Celia Hammond (Curtin, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have to admit, with all respect to the member for Rankin, I'm a bit perplexed about the topic that we're talking about today as a matter of public importance. The government's lack of a plan to turn our economy around? I'm not entirely sure where the member or those on the opposite side have been for the last three to six months, because, as far as I know, as far as I've been aware, we have been talking about an economic plan since the budget this year and since the election—the election at which the Morrison government was elected. The people voted. They had the economic plan put in front of them, and they voted to put the government in place.

Our plan, which has been articulated, at length, for the last six months—I'm not going to speak about Labor's plan, because, frankly, I don't know what it is—is about stimulating the economy and creating jobs. It's about making sure that the economy has all the settings for the creation of jobs. There is the reduction of income tax so that people can keep more of their hard-earned money and spend it in the way that they choose to. Our plan is to increase exports—to actively engage with more international partners so that we can increase our exports and benefit our economy. Our plan is to reduce red tape. Just like the member for Cowan, I go out and meet with members in my electorate as well, and many of those small and medium-sized business enterprises—which I will get back to soon—complain about the red tape. It is the red tape and the green tape that is killing them, in terms of creating jobs and in terms of their particular industries.

We are investing in skills and apprenticeships. We are spending $100 billion in infrastructure. We have outlined these initiatives, at length, for the last six months. So I do find it perplexing, and, quite frankly, I find it frustrating—I also understand why the Australian public are finding it increasingly frustrating—that in our political environment people are not listening or engaging with each other. We have put our plan out. We would have much more respect if, perhaps, we had from Labor a criticism of our plan, or an alternative plan suggested—but we don't. We get an MPI that says there is no plan. There is a plan; it's been out there for ages.

There is one part of the plan that I particularly want to focus on, because it is very important for the people in my electorate, who I engage with quite a lot, and that is with respect to what we are doing for small and medium-sized businesses. There are over three million small and medium-sized businesses in Australia. There are 356,000 in my state of Western Australia, with 26,000 of those in my electorate of Curtin. In fact, 99 per cent of the businesses in Western Australia are small to medium-sized businesses. Over 7.7 million Australians are employed by small to medium-sized businesses. In Western Australia—the state that the member for Cowan and I come from—647,000 people are employed in small and medium-sized businesses. They are the backbone of our economy, and this government gets that.

As part of our plan to stimulate the economy and keep our economy strong we have introduced a number of new initiatives. Two key initiatives are the increase in the instant asset write-off and the plan to reduce taxes on small to medium-sized businesses. In recent weeks I've visited a number of small businesses in my electorate. One of those businesses was a beautiful florist in Wembley, the Manic Botanic florist. The owner of that enterprise, Julie, had recently used the instant asset write-off to purchase a new fridge for storing flowers. Julie was delighted with the instant asset write-off. Similarly, my local cafe used the instant asset write-off to buy new machinery. This initiative is cutting red tape.

People in my electorate know the plan of this government; they voted for the plan of this government. Sure, like anybody else, they get concerned. They get more alarmed when they're continually told they need to get alarmed. But people in my electorate know that this government has got a plan, is delivering on that plan and that it's great for Australia.

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