Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

This government is getting on with the job of building a stronger economy so that everyone can get ahead. We are strengthening the economy by abolishing the carbon tax and cutting the red tape burden by $1 billion each year so that businesses can have confidence to grow and expand in order to deliver new jobs.

This government is committed to investing in productivity enhancing infrastructure that will help ensure that our cities and regions continue to develop and prosper for generations to come. Unlike the member for Charlton, I do strongly believe in my electorate and am here to represent it.

This government is committed to building the roads of the 21st century, essential infrastructure that will increase the nation's productivity, and increase growth to enable sustainable job creation. This is in stark contrast to the crippling legacy left by members opposite after six long years of unstable government, irrational decision making and policy on the run that destroyed both business and consumer confidence Australia wide.

We came to government tasked with reversing Labor's legacy to Australia, notably 200,000 more unemployed—contrary to the member opposite who suggested it was 250,000—gross debt projected to rise to $667 billion with $123 billion in cumulative deficits and the world's biggest carbon tax. It is an impressive job-destroying legacy.

Small business is the backbone of my local economy. Collectively, small business is the largest employer on the Central Coast. Dobell has 3,980 employing businesses. Only 24 of these businesses employ more than 200 people. This clearly demonstrates my region's reliance on small business for local employment. Dobell was left with its own legacy from the former Labor government. Last year the Daily Telegraph reported that due to the increase in costs of business, particularly through an increase in the cost of electricity due to the carbon tax, more businesses had shut their doors in Dobell than anywhere else in New South Wales. Unfortunately for the small businesses of Dobell, they were the victims of the former government's inept economic management that saw 412,000 small business jobs lost under their watch.

By the time Labor were done wrecking the economy and racking up levels of unimaginable debt, there were 3,000 fewer small businesses employing people than was the case when they came to office. Fifty-three per cent of all employment in the private sector workforce was provided by small businesses when Labor came to power. By the time they left there had been a ten per cent drop from fifty-three per cent down to forty-three per cent.

I have previously given the example in this parliament of a local small business in my electorate that, due to the rising cost of gas and electricity as a result of the carbon tax, had to make the decision not to employ an additional shop assistant in order to pay the bills. The carbon tax is a jobs-destroying tax that undermines the success of small businesses across Australia.

This government understands small business and listens to their concerns. That is why small business now has a voice at the cabinet table promoting and working to protect their interests. And we have a real and positive plan to bring assistance to small business to increase productivity and generate job growth right across Australia.

First and foremost, we will scrap the carbon tax to bring real relief to businesses struggling to cope with carbon tax driven electricity increases. Small businesses such as the Little Creek cheese shop should not have to make the decision between paying the carbon tax and employing an additional worker. Under this government's commitment, they will not have to make such a decision. We want to reverse the 412,000 jobs lost in small business under the opposition's watch and we will do so by scrapping the carbon tax.

Unlike the Opposition, the government understands the devastating impact of the jobs-destroying carbon tax. We also understand that red and green tape is choking the life out of the engine room of our economy. That is why this government will hold this parliament's first ever regulation repeal day—the first step in reducing red and green tape costs to businesses by $1 billion a year.

This government will also deliver vital infrastructure projects. In total, the government has committed $35 billion to fund key road, rail and intermodal projects between 2013-14 and 2018-19. One such project that was promised at no end by those opposite, yet never delivered, was the M1-M2 missing link. This government will end the frustration of Central Coast motorists by investing $405 million to start construction of the M1-M2 missing link. Unlike those opposite, we understand that this project is a vital piece of economic infrastructure that will boost the productive capacity of the New South Wales economy. For my electorate it will mean shorter travel times, reduced congestion and safer roads. For business, it will mean reduced freight costs for trucks that use this important national road corridor. (Time expired)

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