Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am delighted to stand here and join with the member for Forrest to congratulate the coalition government on its record of strong economic management. The member for Moreton is right in one regard: there is no doubt that there is more to do. There is always more to do. Where he's wrong, however, is suggesting that the government has the wrong priorities. It's very simple: this coalition government's priority is jobs. The Labor Party's priority is taxes. Jobs. Taxes. It is as simple as that. The coalition government believes in creating jobs. The Labor Party believes in taxing people. Do they have a plan? Yes, they do. They have a plan for over $200 billion worth of taxes; add on the Labor Party's personal income tax plan, and that goes to nearly $300 billion. Labor's plan isn't to create jobs but to actually make people poorer. If you earn an income, Labor will tax you more. If you own your own house, Labor will tax you more. If you have more savings, Labor will tax you more. That's what the Labor Party's plan is.

The Turnbull government has a record not only of driving jobs and growth that is unmatched by any previous government since Federation but also of delivering outcomes that are improving the lives of millions of everyday Australians across this country, because they have jobs. With jobs comes fulfilment. With jobs comes the ability to put food on the table. That is what this party—this government—is delivering.

Just last week, the respected Melbourne Institute, in their annual HILDA survey—HILDA stands for Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia—showed that (1) relative poverty is at an all time low, and (2) that inequality of equalised household disposable income has fallen each year since the coalition came to power in 2013. It is now lower than it ever was under the Labor Party. While the government's jobs record is nothing short of outstanding—with the latest labour-force numbers showing 339,000 new jobs created in the year to June 2018, and well over one million jobs created in less than five years since the coalition came to government—and while this track record is, indeed, first-class, we don't take such past experience for granted. We do not just sit back passively or complacently looking at today's trajectory, as positive as it is. Every single day, this coalition government, right from the backbench through to the cabinet table, is working hard to ensure that this economy continues to grow and people continue to have jobs.

There is perhaps no better example of the coalition's strong economic management in action than the recent tax cuts for individuals and for the small and medium businesses of our economy. Commencing last month, this government delivered tax relief for over 10 million low- and middle-income earners. This is just step 1 in a three-step plan that also addresses bracket creep and delivers simpler, flatter income tax, to encourage the aspirations of hardworking Australians, enabling people not just to keep their jobs but to get better jobs and to get ahead. At the same time, there are now around 940,000 small to medium sized businesses, employing close to five million Australians, that enjoy a lower tax rate of 27½ per cent. These are tangible benefits, because they deliver jobs. The coalition delivers jobs, while Labor is just tax, tax, tax, tax, tax. That is the only plan the Labor Party has—over $200 billion in taxes. Their personal income tax plan would make it nearly $300 billion.

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