Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to receive a question from the member for Robertson and to reassure her and the communities of Gosford, Somersby and Terrigal that this government is focused on their future and building opportunity for their lives and for their children's lives. That is why we have implemented an economic action strategy.

We did not create this trajectory of debt and deficit that Labor just wanted to add to and make worse and worse to limit our options for the future and to pass on to future generations a great burden they showed no interest in tackling when in government. We have been left the problem, but we are dealing with it. We are dealing with Labor's legacy. That is $667 billion worth of debt. As the Prime Minister has outlined, that is $25,000 for every man, woman and child. That is the trajectory Labor left us, and all the opposition leader can do is smirk about that legacy. This is a legacy that is limiting our economic prospects for the future and undermining the possibilities that the citizens of our nation can look forward to. That is why we have got our economic action strategy—to tackle the debt and the deficit left behind by Labor and to build the foundations for a strong and prosperous economy for a safe and secure future. That is why we have got $1 billion worth of debt servicing costs every month just to pay for Labor's legacy. We need to tackle that debt. We need to put incentive back into the system.

There was a former Labor Prime Minister in this place, and I was going to say that it was one that the opposition leader backed, but frankly that wouldn't give you much help, would it? That wouldn't give you much guidance. It wasn't Prime Minister Rudd; it was Prime Minister Gillard. She stood in this place and she said:

If you are against cutting company tax, you are against economic growth. If you are against economic growth, then you are against jobs.

Well Labor went out and they even claimed that they had cut company tax. They didn't. We are aiming to implement a reduction in company tax, because we know it is important to restoring incentive. Labor also went out there and said they would appoint a cabinet minister for deregulation. Instead they gave us an avalanche of 21,000 new and amended regulations. They gave us a carbon tax they promised they wouldn't implement. Our economic action strategy is about repairing the harm and hardship that Labor created, tackling the legacy that we didn't make but we are left to repair, making sure our citizens have better prospects for the future.

My message to Labor is: just get out of the road; let us get on with this important task. Let us restore the 519,000 jobs lost in small business under the Labor administration. At some stage, Leader of the Opposition, listen to Prime Minister Gillard, listen to these words; listen to even what the other Prime Minister you supported at one stage, Kevin Rudd, had to say about the importance of red tape reduction. Help us by simply doing nothing other than getting out of the road so this side of the parliament can get on with the repair plan, the economic action strategy the nation is crying out for, to rebuild opportunity in our economy and the strength so we can be proud of what we leave for our kids.

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