Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker Hastie, I have to say that you do look like you need some hydration at the moment—perhaps a wonderful beer like Coopers from a local small business in some other person's electorate might be appropriate on the occasion. But, of course, South Australian small business, which I concede is not my area of expertise, is very well served by the member for Boothby, and I am happy to give her that title. In fact, I congratulate her on bringing this motion on small business to the Federation Chamber, because, when it comes down to it, if you want not just a champion but also a partner who is reliable and predictable you cannot go beyond the member for Boothby, and we congratulate her so much on her enduring success.

But I do want to start by correcting my good friend the member for Fisher, who started his speech with an error—with all due respect to the member for Fisher—and it was that his electorate was the entrepreneur's capital of Australia. That is not true! The entrepreneurial capital of Australia is the wonderful electorate of Goldstein—full of so many people: hardworking Australians who take risks, invest capital and put their energies and their minds into building the future of this nation. If any members, the members here from Victoria, dare scoff at the idea that Victorians could lead this nation—what a disgrace that is to scoff at such an idea!—they are always welcome to go down to the Bayside Business Network in the wonderful electorate of Goldstein and see the hub, the genesis and the energy that comes out of the ideas and entrepreneurialism at the heart of the Goldstein electorate, that I am so proud to represent.

When you consider the economic challenges before us today, it is hard to think of a motion more important to support than this, because within every robust economy small businesses play a vital role in both job creation and creating economic growth. That is what we as Liberals are so passionate about. We need to ensure that Australian entrepreneurialism and small businesses have every bit of backing possible in the current difficult global economic environment. We need to back our businesses to grow and create the opportunities and jobs that we want in this country.

Small business has been central to the coalition government's agenda right from the start. We understand that when small business succeeds, not only do the employers succeed but their employees succeed, and so does this great country. It goes to the heart of who we are as Liberals. We understand that individuals who are entrepreneurial in their behaviour go on to employ people, grow companies and build this nation's future. The government's Enterprise Tax Plan begins with small business for good reasons: because there are 2.1 million small businesses across this great continent and their five million employees deserve the chance to thrive in an increasingly global competitive marketplace. Reducing their tax burden is essential, particularly if we want to make sure we can continue to attract investment into this country to build its future.

Our approach is evidence based—in marked contrast to the shamefully political row the opposition has taken on tax policy, where they like some things when they are in opposition or when they are government, depending on which way the wind blows and where they think they can get a few votes. The worst of that is of course from the opposition leader himself and the shadow Treasurer, who have consistently backed the idea of cutting company taxes up until the point they seek advantage—or, more to the point, that they are prepared to score political points off the back of hardworking small businessmen and women, who want to build businesses to employ people in Australia.

We are the only party left today actually talking about job growth. We are the only party today who actually want to see more Australians employed—that is actually our focus in how we deliver—particularly to cut youth unemployment, to give opportunities to younger Australian so that they can get a foothold in the market and get a job, and then go on to build the environment for security, to buy their own homes, to create a family and to build this nation.

I have to say that the $20,000 instant asset write-off has been an enormous advantage. A high-tax environment means businesses have more difficulty attracting funding and capital. It makes it harder for them to invest in equipment, technology, machinery and—most importantly of all—in their employees. Declining real wages in Australia is concerning and if we want businesses to back their employees, as well as give more people job opportunities, then we have to remain competitive globally. The OECD average corporate tax rate is 25 per cent, while ours is stuck at 30 per cent. It would be nice to join the opposition and pretend that the Australian enterprising community does not have global competition; but we operate in reality, where of course they do. That is why we have to stand tall and we have to stand proud, not just in cutting taxes but also in making sure we give the philosophical commitment, the enduring commitment, to Australia's small business community.

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