Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, the member for Shortland. What I am talking about is the importance of the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Act and why this is an important bill to give our businesses a fighting chance in international markets, something the Labor Party clearly do not have a clue about. What they do not understand is that if we are putting our businesses at a competitive advantage, it does not matter what we do as far as the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation goes. They will not have a fighting chance if we put them at a competitive disadvantage.

One of the main things is that rate of corporate tax. I know what it is like because, before I came to this place, I had to compete and put in tenders against American companies and companies from Europe and the UK. I tell you what, Deputy Speaker, luckily back then we had a similar rate of corporate tax, or Australia had a competitive advantage, because of men like Paul Keating and because of men like Peter Costello, who understood we had to have an internationally competitive rate of corporate rate. And, of course, the member for Cook understands that, as does the Prime Minister and everyone who sits on this side of the House. We understand the importance. I would hate to be a small business in the years to come that has to go out to those international marketplaces and put together a tender to produce goods in Australia, knowing that I was burdened by a 30 per cent corporate tax rate because of the Labor Party, yet I am competing against American companies that have a 15 per cent corporate tax rate or companies in the UK that have a 20 per cent corporate tax rate. How are we going to expect our businesses to get out there and win those international contracts?

The other area where this legislation, as good as it is, may come to nothing is with the cost of energy in this country. We can have all the policies that we want on building more wind turbines and subsidising solar panels but, at the end of the day, the cost of energy in this nation has to be internationally competitive if our exporters are to stand a fighting chance. The Labor Party wants to put lead in the saddles of our exporters. Over a decade ago, the cost of energy for Australian exporters in this country gave us a competitive advantage. That was what enabled Australians to get onto that international playing field and have the competitive advantage, knowing the cost of energy to produce goods in Australia was less than for our foreign competitors. But we surrendered that competitive advantage.

Already we see the cost of energy for business and consumers in this country double that of what it is in the United States. How do we expect our export industry to go and fight in international marketplaces with goods it has produced here in Australia if the electricity is double that for those same goods produced in the USA? Yet, we see the Labor Party not even recognising this is a problem, but wanting to make it worse by creating uncertainty in the marketplace with their claims for a 50 per cent renewable energy target. They want to put more unreliable, high-cost, intermittent power into the grid, force it into the grid and force it on those exporters, the very people that we rely on to create the wealth in this country. The Labor Party wants to handicap them. This is what we face. We need to get real in this parliament.

The world is a very, very competitive place. We have to do everything we can to at least give our exporters and our potential exporters a level playing field to compete on. This bill is important. It helps level that playing field. I would call on members of the opposition to have a rethink about all their policies that are putting Australian business at a competitive disadvantage.

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