Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for North Sydney for his question. He is very proud of the government's record in providing tax relief, which is encouraging and rewarding Australians.

Our legislated income tax relief will enable a forklift driver to be $4,500 better off than they would be under Labor. Our legislated business tax cuts, which will help more than 30,000 small businesses in the electorate of North Sydney, will see an independent supermarket $12,500 a year better off. I was recently in the electorate of Brisbane, at Clayfield's seafood markets, and our $20,000 instant asset write-off enabled the local owner of that business to be able to buy some new grills and upgrade his kitchen.

This is in stark contrast to the Labor Party, who have $200 billion—because they believe you should be taxed from the cradle to the grave—in higher taxes on your income, higher taxes on your business, higher taxes on your electricity, with a new carbon tax, higher taxes on your property and higher taxes on your savings.

Let me tell the House who is going to be affected by Labor's desperate tax grab, their new retirees tax. Paul and Julianne from Lane Cove. Paul serves in three volunteer roles, including as a counsellor for people with severe illness. He saved his whole life for retirement, and this move by the Labor Party will cost him tens of thousands of dollars a year. He'll have to find part-time work. He said he'll have to cut down on his volunteerism.

Let me tell you about David from Brisbane. He's not on the pension. He's invested in Australian stocks. He will lose $10,000 a year, leaving him concerned about his ability to pay his wife's medical bills.

The view of Labor's new tax grab, their retirees' tax, is best summed up by 72-year-old Bob, a former tradie, who, with his wife, stands to lose tens of thousands of dollars a year. He said of Labor's policy: 'As far as I'm concerned they are stealing. They are taking my money.'

This is the modern Labor Party. You save for your own retirement and, because they can't manage money, they come after yours—900,000 individuals, including hundreds of thousands in Labor electorates, 200,000 self-managed super funds will be worse off as a result of Labor's retiree tax—

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