Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport) Share this | Hansard source

We did vote for that, but I can assure you that, because of the strength of the economy under this government's leadership and because our management of the country, we haven't had to rush back into this place and inflict a levy on the Australian people.

Mr Perrett interjecting—

We come from a broad church, Member for Moreton. We all come from business backgrounds. It was once highlighted to me that those on the other side of this House could not hit the side of a barn with a forecast, when it comes to the economic outlook. We are also getting on and helping those communities who have been affected by this horrendous drought. Some of my businesses and farms up home haven't had income for seven years. We welcome the wonderful rain that's coming. We've put our money where our mouth is, because we have a strong economy, in helping those farms and families that have been affected by drought, by putting $20 million to keep kids in school—$5 million of that is for child care—and giving $1 billion of drought loans to farmers to buy fodder, transport stock, build water infrastructure, agist cattle, mend fences and refinance their existing debt. A new small business drought loan up to $500,000—there is half a billion dollars for that. There's $200 million extra for the Building Better Regions Fund to fund projects in drought hit communities and support those economies. There's an extra $138.9 million for Roads to Recovery, to build those strategic pieces of infrastructure. Of course you can only do that when you have a strong, stable government.

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