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

I know on this side we love small business and we will work as hard for them every day as they do for their success. Part of that is getting on with the job of repairing the debt and deficit disaster left to us by the former government.

We did not create the problems. We did not create the trajectory of debt, which will cost $25,000 for every man, woman and child. The Leader of the Opposition can smile and smirk and be pleased with his work, but not many others are. The Australian small-business community are not pleased with your work, Leader of the Opposition—five hundred and nineteen thousand jobs lost in the small-business sector under Labor. And now, when the small-business community are calling for budget repair to build confidence and the economic conditions that we need to grow our economy and so they can grow their businesses, you are now standing in the way of that work. This government did not create the debt and deficit disaster, but you are now standing in the way of repairing it. Forty billion dollars worth of savings the coalition has put forward to start that economic recovery that is needed in this country, and not only are you the cause of the problem; the Leader of the Opposition and his Labor Party are opposing that recovery work.

Even independent experts—the Parliamentary Budget Office—made it clear, and I will quote:

It is time to start coming out [of debt and deficit], otherwise the longer you leave it the more exposed you become and the harder it is to wind it back.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry made the point very clearly:

The budget goes a long way to restoring all important business confidence that will drive investment and job creation, particularly for Australia's two million small businesses …

In this House, I pointed out that Labor wanted to forget that the member for McMahon was once the Treasurer of the country. At least they have now repaired that, and now the member for McMahon actually recognises that he was once Treasurer. We would like to forget, but we cannot forget because—

Opposition members interjecting—

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