Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party, Minister for Small and Family Business, the Workplace and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

It's an honour to talk today about the most recent budget and the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2018-19. In the last six weeks it's fair to say that I have travelled the length and breadth of this country talking to small and family business operators in their home patches about the recent budget. It is also fair to say that this fifth budget I've seen, I think, in my time here has been extremely well received—and, I would argue, the best received so far. The word at the coalface, on the front lines, is that people are happy with the overall planned stewardship of the Turnbull coalition government.

We often talk about the results at a macro level, such as the one million jobs that have been created in the past 4½ years since coming to government, 420,000-odd of those in the last 12 months, and 80 per cent of those full-time positions. What you don't hear a lot about is the comparison and contrast in terms of business confidence out there. It's fair to say there is a cautious optimism; in my travels, that is what I'm hearing from small and family businesses. That is reflected, I think, in the numbers. In the last financial year in this country, there has been a net increase of 65,000 in the number of small and family businesses operating—65,000 new businesses in the construction. You might be thinking, 'A million jobs—how has that happened; what does it actually look like at the coalface?' In the past 4½ years, in the construction sector alone, 37,400-odd small and family businesses have opened, employing an additional 200. That's 20 per cent of those one million jobs, in the construction sector alone. These are the coalface results.

Whether it's in Cairns, from talking with Warren Entsch up there and his small business operators; in Hinkler, with Keith Pitt and many of his local business operators; over in WA, with Christian Porter; or in regional South Australia, with Tony Pasin, there is a problem they're starting to have. Mark Coulton's electorate—I know his electorate is close to yours, Mr Deputy Speaker—is a classic example, with unemployment sitting at 2.3 or 2.4 per cent. The business operators in his area are saying loud and clear that they've got both unskilled and skilled worker shortages starting to emerge. These are problems for the region, but they are a demonstration, if you like, of the fact that there are businesses opening and employing people. That is happening on the front lines.

How does that compare with the stewardship of the previous, Labor government? In the last financial year of the Labor government, in 2012-13, there was a net decrease in the number of businesses across the board, irrespective of size, of 61,000—a net decrease of 61,000 businesses. There were 87,000 jobs created in those last two to three years under Labor, versus our one million in 4½ years.

This budget is not a new position; it's the latest in our economic plan. What are the operators of small and family businesses saying to me on the front lines? They want the tax cuts so they can reinvest in their businesses and employ more people. That's how these figures are achieved. They are also saying to me loudly and clearly that they are big fans of personal income tax cuts as well. Why? Because of the stimulus they will provide, with increased pay in people's pockets. Again, there is an ideological difference with Labor. Business operators get this, when you pitch it to them. Their profit is theirs. It's not ours. If we decrease their tax and allow them to keep more of their profit, that is not a handout. They actually get 'the dirts' if that is what is reflected—that, in some way, that is characterised by the Labor Party as a handout. These people work hard. They put their homes on the line. They back themselves. They employ people. Their staff are a quasi-part of the family. They also take umbrage at—hate—the fact that the Labor Party would have you believe that the thing business operators think of when they wake up in the morning is how to rob their staff. It's not true. Their staff are their most trusted and valuable asset. I get it, because I've done it. You're the same. That's what we're hearing on the front lines.

This is the latest budget in our economic plan. It is a clear plan to lower personal and private tax to keep the economy moving. They're the best conditions for business confidence that we've seen since the GFC, and it's no surprise.

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