Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

The next time the Leader of the Opposition walks into one of these businesses that he talks about, I want him to look those owners in the eye, look those workers in the eye, and tell them that he wants to increase their taxes. That's what the Leader of the Opposition should do. Every time he wants to use one of them as a backdrop while he's wearing his high-vis, every time he wants to use them for a political stunt, I want him to tell those owners and those workers, 'I want to increase your taxes.'

We've seen the Leader of the Opposition run around this country for two years talking about the billionaires and the millionaires. He's been talking about the big, nasty multinationals—the Apples and the Googles—and saying that these are the people he's going to go after, and now what have we got? We’ve got the Leader of the Opposition saying that he doesn't want to keep taxes where they are for small family businesses in this country that might employ as few as a dozen staff, or fewer, and that treat their employees more like family than employees; he wants to increase their taxes—they're the nasty, terrible billionaires and millionaires at the top end of town. So when he talks about visiting these small businesses and these small family enterprises, I want him to look them in the eye and tell them, 'You need to pay more tax.' But we know the Leader of the Opposition won't do that, and we know his backbench doesn't support him. It's wonderful to see that there are some sensible Labor people who want to repudiate what the Leader of the Opposition has done. They want to run away at a million miles an hour, because who would want to be associated with such a tawdry policy? It treats small Australian businesses that are trying to get ahead as some kind of second-class group of citizens who don't pay their way and who should be paying more tax. What was the most telling example of running away from the Leader of the Opposition?

It was referred to in question time today. It was the member for Bass, who has got a promising career ahead of him in radio, I'm sure! He was asked by the presenter, 'Ross, are you on a unity ticket with your leader, Bill Shorten?' The member for Bass said, 'The leader has announced that he would support a reduction in—sorry, a repeal of the tax rate. It has not been discussed, as I understand, by shadow cabinet.' The presenter said: 'This is a captain's call on which your leader has staked his leadership, I would argue, and here I'm getting from you a bit of equivocation. Do you support the bloke or not? Do you back your leader Bill Shorten's call to repeal the tax for companies with a turnover of between $10 and $50 million?' The member for Bass said, 'Well, that's a matter that has been announced by Mr Shorten.' The presenter said: 'So you don't, Ross. You don't support this, do you?' The member for Bass said, 'Let's have a conversation about this at another time.' I could read on and on, and we could spend the next six minutes going through that transcript. It's pretty repetitive, but on 13 occasions he tries to run a million miles from this Leader of the Opposition.

It's very interesting to hear the Leader of the Opposition's MPI. He wasn't talking to the Australian people. He wasn't talking to the government. He was talking to his backbench. I must say there's some glimmer of hope on the Labor backbench, because they didn't look very enthusiastic with the Leader of the Opposition—and nor should they. This reckless Leader of the Opposition who has run around for two years making a whole lot of claims about Australians, the economy and who he was going after—the top end of town—where has he landed? The Leader of the Opposition goes for those who can't fight back.

We shouldn't be surprised that he goes after small Australian businesses—independent grocers, small manufacturers, car dealers, car repairers. They're who he's going after. But we shouldn't be surprised, because who is the other group that the Leader of the Opposition has gone after for his unsustainable spending? The only other group he has gone after in the same way as small Australian businesses is our retirees. The single biggest tax increase from the Leader of the Opposition, if he were to be elected, would be to go after the savings of retirees by ensuring they can't use their franking credits. Again, the top end of town, the so-called nasty billionaires and millionaires, get to keep their franking credits under the Leader of the Opposition. But low-income retirees don't get to use them. So we've got low-income retirees who the Leader of the Opposition is going after. We've got small businesses that the Leader of the Opposition is going after. So we know that those who he doesn't think can fight back are the ones who are going to fund his unsustainable spending spree.

Next time the Leader of the Opposition tries to use a small business as a backdrop while he wears his hi-vis, I want to remind him that he wants to increase taxes on 20,000 small businesses that employ 1½ million Australians—20,000 Australian businesses that are competing to export around the world, that are competing in our economy, and employ 1½ million Australians. That's who the Leader of the Opposition is going after.

I welcome the member for Bass, who has just walked in. I welcome him and say he is a glimmer, an absolute ray of light, on the Labor backbench. Thirteen times! Is the member for Bass leaving the chamber? He didn't get asked to leave the chamber, surely? Please stay, Member for Bass. You'll assist our MPI! Oh, he got asked to leave. I hope the cameras panned around at that point in time. The member for Bass was asked to leave the chamber. The member for Bass was told that he's not assisting the MPI and he was asked to leave the chamber. Unbelievable! This Labor Party is unbelievable. Shameless!

I was giving the member for Bass some points for being brave and fronting up, and what happens? He gets asked to leave the chamber—unbelievable! The member for Bass will now be going to some sort of Labor Party re-education camp. They all go through it at some point in time. The shadow Treasurer wrote a book about how reducing taxes increases investment and wealth, and he went to the same re-education camp where the member for Bass is off to now: how to do a radio interview and support the tawdry, disgraceful policy of your Leader of the Opposition. His instincts to repudiate the Leader of the Opposition 13 times were correct, because this Leader of the Opposition is unfit to lead his party, let alone this country. He has been running around for two years—

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