Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I remember the recession of the 1990s. I remember the cost, economic and human, that was incurred as a consequence of a downturn, when you walked down the main streets of places like Mornington or Hampton Street in Hampton, with boarded-up shops because there were no customers or anybody who could afford the rents. The reason we believe so strongly in a policy of maximising economic opportunity, economic management and economic prosperity is not that we understand the economic impact, though we do; it is that we understand the human impact of economic decline. We understand that it isn't just boarded-up shops because there are no customers; it's businesses no longer being able to create jobs to support families and workers. What's the impact? People do lose their jobs. There's family strain as people are no longer able to support themselves and their broader family. You get breakdown. You get families that can no longer afford to live where they own their own homes and have to sell. Ultimately that is the cost. I say this particularly for Australians under the age of 45, who have had the privilege of never having to live as an adult during a recession. I remember the last recession, the human impact and, more critically, the human cost that came with it. It isn't just about not having a bit of surplus cash in the family household budget; families had to take kids out of schools and relocate because they could no longer live where they chose to in past. That's why we think economic management and leadership matters so much. It isn't because we understand the economic impact; it is because we understand the human benefit.

Economic growth has for time immemorial been the most powerful instrument to improve the quality of life of the people it is there to serve. Growth has historically been driven by free markets and private enterprise, by individuals coming together to form businesses and commercial opportunities to benefit themselves and the community around them. Those kinds of opportunities have led to an unprecedented increase in living standards in most parts of the world today. Today it gives young Australians the opportunity to grow up in a society where they see optimism rather than pessimism at their core, but we can never take it for granted. The National Accounts June quarter 2018 highlight the strength and resilience of the Australian economy, but it does not happen by accident: 27 years of sustained consecutive economic growth is not experienced by most countries on earth.

We need to find ways to ensure our economy can continue to grow. That is what this government is doing. If you are part of the enormous middle-income-earning group of Australians, you will not pay more than 32 cents in the dollar under this government's economic plan to reduce tax burdens. We're ensuring not only that those who don't earn a high income are not carrying too much of the burden but also that those Australians who have done well carry part of the cost of society. What's the benefit? The reform package of this government has seen 140,000 Australians move from consuming the benefits of the tax system to standing on their own two feet, enjoying the pride and dignity that comes with work and supporting themselves and the people they love and care about so that they can live their own Australian dream; 1.1 million new people working in the private sector; and, most critically, 100,000 new jobs for young Australians who have come from school and gone into apprenticeships or tertiary education at TAFE or university level and then to the professional services or industries that will to build this nation's future economy for the generation after them. That's the choice we as a country made at the last election: to back a government that was going to deliver policies of sustained economic growth for Australians, and our new Prime Minister has made it clear that that is whom we are governing for—Australians.

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