Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I generally try to keep a positive outlook on everything I say in this House and chamber, but I simply cannot let the previous speakers get away with their absolute blarney regarding debt. The last speaker, in mock horror, talked of the projected debt. This figure is in stark contrast to the projected $667 billion that existed when we were elected to government.

Mr Perrett interjecting—

Excuse me, I did not interrupt you once. That figure is now much reduced. We have dropped the interest payments from over $1 billion a day to approximately $800 million. This is still very serious debt, but at least it is trending downwards. Can those in opposition seriously expect the Australian public to believe their twist on the debt picture and say it is all the fault of the coalition? It is just as well that Australians are not so gullible. I ask the Labor Party to be a tad more respectful to Australians and not treat them as empty-headed vessels to be filled with Labor rhetoric. Australians are smart. They are savvy, and this untruth about debt level is actually quite appalling.

Let me now move onto the best of the policies that are in place to both address the debt that Labor left us and work to make Australia a better place to live. The community of Gilmore has many different needs and yet is determined to forge ahead in as many directions as possible to make the region better. As a representative of government, sometimes there are really hard decisions to be made. Last year, we had to make some very tough decisions, but they really were in the best interests of Australia. Our core business is to take care of our economic security and our national security.

In 2014, the world and Australia had to change the public alert level from medium to high because terrorism had increased. We have seen the rise of Daesh—or, under its other name, ISIL. We have been shocked by images of hostages beheaded. We were appalled by the kidnapping of innocent young women, and now we see some of our youth traipsing off to what they believe to be a big adventure aimed at world peace and social balancing. Really, if it were that easy, we would already have fixed the world completely. But instead these young people are used as scouts, suicide bombers and generally expendable foot soldiers.

The coalition is investing an additional $1.2 billion in new funding for national security, adding to the $1 billion announced late last year. We will be investing in our national security, protecting our borders from terrorism and crime, taking steps to stop our youth from supporting or joining terrorist organisations, and making sure we have good communication with many different community groups so the information can be collected easily and acted upon. This expenditure includes $450 million to increase our intelligence capabilities. Also, we have increased our international liaison efforts, sharing knowledge and experience to counter this threat, which is a global phenomenon. We have allocated many millions to our Defence Force for equipment, training and increasing our enlistments. I am particularly pleased by this increased national investment as the local investment in HMAS Albatross is enormous, with over $3 billion for the 24 Romeo helicopters, $700 million for the Helicopter Aircrew Training System and $138 million for the initial structure.

But this government is not just making sure that we feel safe in terms of the international scenario. The borders are being protected in many other ways. We have increased confiscations and arrests in association with the attempted illegal importation of ice and the ingredients of ice, contraband cigarettes and illegal firearms—and the list goes on. All of this would not happen without sustained investment in border control.

We know that by stopping the boats we have prevented countless lives being lost at sea. This has meant that detention centres can be shut down, that due process can be applied for refugee intake, and that now we can rescue those poor souls who have been awaiting allocation to a host nation for many years. Refugees in United Nations camps have fled from war-torn nations and live in desperate conditions, waiting for their approved applications to be accepted by a host nation.

But again it must be emphasised that a government must address all aspects of society. In Gilmore we have a wide mix of family structures, from custodial grandparents to struggling single parents to double-salary families with children. The families package in the budget has been designed to help people into work and to help them stay in work. We will be delivering over $4.4 billion to families, allowing a greater choice and flexibility for child care. Melinda Robertson from South Coast Nannies—who, incidentally, built up a great service business following the successful introduction of a new enterprise incentive scheme—is thrilled that nannies can be seen as an option. I recently spoke to some policewomen and Navy personnel, asking them how this would change their lives. All wanted to increase their hours of work, because flexible child care is so difficult to get. The nanny concept works for families who do shiftwork or have hours that do not fit with preschool or kindergarten times—speaking of which, I am proud to say that our government put early childhood education as a very important part of the investment spectrum for education. The allocation of $843 million to this essential policy commitment shows that this is a government that really cares. It means that young children in the year before school have a chance to get the basic learning skills they need. It is also an opportunity to identify potential learning, social or cultural difficulties so that the first year of school is more meaningful. Schools are able to anticipate student needs before students hit the classroom. This investment is a long-term strategy that assists our young children, helps their families and ultimately helps our society.

In the big picture of protecting our economic society, we will be addressing a large number of concerns. Many people in Gilmore feel very strongly about the initiatives we have taken to address the issues of multinational tax avoidance. I would like to thank Joseph Thompson, Marty Richardson and the Culey family, who have been great advocates and supporters for this. They know it is a large global problem. They also know that it is a policy area that cannot be fixed overnight.

Many in Gilmore have been concerned with the low thresholds before foreign investors have to notify the government, and we have taken steps to address that. In March, the screening threshold for agricultural land was lowered to $15 million, down from $252 million. There is also a new threshold of $55 million for agribusiness investment. This helps reassure people in Gilmore that we are screening to make sure investments are not contrary to our national interests.

It is an interesting scenario that rolls out during question time, when those in the Labor Party screech out that we in government doubled the deficit. Most clear-thinking people in Australia know that budget policies and their associated expenditure are determined in May of each financial year. While Labor were still in government, they set huge levels of spending to occur in the 2013-14 financial year, believing, in their ignorance, that the mining tax was going to net billions of dollars. This crossed over the period after the election in September 2013. In fact, the Treasurer, Joe Hockey, often berates the now opposition by quoting back to them their folly of saying, 'You can bank on the billions of revenue.' This was absolutely not the case. Labor locked in future growth in spending that was simply unsustainable. If you put the proposed expenditure on a graph over time, you could have been forgiven for thinking that you were looking at the pathway to climb a mountain. Thank goodness for our national action to correct the economy. We the coalition have brought this steep debt growth down. It still is not completely addressed. We still have a lot to fix, but at least we are heading in the right direction.

But this budget does more than address the overall national needs in terms of economic security. It addresses the very heart of growth for employment and financial growth. We have almost 9,000 businesses in Gilmore, with about 98 per cent listed as small business. The correct definition of such businesses is that they employ fewer than 20. I know from the different chambers of commerce and talking to my local business owners that the vast majority would actually have fewer than five employees. About 20 per cent of them are in construction; another 10 per cent are in rental hire or real estate; and about nine per cent are in the professional, scientific or technical areas.

Last week was a busy time visiting retailers, cafes and other small enterprises in the Gilmore townships. The policy direction for small business has been almost universally welcomed by these business owners. It was a pleasure to talk about the 1.5 per cent tax cut for companies and the accelerated depreciation of business equipment worth less than $20,000. Some businesses had already invested, but the majority were inspired to consider how they could utilise this to benefit their business.

Amy Richards, from JavaLife Mobile Cafe, has had a coffee van around Nowra for the last two years. She is looking at opening a drive-through coffee business. If trading conditions are right, the tax break on purchases up to $20,000 could result in her purchasing another van.

During that week, I called on many other businesses, including John at The Point Pizzeria and Take Away; Liz from Cutting Point Hair Design, at Sanctuary Point; Amber from the Organic Day Spa; and Nikki at Nikki B's Vintage Collectables and Giftware, in Milton. Angela recently purchased the laundry service in Terralong Street, and I visited Julie from the Stone Wall Cafe in Manning Street, Kiama; the team at Milkwood Bakery; Ingrid Looman from Berry Beauty; and Ristin from Lickety Lick in Huskisson—all very enthusiastic, with great energy surrounding this initiative.

A government cannot produce jobs. It cannot invent a new manufacturing plant, and it cannot offer to save a business through years of subsidy. But a government can work on the conditions of a strong economy and one that has potential for growth. When there is confidence around the economy, then businesses are more likely to employ people. They have more free capital to invest and more staff. This is an overall strategy to develop jobs growth.

The current growth in jobs taken up is three times greater than it was during the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years. Small businesses gained very little during that period except perhaps very high electricity bills that meant they cut their casual employment numbers in order to pay the extra utility costs. Justine at Husky Bakery was literally jumping for joy when the carbon tax was repealed and she received her first post-carbon-tax-repeal electricity bill, which was down by more than $900.

These actions by government all help to promote business growth and help put more cash flow into their systems. But all of us in Gilmore know that a job strategy for youth must be a part of the economic build. This government recognises that and has introduced extra policy initiatives to help inspire young people into work. We recognise that good employees can be the greatest asset for a small business, so recruiting and retaining the right people is a very important factor for business success.

The Youth Employment Strategy is helping disengaged and young job seekers transition to work, and there are a number of ways that this is working. First, there is the new Transition to Work program to help young people aged between 15 and 21 who are not enrolled in education and are not in employment, to get them job ready, giving them pre-employment assistance in community based organisations. Already the local library in Shoalhaven is working on a plan with another fundraising community group to get computers and mentors into action, as they already know that this is a very important step for young people, and they do not often know where to turn for such assistance.

Also, there is the new national work experience program, with access to voluntary work experience for up to 25 hours per week. The period is limited to four weeks for eligible job seekers. This will give the employers the opportunity to develop the skills of potential employees and test their suitability, while the job seekers will continue to receive their income support.

Local business leaders in Gilmore have been keen to introduce this scheme. Such a part-time introduction to work gives a young unemployed person a real-life experience to help them decide if a particular workplace will suit. During the work experience, they will have income support so they do not need to reapply if the job does not work. If the work experience does lead to a job then the employer could be eligible to receive the youth wage subsidy, a $6,500 incentive for the business to hire such young people. For our young people aged between 18 and 30 who have been unemployed for more than 12 months, there is the job commitment bonus. You can get it in two instalments. If you get a job and keep it for 12 months, you get a nice $2,500 bonus. If you keep it for another 12 months, you get a $4,000 bonus. There are lots of young people who would see that that would be great.

There will be a trial program to help young people and parents at risk of long-term welfare dependency, such as people from areas of entrenched disadvantage, to address their barriers to employment. Many in Gilmore are concerned about apprenticeships. Some employers have too many applicants while others cannot find a single one. On 1 July, the new Australian Apprenticeship Support Network will commence. This excellent initiative has the mission to match the right apprentice to the right employer to the training. We have about 1,800 apprentices in Gilmore and most of these are working out well. But not all apprentices complete their training, and this can happen due to a number of causes. But any avenue that can assist a young person to complete their apprenticeship is most welcome. This is a very welcome initiative to promote completion and ease navigation through a system that for some employers can be a little difficult. When the whole concept is to get more young people to complete their studies, the outcome is greater numbers of job ready trainees and apprentices. Overall, there are positive changes, responsive changes and strategies to assist more people through to a better outcome.

We are still addressing the debt bill left to us. We are addressing the needs of families, especially in regard to child care. We are providing opportunities for small business to grow and employment strategies to assist our young Australians into work. It is a complicated business. The plans, the policies and the strategies certainly will not make everybody happy. Sometimes you have to have some people who think, 'That doesn't seem right,' and get an improvement for most Australians for most aspects of their lives. After all, we really do live in the best country in the world and we have the best lifestyle to match. So if you can get most of it right most of the time, you are doing all right. Thank you.

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