your money, because they believe they can spend it more wisely than you. I think that is the wrong policy.

We have heard a lot in this debate about the economic legacy of the previous government. It is fundamentally important to remind the House of just how impressive was that legacy. The policies of the previous government created 2.2 million jobs. That is an extraordinary figure. The policies of the previous government eliminated all government debt—the $96 billion that we inherited when we came to office. The Australian people prospered during this time. Growth in real wages grew by 21½ per cent. There was a doubling of household wealth. There was a record high participation rate in our economy. We delivered the highest number of surplus budgets of any government in Australia’s history and the lowest number of days lost to industrial stoppages.

Contrary to the nonsense that we are hearing from the new government—which obviously has a very cunning strategy to pretend it did not inherit an incredibly strong economy—the Australian economy, as characterised by such independent bodies as the OECD, is one of the strongest in the world. It was called ‘the wonder down under’ by the Economist magazine. Few of our trading partners find their economies in such a robust condition.

Probably my favourite indicator from the time of the coalition government—and this is a wonderful indication of how successful the economic management was in the Howard-Costello years—is that when we came to power in 1996, on a per capita basis Australia was ranked 12th. In a sense, we were the 12th richest country in the world. Over time there was a progression. In 2001, we became the 10th richest country per capita in the world. That means that the Australian people were getting richer compared with our trading partners. Again, tough but necessary decisions were made—for example, reforming the taxation system—and we achieved ongoing success. By 2005, the Australian people were the eighth richest people on the globe. By the conclusion of the Howard government, the Australian people were the seventh richest people per capita in the world.

So we inherited a situation where Australia was the 12th richest country in the world and, by the time we left office, Australia was the seventh richest on a per capita basis. That is a pretty strong legacy. Let’s stop this snake oil that the government is peddling—this nonsense that it has not inherited a tremendously robust economy. It is absolute nonsense that the government has not inherited a very strong fiscal position. Let’s stop that nonsense and acknowledge that the Howard-Costello years were golden years for the Australian people and for the Australian economy.

I have only a number of minutes left, so I will conclude my remarks. The coalition strongly supports this bill. It is the most important thing the government has done since it was elected. Of course, it is a complete rip-off of coalition policy. What it will do, very happily, is create jobs. It will provide an incentive for more people to go into the workplace. It will benefit low-income Australians, and it will benefit the Australian economy as a whole. It is the right thing to do. It is a tremendous shame that it is the last time whilst this government occupies the Treasury bench that we will sit in this parliament and return to the Australian people surplus moneys that the government has raised, as is right and proper. I support the bill, and I lament the fact that it is the last time we will be passing a bill of this nature until we get rid of this government.

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