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

I thank the member for Robertson for her question and acknowledge that she's a strong advocate for lower taxes for the people across her electorate, with more than 50,000 taxpayers in her electorate getting a tax cut as a result of policies supported and implemented by the Morrison government.

When we got elected, we said to the Australian people that we would grow the economy, we said to the Australian people that we would cut their taxes and we said to the Australian people that we would create more jobs. After the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression, the Australian economy today is $300 billion bigger than when we came to government. We have legislated, through the parliament, $300 billion of tax cuts for households. We've introduced the biggest business investment incentives Australia has ever seen and we've reduced small business company tax rates down to the lowest level in 50 years. That's our record. And, when it comes to jobs, there are 1.4 million additional Australians in work today than when we came to government. That is our record. Our economic plan helped put Australia in a strong position going into this crisis, our economic plan helped get Australia through this crisis and our economic plan will help ensure our economy is stronger on the other side of this crisis.

I'm asked, 'Are there any alternative approaches?' Well, we know what the Labor Party's plan is because they showed us at the last election. On the weekend, the member for Rankin went on the program Insiders and David Speers asked the member for Rankin a very simple question: 'Would you increase taxes for ordinary Australians at all?' It was a simple yes/no question. What did the member for Rankin say? 'It makes sense to maintain some flexibility'—some flexibility to increase taxes on income earners, some flexibility to increase taxes on superannuation, some flexibility to increase taxes on retirees, some flexibility to increase taxes on housing and, of course, some flexibility to increase taxes on family businesses. A leopard doesn't change its spots. The member for Rankin and the Leader of the Opposition are only interested in one thing: more spending. (Time expired)

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