Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have led an interesting life thus far—and I hope it continues for some time to come—and I have enjoyed many and varied careers. I was a chippie by trade not long after I finished school. I have worked with my hands; I have been a tradesman. Not long after I finished my trade, I decided to go back to school and I did my law degree. The time that I had my own business as a builder and went back to university full-time was a time that my then three daughters—I now have four daughters—referred to as 'that time in our lives when we were poor'.

Fortunately, I finished law school and then became a barrister. So I have enjoyed all sorts of different businesses and incomes. But the beauty of this country is that, depending on who is in government, we have the ability to bring ourselves up by our bootstraps, invest in ourselves through a good education and take a punt. On this side of politics, we reward people who back themselves. We provide reward for effort. On that side, all they want to do is redistribute income; they do not believe that anybody should be rewarded for the effort that they make. That's a real shame. It's a terrible shame. They believe in the politics of envy. They're led by the Robin Hood of Australian politics, by the Jeremy Corbyn of the South Pacific.

We believe that, if you are prepared to take a risk, this side of politics will back you. That side of the House believe that, if you are in small business—

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