Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Finance Minister on Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

You said it many times. Indeed, you said, ‘If you’re a small business and you’re short of cash, a tax break isn’t much good to you.’ That was one of the many references that you made. The fact is that these figures are very strong: a 5.6 per cent increase in investment in plant, equipment and machinery in the June quarter compared with an overall increase in GDP of just 0.6 per cent—but at least it had a positive number in front of it, whereas the rest of the world had a negative number in front of it, and most of the rest of the world is in recession.

The Prime Minister extended the small business tax break until the end of this year, 31 December, and boosted the rate from 30 per cent to 50 per cent. So small businesses, against the judgment of the opposition leader, are taking to this tax break with gusto. Yet the opposition leader is now demanding that the stimulus be withdrawn. He voted against the stimulus package in the first place, and now he wants it withdrawn. His policy is to pull the supports out of the Australian economy, destroying Australian jobs and Australian small businesses in the process. It is just another example of the opposition leader’s poor judgment. The fact of the matter is this: withdrawing the stimulus would smash small business confidence and destroy tens of thousands of small businesses in this country.

The Leader of the Opposition was asked yesterday to identify any credible source that supported his policy of withdrawing stimulus. He was incapable of naming one credible supporter of his policy of withdrawing stimulus. He is on his own. He is the Lone Ranger, Napoleon Solo, Robinson Crusoe and Dr Zachary Smith up there out on the outer edges of the Milky Way, lost in space, out there on his own. Ground control to Major Tom: you are out there on your own whizzing around the Milky Way, absolutely isolated. Ground control to Major Tom: do not destroy Australian businesses. That is what ground control is saying, Major Tom: do not destroy Australian small businesses. Get in and support our policy, because the Rudd government will continue to support Australian jobs, apprentices, tradies and small businesses in building the infrastructure of tomorrow.

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