Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We move on to the part of the agenda for the resumption of the debate on the Labor 2013-14 Budget Savings (Measures No. 1) Bill 2014. Potentially, the bill implements Labor's 2013 budget policy of repealing the second round of carbon tax related personal income tax cuts that are due to start on 1 July this year. In opposition we committed to keeping the first round of the personal income tax cuts and associated pensions and benefits increase, and they have been retained by this government. We have then delivered further savings to Australian households by removing the carbon tax itself, an issue we campaigned heavily on. The removal of the carbon tax is a savings to the typical Australian family of approximately $550 this year alone.

This is implementing a measure first announced by the Labor Party—by the previous Treasurer—in their final budget, handed down on 14 May 2013, where the former government deferred a second round of personal income tax cuts, resulting in a $1.5 billion saving over the then forward estimates. Due to the addition of two further years in the forward estimates since then, the measure is now worth approximately $2.8 billion to the budget over the next four years.

The former government never bothered to legislate this May 2013 budget measure. Upon coming to government, we attempted to legislate this measure as a matter of urgency. As such, the measure had been introduced into the parliament twice under the Clean Energy (Income Tax Rates and Other Amendments) Bill 2013 as part of the package of carbon tax repeal bills. However, Labor have now voted not once but twice against the legislation, which implements this budget repair measure, without outlining an alternative plan to pay for it.

We must do this because we are committed to repairing the budget. The government inherited an unsustainable budget position from the previous government. The deficits inherited from the former government that were outlined in the 2013-14 MYEFO totalled $123 billion. We have now brought that down to approximately $82 billion over the next forward estimates period. This is despite the fact that we have lost about $90 billion in expected revenue over the same period of time. Oh, to have the revenue streams that our previous government had through their terms of trade!

Government debt, if left unchecked and allowed to continue on the inherent trajectories, would have been $667 billion within a decade. On a daily basis we borrow approximately $96 million just to pay our interest bill, which is down from the $133 million a day we inherited when we came to office. Under the budget settings Labor left, the budget would never get to surplus and the debt would never start to be repaid.

Our budget is a budget about building a stronger economy. The focus of the Abbott coalition government is on the passage of our responsible, measured and fair budget through the parliament. Since the last election, our economy has created a quarter of a million new jobs, and the centrepiece of this budget is a plan to create even more. Jobs are now growing at well over three times the pace under Labor. That is an incredible statistic. We are creating three times more jobs in the marketplace than the previous government.

The coalition's budget cut the small business company tax rate to the lowest in almost 50 years. And, for two years, we are giving small businesses an immediate tax deduction on any asset they buy costing up to $20,000. This benefits more than 95 per cent of all Australian businesses.

The budget also delivers for families. Our Jobs for Families reforms will deliver a simpler, more affordable and more accessible childcare system, giving parents more choice when it comes to balancing work and family. Low- and middle-income families will be $1,500 a year better off using this childcare system. Families using child care in 2017 on family incomes of between $65,000 and $170,000 will be around $30 a week better off.

The Abbott coalition government budget in 2015 delivers for families, for small business and for our economy. It is responsible and measured, and it is fair. It has cut taxes and will create jobs, and it delivers a responsible path back to surplus. I commend the bill to the House.

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