Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Just by standing up I have achieved it. Well, well, well, I cannot believe that the Leader of the Opposition has put forward this matter of public importance. Here is a man who played a key role in the most dysfunctional, divided and chaotic government in Australian history—the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government. The opposition leader is attributed with the ascension of Julia Gillard as Prime Minister, and, only three years later, he knifed her to replace her with her predecessor, whom he first toppled in 2010, Kevin Rudd. All this talk of gun laws is, as we know on this side, just another smokescreen to avoid us focusing on bad union behaviour. So I think the opposition leader and those opposite know a lot about dysfunction.

Today I am very pleased to be able to speak about the Turnbull government's growing record, which sets new standards for diligent and sensible economic management.

Opposition members interjecting—

We have achieved a lot lately. Let me talk about it. Our economic record in testing global economic circumstances remains a point of pride, not just for me but for all the members on this side of the House. Our economic growth has strengthened by 3.3 per cent, which means Australia now has the fastest growing economy of the G7 nations. For those opposite who do not appreciate the significance of what I have just said—because I know that sometimes you have trouble understanding basic foreign affairs—this means we are growing our economy at a faster rate than the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and four other developed Western economies. This does not happen by accident or if you are dysfunctional, as alleged by the opposition leader. We are outperforming comparable economies.

We are working hard to ensure Australia's economic future is a safe and secure one—the chamber is nice and quiet; that is the way we like it—by legislating some of the world's toughest measures relating to multinational tax avoidance legislation, which Labor failed to introduce during their time in government. They had plenty of opportunity to legislate such measures but failed to do so. Despite the blustering of those opposite about multinationals avoiding paying their fair share of the tax burden, they actually voted against that piece of legislation in this House. For those who have forgotten, the Leader of the Opposition's first tax policy as opposition leader was—what do you think it might have been?—a multinational tax avoidance policy. Apparently, he knew something about it and was quite interested in bringing that into play; but, unfortunately, he could not get it over the line with his colleagues sitting opposite. Our multinational tax avoidance policy was a piece of legislation so clearly beneficial for this country that, unbelievably, even the Greens could see it made sense and voted accordingly. Labor, in the interim, sat on their hands and did nothing, just like they did in their six years of running the country. The Turnbull government, as we know on this side, is pro-business and pro-growth. We are working hard on this side to grow the country and to allow the next generation and the generation after that to inherit this country in a much better shape than how we found it back in 2013. I am very proud—

Mr Hawke interjecting—

as the assistant minister at the table said—that we have created some 180,000 jobs over the past year, with 60 per cent of those jobs going to women and a large portion of those going to women in my electorate of Durack. We have also signed export agreements, as we have heard previously, with China, Japan, South Korea and we have a new expanded free trade agreement with Singapore. This is great news for the electorate of Durack, with many of my local businesses able to take advantage of these free trade agreements.

Those opposite might not care about regional and remote Australia, but this side of this House does—let me tell you—and we are very proud of our record in regional Australia, promoting growth through our innovation economy and through significant investment in roads and also in mobile telecommunications, especially in my electorate of Durack, where we have announced 45 new towers. We have a fair dinkum desire to develop Northern Australia, which I am particularly proud of. My electorate of Durack has been able to participate in a $600 million road fund and will benefit from the $100 million beef roads package. I see no dysfunction on this side of the House, but I see plenty on that side of the House.

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