Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I am addressing the issue of the real living standards of Australians. Those opposite might want to play these games—and I know they will—but Australians want to know the plan to go forward, the plan to ensure that Australians can have confidence. We have seen again in the surveys released today that they have increasing confidence, particularly in relation to employment conditions amongst business going forward. The reason they have that confidence is that they can see in us a government that wants to get the budget into balance and exercise the sort of discipline that is necessary to achieve that goal, a government that is interested in making changes to the tax system that is going to help people make the decisions that they want to make about their economic future. They know that they have got a government that is not going to try to scare them out of prosperity, as those opposite have demonstrated.

What we have from those opposite are those who are happy to have someone that they can tell people to blame. They are happy to have someone that they can tell people to be afraid of. But that side of the House will give no-one anything to believe in. On this side of the House, we are focused on improving the real living standards of Australians through higher economic growth and through better tax policies that reward people who work, save and invest and that can grow the income capacity of this country. You have got no better example of that than through the free trade agreements.

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