Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak alongside my colleagues on the budget appropriation bills, Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2015-2016 and cognate bills. I am proud to stand as part of the Liberal-National Party coalition government that has delivered the most significant small business package in 50 years. I am proud to stand with a coalition that has delivered for farmers. I am proud to stand with a coalition that offers incentives to help our small country towns like Clermont and Middlemount to attract and retain local doctors. I am proud to stand with a coalition that is investing in fixing up regional highways. I am proud to stand with a coalition that offers rural and regional Australia hope for the expansion of Northern Australia. Unlike Labor, we offer rural and regional Australians hope and direction. Unlike Labor we are not a mouthpiece for unions or for holding back the potential of regional Australia. We are helping average Aussies to have a go.

This budget is the next step in our government's plan to build a strong, safe and prosperous future for all Australians. As the Treasurer indicates, it will help build jobs, growth and opportunity and provide a credible path to budget surplus. The word credible is important to use here, because you will recall that when Labor was in charge of the nation's finances they drove Australia deep into debt and fiscally trashed our global reputation.

Let me outline in detail some of our key budget measures that I have just touched on. In the past, when I walked along East Street in Rockhampton, or other parts of the electorate, small business owners were telling me they were worried for their future and needed some federal support. I listened to these constituents, and each time I brought their voice and concerns back to Canberra.

Small business is one of the biggest employers and it is the engine room of our economy. Thanks to our government and the commitment of MPs on our side of the House, mum and dad businesses will benefit from the biggest small business initiative in our nation's history. It is called our Growing Jobs and Small Business Package. Small business, including Capricornia tradies, sole traders and partnerships will get a tax cut to help boost the local economy. These tax cuts form part of the $5.5 billion Growing Jobs and Small Business Package to help small businesses in Capricornia invest more, grow more and employ more local people.

Significantly, small business with turnover below $2 million can claim an immediate tax deduction for every asset they acquire that is valued up to $20,000 for tax purposes. This is a substantial increase from the previous $1,000 threshold. For example, if Jeffrey Pearce, who, with his mum, proudly operates Cal's Snack Bar in Kawana, an industrial suburb of North Rockhampton, needs to buy new kitchen equipment, a new coffee machine, hot food display boxes, gas stoves, fridges, or even a budget delivery van, he could take advantage of this generous tax related incentive. Any item under $20,000 is immediately 100 per cent tax deductible in its first year. A business is not restricted to just one item, but can purchase multiple items of up to $20,000 each. From 1 July 2015, for incorporated businesses with an annual turnover of up to $2 million the government will cut the company tax rate from 30 per cent to 28.5 per cent. From 1 July 2015 the government will also provide a capped tax discount of up to five per cent to sole traders, trusts and partnerships that are unincorporated businesses and have an annual turnover under $2 million.

Small businesses in Capricornia will have the lowest company tax rate for public and private companies since 1967. These and other measures are significant in Rockhampton, where small business has been doing it tough. Shops along the city's East Street precinct have been closing down due to tough economic conditions. Now, following the new budget measures, there is more optimism. Peter Fraser, a Westpac bank manager, and president of the Capricornia Chamber of Commerce, has described the budget measures for small business as extremely important, and some of the best measures in a decade. When federal Minister for Small Business Bruce Billson came to Rockhampton six days after we delivered the federal budget, Mark and Bruce Woods of Stewarts Department Store, an iconic Rockhampton family business, told him we delivered an excellent budget for small business and the national economy.

We want to help small business get ahead, because small business owners are the biggest single employers in the country. When small business is doing well, larger businesses and our local economy also do well. Small business owners are also some of the most generous in our community. They are the ones who contribute donations to local schools, sporting clubs and community events. The Growing Jobs and Small Business package will also encourage new business start-ups. Start-up businesses will be able to immediately deduct professional expenses incurred when they begin a business, such as legal expenses on establishing a company, trust or partnership, rather than writing them off over five years.

This is a budget that also looks after farmers. It is, after all, industries from rural and regional Australia that produce the bulk of export commodities that contribute to Australia's GDP. Rural and regional Australia in places like Capricornia are big winners from the federal budget. Fast-track tax depreciation for fencing, water and fodder storage are some of the major changes. Let me outline some examples. Firstly, the positive change to how a farmer can deduct the cost of fencing is arguably the most significant benefit that farmers have been asking for help with. A $25,000 new fence was previously deducted over 30 years, but now it can be deducted immediately, giving a $24,000 larger deduction in the first year after it was built. Fences are vital farm infrastructure and can run for dozens if not hundreds of kilometres. Fences protect valuable livestock and help to keep feral animals off the farm. The change in fencing deductions is significant for those on the land, working their guts out to feed and clothe the rest of Australia with the food and fibre they produce. Other examples of how we are helping farmers in their businesses is with water and fodder storage. An $80,000 irrigation system previously was deducted over three years but can also now be deducted immediately, giving a $53,000 larger deduction in its first year. Where a $21,000 steel silo was previously deducted over 30 years, it can now be deducted over three years. This helps viable farmers with cash flow and improving on-farm infrastructure.

Our budget goes further to support communities hit by drought in Queensland, including areas west of Clermont. In fact, up to 70 per cent of Queensland remains in drought. This budget takes the total value of drought help measures available to more than $400 million. It includes $35 million for shovel-ready local infrastructure and employment projects, $25 million to manage pest animals and weeds in drought affected areas, $20 million to expand existing social and community support programs, $1.8 million for additional rural financial counsellors in drought affected areas and $250 million in 2015-16 to continue to give viable farmers access to existing drought specific concessional loan schemes.

My electorate of Capricornia is a vast area spanning 91,047 square kilometres. For country people, roads are often the only form of travel available. In this budget, local councils will be given double the money to get on with the job of fixing local streets and roads. Thanks to this federal budget, work will continue to make our major highways safe in Capricornia. Under local road projects, the government will spend $35 million to replace four bridges on the notorious Peak Downs Highway; $166 million to fix the Eton Range section of the Peak Downs Highway leading to the coalfields, with the first instalment of $30 million paid in 2015-16; and a further $500 million on works to fix up the Bruce Highway in regional Queensland, including Rockhampton to St Lawrence, Sarina and Mackay. This includes a further $21 million instalment on the Yeppen South project, which is raising the Bruce Highway near Rockhampton.

When it comes to local councils, Rockhampton, Livingstone, Isaac, Whitsunday and Mackay councils will receive double their normal road maintenance allocation, worth up to $10 million, across Capricornia towns under the Commonwealth Roads to Recovery fund. Under the program, this financial year's allocations include: Isaac Regional Council, over $2.1 million; Livingstone Shire Council, over $1.2 million; Mackay Regional Council, over $2.8 million; Rockhampton Regional Council, over $2.1 million; and Whitsunday Regional Council, nearly $1.5 million. For example, in Rockhampton the city council could use this money to help repair Quay Street or other roads of their choosing that have been neglected.

The future development of northern Australia, from the Tropic of Capricorn upwards, is important to our nation's agriculture and resource future. Our government is providing a new $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, which is the first major step in developing our North. The first ever white paper on developing northern Australia will be released later this year. During this white paper process, I have fought hard for Capricornia to get central Queensland a recognised representative on the Prime Minister's northern Australian task force. The representative is CQ University Vice-Chancellor Scott Bowman. When it comes to northern Australia, in my role of representing Capricornia, I will continue to push water infrastructure projects like the Fitzroy Agricultural Corridor, Urannah Dam and Connors River Dam.

Health and access to GPs in country towns are also a priority for this coalition government. I am pleased to inform the House that 10 remote towns and small coastal communities in Capricornia will now find it easier to attract local doctors thanks to the new federal government budget incentives. The incentives are the result of overhauling the federal government's GP Rural Incentives Programme and spell good news for country patients. The overhaul delivers a fairer system for our rural towns by redirecting incentives that were being paid to medicos in major cities to now attract more doctors in small country towns that have a genuine difficulty in retaining GPs. In Capricornia, towns such as Clermont, Middlemount, Dysart, Sarina, Collinsville, Marian, Glenden, Hay Point and Emu Park will benefit from these changes. It makes no sense that, under the old Labor system, $50 million a year was being used for incentives to get doctors to live in large regional cities like Townsville, with a population of 175,000, and Cairns, with a population of 145,000. Quite frankly, these cities are not isolated. This money will now be spent attracting doctors to remote country towns and small coastal communities that find it hard to get GPs.

Importantly, we have not forgotten about small community groups, which make up the social fabric of our small towns and rural cities. The Stronger Communities program, announced in this budget, will provide a $300,000 pool to Capricornia over two years. Nationally, the coalition's Stronger Communities program will provide $45 million across Australia to fund small capital projects in local communities. In Capricornia, we will receive $150,000 per year to dish out to small projects that deliver important social benefits. Reputable not-for-profit organisations can apply for amounts between $1,000 and $20,000 for small local projects.

In conclusion, the most important thing about our budget is that it clearly demonstrates that the Liberal-National coalition is a government that has a plan for Australia. Unlike Labor, this budget takes our nation further along the path of building a strong, safe and prosperous future for all Australians. It will help build jobs, growth and opportunity and provide a credible path back to budget surplus.

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