Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

It is the passion, the determination, the enterprise, the courage and the risk-taking of small business that drives jobs and prosperity in our economy. Those small business men and women are the very heart of our economy. That is where the greatest jobs creation is to be found. That is where the big businesses of tomorrow begin. That is where the dreams of men and women are who start off with their human capital, borrow some money, buy an asset and get going. It is their enterprise and their entrepreneurship that drives our economy. Now, we understand this as a party. Sitting behind me are men and women from every walk of life. We are a true grassroots party, with members from business—small business, big business—farmers, professional people, the military, the police, health workers—right across the board. We are a broad grassroots party. We understand that the key element in any plan for a prosperous Australia and the key element in our plan for a strong and prosperous 21st century economy must be to provide the incentives and the freedom that encourage those businesses to have a go.

We are getting the big decisions right, and we are seeing that in the economic growth we are enjoying, but the trucking industry is the absolute lifeblood of our economy. The road freight transport industry employs around 200,000 people, and tens of thousands of them are owner-drivers—family businesses, mum-and-dad businesses—and they are fearful because they know that the Labor Party is out to get them. They know the transport tribunal Labor set up is putting them out of business.

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