Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's a bit sad, really, all this doom and gloom. I'm getting tired of the continuous talking down of our strong Australian economy, especially by those who have no direct impact on the economy. I refer to those, of course, opposite and some quarters of the media. Thankfully, many everyday Australians that I speak to on a daily basis in the electorate of Longman that I proudly serve are switching off to these doomsayers. As a result, they have a more positive outlook for their future and that of their families.

Whenever Australians think about this wonderful country we call home, they think about everything positive that Australia has to offer. This includes: an abundance of jobs and stepping stones to the most incredible career opportunities; tax relief for them and their families; record investment in the important things such as our schools, hospitals, infrastructure and roads; believing in the talent of people living with disability and supporting them on the journey to achieve their dreams; helping Australians to build and develop their skills; a government that is backing our local businesses every step of the way; a strong and confident workforce; and a booming economy. I say it again, a booming economy.

Australia is truly the best country in the world to live, raise a family, and work. And every day, the Morrison government is out there getting things done for the everyday Aussie and working tirelessly to build, grow, boost, and maintain our strong economy and resilience, and rewarding aspiration; all this to secure the future of every Australian out there.

The Morrison government has a solid plan for Australia's economic future, and we'll never stop fighting for Australians as we continue to work on delivering a strong economy that will guarantee jobs for every Australian. Support our Aussie farmers, veterans, older Australians, families and the everyday Australian, those who have been through devastating natural disasters like the bushfires, and back our local businesses.

I would like to try a new concept and talk about the positives that the Morrison government is achieving, using something that is clearly foreign to others in this House: the facts. Fact 1: unemployment is 5.1 per cent compared to 5.7 per cent when Labor were last in government. Fact 2: nearly 1.5 million jobs have been created in six years. Fact 3: the rate of welfare dependency is now the lowest it has been in 30 years. Fact 4: that's why the government has legislated tax relief for 10 million Australians, because we believe that Australians should keep more of what they earn. This rewards and encourages hard work. Tax relief means families can get ahead and that more money flows through our economy. The government has also lowered taxes for 3.4 million small and medium businesses. These employ over seven million Australians. This will help them to create more jobs.

Fact 5: with a stronger economy the government is delivering more funding for schools—an extra $37 billion over a decade. Fact 6: for hospitals, the government's new five-year arrangements deliver an extra $31 billion. Fact 7: since 2013 over 2,200 medicines, worth over $10.7 billion, have been added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. These help people suffering from cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. Fact 8: investing a record $100 billion in transport infrastructure will ease congestion, connect the regions and boost our economy by creating more jobs and opportunities.

But I would like to speak about something that is dear to my heart. It's called confidence. As a small business owner myself over the past 19 years, I can testify that small and medium enterprises are all confident under the coalition—any coalition government, especially this one. In contrast, when Labor are in government it's time to batten down the hatches. Where and how are they going to hurt us next time? What tax are they going to put on us? What levy are they going to put on us? They don't want aspiration, they don't want success; they just want to push people down. That's how they work, they just want to push people down.

Well, we won't stand for it. We're going to encourage small business to get out there and invest, because when they get out there and invest the economy flows. They put on more staff. I can say that with all the doom and gloom that those opposite been talking about, my two businesses in retail had a record year last year—both of them. We had record Christmases. Those are facts, they are absolute facts that are undeniable. When I talked during the election to small businesses which are out there, there was a civil contractor who said that the phones stopped just before the election because they thought Labor was going to get in. But they started ringing on the Monday after!

We had a printer in the local area who said the same thing. There were no jobs, but all of a sudden the election happened and the phones started ringing again. That's what confidence is. You guys are destroying the—

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