Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Parkes and all the rural and regional members on this side of the House, of which there are many. They will all be very pleased to know that, in the national accounts yesterday, agricultural growth in production over the last year was 22.6 per cent up and the value of agricultural exports was up 18.6 per cent. In today's trade balance figures, the value of rural exports was up, 24 per cent higher than last year.

On this side of the House, we know we need to continue to invest in rural and regional Australia to drive that growth across the rural and regional towns right around the country. That's why I was with the member for Parkes a fortnight ago in North Bourke where, as part of the $200 million Building Better Regions Fund program, we have a $10 million investment in the small animal abattoir, which has leveraged $60 million in investment in what is the biggest investment in Bourke in two decades or a generation. That type of investment will drive 200 jobs in North Bourke from March of next year. That is real investment going into real rural and regional Australia, as is the entire Building Better Regions Fund program right across rural Australia.

But it's not just that, because the accelerated appreciation we have put in place for fencing, dams, tanks, silos and all of these important investments for rural equipment right across agricultural Australia is driving that growth, as are the small- and medium-sized tax cuts for businesses, which the Labor Party would reverse if the Leader of the Opposition ever got the chance to slither into the Lodge. He would reverse those tax cuts and punish agricultural producers and small businesses all around the country.

There is no alternative economic plan for rural and regional Australia from the Labor Party. What we have is the 'no-coal coalition' of the members for Hunter, Paterson, Shortland and Newcastle. They think turning off coal-fired power stations in the Hunter Valley is going to be a good plan for rural and regional communities in the Hunter Valley. This is the same member for Paterson who walked into this place with a miner's lamp in his maiden speech, and now he wants to snuff that lamp out, as he wants to snuff out—

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