David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Here we go again: the usual whingefest from the other side. I'll start with the member for Rankin, who said that our budget and all the things we have achieved since we've been in government are all spin. But I'd like to remind them about concrete, steel, buildings, dams, roads and bridges. They are all really important bits of infrastructure. In my own electorate, I can think of 12 bridges that have been improved and rebuilt courtesy of the Bridges Renewal Program.

Just the other day we announced a flyover across the Pacific Highway between Coopernook and Harrington—$48 million into this much-needed $60 million project. Just last week I was with the Prime Minister at Newcastle Airport. That's going to turbocharge tourism, freight and industry in the Hunter region and up the North Coast, because we're spending $66 million expanding the capability of the runway. The international airport in Newcastle will become a reality. The expansion of the Newcastle Airport terminal will go ahead. The Astra Aerolab development in the Newcastle Airport precinct will take off, literally. It's already there, and it's going to expand exponentially.

On dams: we have contributed at a federal level to the Rookwood Weir, which is being constructed as we speak, up in Queensland. The Chaffey Dam, in New South Wales, has already had an extension of the dam wall height. These are concrete things being delivered. The National Water Infrastructure Development Fund has delivered pipelines and improvements and recycling of water—all sorts of water projects—around the nation.

Those opposite complain about job security. We have just been through the worst economic shock the country has faced since the Depression and World War II. What have we done? We've bounced back exponentially. We have 75,000 more people in employment now than before COVID. During the COVID pandemic we put in place JobKeeper, JobSeeker, improved cash flow and extra support for aged care, tourism and the arts sector. We have had one million jobs since May 2020. There have been 440,000 more jobs since the last budget in October. The participation rate in employment is up. Female employment is at an all-time high, at 61.8 per cent. The most important thing is to have people in employment. Consumer sentiment is up. There's been a surge in apprenticeships because of the 50 per cent subsidies we have put in place. In my electorate we have got over 1,200 apprentices benefiting from this.

The instant asset write-off is continuing; there has been an exponential increase in businesses in my electorate and around the country using this to get new equipment in their factories and businesses. The loss carry-back provision is still available for businesses as well. We have delivered small and medium-sized businesses a tax cut, down to 25 per cent, as part of our company tax plan. The patent box tax treatment was just announced last night. That means that, with the amazing intellectual property and all the innovations that Australian businesses come up with, the companies that keep that IP here and develop it will get a preferential tax rate of 17 per cent for that portion of their company's business.

I have more elderly residents requiring aged care in my electorate than any other electorate, and I'm so pleased we've got $17.7 billion more going into the aged-care system, both in home-care places and in residential aged care. Across the nation, 17,000 families will benefit from the changes to child care when they have more than one child in child care. It means they will be able to work if they choose to and get more income so they can save and get ahead. There's been a surge in first home buyers because of the HomeBuilder initiative. It's also turbocharged our economy. The construction industry is powering ahead. We'll have a whole new generation of people getting into their first home because of that. We're helping so many people— (Time expired)

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