Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Deakin for that question, because the government put jobs and growth at the heart of our agenda every single day. In fact, that is what we did during the global financial crisis to ensure that Australia avoided the full force of the global financial crisis and the global recession. By doing that we avoided the permanent skills destruction that has caused so much damage to people and communities right across the developed world. Here we have got low unemployment and we have created over 850,000 jobs. Of course, if you looked at what has happened across other developed economies, there is massive unemployment and millions and millions of people out of work. As we have been handling those situations in the global economy, we have been concentrating on an agenda to lift productivity, to create the high-skilled, high-waged jobs of the future. That is what our investment in infrastructure has been all about. It is what the NBN is about. It is what our investment in innovation is all about. It is about reforms to the tax system, most particularly it is about tripling the tax free threshold.

All of that has produced a situation where our economy is now 13 per cent larger than it was prior to the global financial crisis with 850,000 jobs created over that period. Our concern is to use this prosperity so we can support working Australian families, modern Australian families that need access to affordable health and education, modern Australian families that want dignity in their retirement That is why we have put in place one of the most significant increases in the age pension, and it is, indeed, why we are so committed to compulsory superannuation. It is why we have tripled the tax-free threshold which is so important for work incentives and for cost-of-living relief for many people on the lowest incomes. That is why we have been committed to the Schoolkids Bonus for 1.3 million families, so we can assist them with the cost of sending their kids to school. Of course, there is a real contrast here with the actions of those opposite. They want to rip away up to $500 from the superannuation accounts of 3.6 million Australians.

Of course, they have opposed the increase in the superannuation guarantee, which goes to all working Australians. And Joe can tweet what he likes; he came into this House and opposed the increase in the superannuation guarantee. And of course we know they want to rip out the tripling of the tax free threshold: another savage attack on those on low incomes and low wages. We know that when it comes to working Australians, the opposition will always bow down to the feet of the fortunate few.

Now, I heard that the Leader of the Opposition this morning claimed that he was a friend of the workers. Well, God help the workers if he is a friend of theirs! The opposition are the architects of Work Choice; the architects of this savage attack coming right now against low-income Australians.

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