Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Wright. At 11.15 am today, the Senate passed the government's $20,000 instant asset write-off for small business. Two million small businesses out there now have the chance to have a go—to go out and invest, and invest in the things that create jobs. As the member for Wright has been so keen to tell me in the last 24 hours, he has 12,700 active small businesses in his electorate. He brought to my attention a letter from one in particular, Gary and Edwina Stark from Stark Engineering and Hardware: 'Dear Scott, kindly extend to Mr Hockey and colleagues'—Prime Minister—'our congratulations on the recent $20,000 tax incentive for small business. The impact has been immediate in our business. With inquiries and sales of cattle handling equipment growing daily, we have recently hired an extra five employees.' That is how you create jobs—you put it in the hands of small business, you give them the opportunity by reducing the tax burden not increasing the tax burden.

There is just one business that has increased the number of employees by five as a result of what we did in the budget. That is good news. I can hear all of the cheers from the Labor Party here! They are all cheering because they are the best friends of the workers—not! The thing is, this is a manufacturing business. They export these crushes to New Zealand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, China, Ireland, the Middle East, Scotland and England—these are the crushes. As the honourable member for Maranoa knows, I was out at Longreach and Cloncurry last week and I saw these crushes at work.

Mr Giles interjecting—

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