Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I, too, want to ask a question about employment, because the 2016-17 budget was one focused on supporting job creation and growing our economy. This is incredibly important when you look at electorates like mine of Robertson on the New South Wales Central Coast where we have more than 30,000 people who commute every day to jobs in Sydney and Newcastle. That is around a four-hour round trip each day. Around one in four adults in the workforce on the Central Coast leave their families early in the morning and return home late at night because they have to go where their jobs are. That means they need to juggle the demands of work, commuting and families.

To help address these issues, I believe that we need a clear plan that works in close collaboration with the federal government, the New South Wales government, the council and the community to help address this. This was certainly highlighted last week in the Baird government's 20-year regional plan for the Central Coast which set out the state government's priorities for action and is a great blueprint for a vibrant sustainable region. One of the primary statistics used to drive this plan is the significant population growth. The document revealed that there will be more than 75,000 more people on the Central Coast by 2036, taking the population to well over 415,000. But the number of total jobs will rise from around 116,000 to 141,000, an increase of only 25,000. This underlines the need for more local jobs for local people on the Central Coast so that our region becomes not only the most beautiful place to work, live and visit but also a thriving hub of business and innovation that is driven by economic growth.

This is particularly vital after six years of Labor which ended in 2013 when the then Labor government failed to deliver a clear plan for the Central Coast that could lay the economic foundation that our local families and businesses so desperately need. Under the coalition and the budgets that have been presented under this government, we are finally starting to see some projects delivered, business precincts established and Australian-first initiatives taking shape right in the heart of Gosford. For example, in the coalition's growth plan for the Central Coast in 2013 we committed to delivering 250 to 300 new government jobs in a Commonwealth agency building in Gosford. Then we doubled that to 600 jobs. We know that will boost the local economy, particularly for Gosford.

Sadly, Labor and Labor aligned advocates on the Central Coast have, in a further determination that Gosford be held back, attacked this initiative. There has been a petition posted online in support of our initiative, to make sure that we see our region thrive, with community figures now determined to see our city transformed at last, while major business people are speaking up in local media about the need to bring our city into the 21st century.

I believe that this government is a central part of this invigoration, including the recent announcement of the Central Coast medical precinct task force, which builds on the $32.5 million commitment to a Central Coast medical school and medical research institute. The project is being delivered in partnership with all levels of government, the University of Newcastle, the Central Coast Local Health District and key stakeholder groups. With the key policy and determination from this government in the recent budget, we can build on this plan for our region.

That is why I was so pleased to see some key initiatives announced in the budget, to be considered in detail here. Part of this is the Turnbull government's legislation to provide personal income tax relief which has passed the parliament, confirming 500,000 average full-time wage earners across Australia will have more money in their pockets. This tax relief increases the middle-income tax bracket from $80,000 to $87,000, providing tax relief of up to $315 per year.

To make it easier for businesses to expand and create more jobs, the budget proposes that the company tax rate be cut, with small and medium businesses benefiting first. It calls for small and medium businesses with annual turnover of less than $10 million to have their company tax rate cut to 27.5 per cent. This will reduce the tax rate for more than 5,000 companies in my electorate of Robertson.

Since many small businesses are not companies, the government will also increase the unincorporated small business tax discount to eight per cent and extend the threshold from a turnover of $2 million to $5 million. This will enable more than 15,000 businesses in Robertson to access these concessions. But these changes must be part of a wider economic plan built on strong budget management, so my question to the minister is this: how does the 2016-17 budget, through these bills, promote jobs and growth? If the government's priority to repair the budget was not being pursued, what would be the alternative?

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