Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

They probably did. All that said, it is always good to follow my good friend, especially on a cold night in Canberra. I am delighted to speak on these bills. The key to the 2015 budget in the electorate of Reid is that it focuses on families and small business. Reid is a young electorate, with an average age of around 33 or 34. Families are obviously very important. It is not a big home of major industrial and retail hubs—strip shopping centres dominate the landscape, from Auburn to Drummoyne. Obviously small and family businesses dominate the landscape. As the Prime Minister has said, this budget will deliver jobs, growth and opportunity in a way that is responsible, measured and fair. It is the next step in the coalition government's plan for long-term changes and fixing the mess that we inherited.

We have achieved many good things in the first 20 months—250,000 new jobs since the election; retail sales and new dwelling approvals are at record levels; and deficits over the forward estimates are reducing each and every year, from $35.1 billion this financial year to $6.9 billion in 2018-19. Particularly exciting for both me and many people in my electorate are the measures within our Growing Jobs and Small Business package. More than anything, this budget is about building jobs and supporting our family and small business sector. The new $5.5 billion Growing Jobs and Small Business package will help small businesses in my electorate to back themselves, take on bank debt, grow more and employ more people. Be in no doubt, this is the biggest small business initiative in our country's history, and I am proud to be part of the government that is delivering for small and family business. None of us in this place should ever forget that 96 per cent of all Australia's businesses are small businesses, employing over 4.5 million people and producing over $330 billion of our nation's total economic output.

This budget delivers $3.25 billion in tax cuts for small business and $1.75 billion in accelerated depreciation benefits, in addition to the benefits Australian small businesses are already gaining from the abolition of the carbon tax. From 1 July 2015 this government will cut the company tax rate for up to 780,000 incorporated businesses with annual turnover of up to $2 million by 1.5 per cent, bringing the rate down to 28.5 per cent. Providing incorporated small businesses with a reduced rate of company tax will improve small business cash flow and assist them to grow and compete more effectively with larger businesses and—here is the kicker—create jobs. From 1 July 2015, this government will also provide a five per cent tax discount for over 1½ million sole traders, trusts and partnership structures which are unincorporated businesses with annual turnover of up to $2 million, capped at $1,000, through their end of year tax return. Reducing the tax payable by small businesses will allow them to retain more earnings for reinvestment. Investment is important as it leads to existing output being produced at a lower cost, and the new and improved ways of doing business improve our nation's productivity. As a result, higher investment can lead to higher employment and wages over time.

Of course, most celebrated by small business owners throughout my electorate is the measure that allows small businesses with turnover below $2 million to claim an immediate tax deduction for every asset they acquire that is valued up to $20,000 for business purposes—a substantial increase from the previous $1,000 threshold. Assets that cost $20,000 or more can be grouped together and depreciated at 15 per cent in the first year and 30 per cent every year thereafter, and should the value of this pool fall below $20,000, at the end of that financial year during the same period, the pool itself can be immediately deducted. Small business in my electorate has warmly welcomed these changes. I had the Prime Minister there a couple of weeks ago at a local restaurant—200 small business people, with 24 hours notice, out to a database, wanted to come and say thank you. The message was received loud and clear by the Prime Minister.

Also included are measures to reduce red tape and regulatory impediments that hinder small-business growth. Changes to the fringe benefits tax system will expand the exemption for work related portable electronic devices, both phones and tablets. Reforms to capital gains tax rollover will enable small business to change the legal structure of their business without making it a CGT event. This government will consult on potential changes to the Corporations Act to reduce compliance costs and make it easier for small proprietor companies to raise new capital.

In addition, this package of measures will encourage business start-ups and entrepreneurship. Start-ups 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, as was historic, five years. This will provide immediate cash flow benefits for small businesses. And it is not rocket science; the hope is that they will reinvest in their business and create more jobs.

Streamlined business registration processes will make it quicker and simpler to set up a new business. A single online registration site will be developed for business registration, including company registration, and from 1 July expanded tax concessions for employee share schemes will make it easier for small start-up companies to attract and retain the skills and talent they need to grow. My electorate of Reid has over 19,000 small businesses and these measures will help encourage investment, innovation and the start-up of new businesses, which will help Australia's economic future. The businesses in my electorate recognise this and members of the opposition should as well.

However, I am not confident that members of the opposition will recognise this, because Labor's attitude to small business is well known. We should never forget that in July 2000, when he was Labor leader, Kim Beazley acknowledged that the Labor Party is not the party of small business. In a frank confession, Mr Beazley admitted: we have never pretended to be a small business party. The Labor Party has never pretended that.

After six years of Labor, around 519,000 jobs were lost in small business—that is, 1,544 each week. Labor had six different ministers in five years—a measure of how little real commitment it had to the sector. Our small business minister, the man of the moment, is not only the same man that we went to the election with and had through opposition but also now a member of cabinet. That is a measure of how important we find this sector to be.

Families are also a key focus of this budget. Here we deliver a $4.4 billion Jobs for Families package to give parents more choice and more opportunity to work. We are delivering on our commitment to support families by making child care simpler, more affordable, more flexible and more accessible. We understand that families are faced with costs when parents want to return to the workforce. This package gives those families greater choice.

A fact of modern day life is that having two parents in paid employment has become a necessity for most families because of changes that have taken place in our society and economy over many years. This government will invest an additional $3.5 billion over five years reforming childcare assistance to establish a new and simpler Child Care Subsidy from 1 July 2017. This Child Care subsidy will provide assistance to meet the cost of child care for parents who are working, looking for work, training, studying or undertaking any other recognised activity such as volunteering.

Families using child care in 2017 on family incomes of between $65,000 and $170,000 will be around $30 a week better off. Families on incomes of less than $65,000 per year will receive ongoing access to early childhood learning and can be eligible for net financial support through the childcare safety net. This is great news for the families of Reid.

A simplified Child Care Subsidy will also replace the current Child Care Benefit, Child Care Rebate and Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance programs. This simplified subsidy will include, amongst other measures, the introduction of a single means tested Child Care Subsidy for all families, subject to a new activity test for up to 100 hours of subsided childcare per fortnight, paid directly to approved care service providers to make it easier for families. Families on incomes under $185,000 will no longer have a cap on the amount of subsidy they receive whilst a cap of $10,000 per child will be established for the total value of subsidies for families on incomes of $185,000 and above. These measures will deliver significant reform, putting downward pressure on childcare costs, and stand in stark contrast to the inflationary system in place under Labor, which saw childcare fees increase by over 50 per cent between 2007 and 2013.

Our nannies pilot is an exciting program, recognising that modern families work in different ways. It is a new initiative and I look forward to seeing how families in Reid take it up and how it works. This government wants these families to be able to choose to work. We do not want that choice denied because of complex, inflexible and unaffordable childcare arrangements. The budget also delivers $840 million over two years for preschool programs. This will ensure families in my electorate of Reid can continue to access up to 15 hours of preschool education a week.

This budget also supports the senior members of our community by making the aged pension fairer and more sustainable. These changes mean that more than 170,000 pensioners with modest assets will have their pensions increased by an average of $30 per fortnight. It is clear to everyone that we have an ageing population, and this budget seeks to put us on a sustainable path so that we can continue to support those who have built our great nation.

We are also looking to support small capital projects in our local communities right across the country. Electorates across the country will receive funding of $150,000 per year over two years to support projects that deliver clear social benefits. It will empower people on the front lines who are providing incredible service to their communities to achieve even more. It is a great example of how government supporting those who work on the front lines, improving communities in tangible ways, can work.

These measures outlined in these bills provide the next step in our long-term economic plan. It is a budget that recognises that government does not create jobs; business does. It is a budget that recognises that small business is the backbone of our economy and that families and our elderly need to be looked after. It is a budget that recognises that those great people who work on the front lines of our communities are in the best position to identify what government should allocate spending to.

I commend these bills to the House.

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