Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. How is the government putting in place the economic reforms we need to build a stronger, smarter and fairer Australia?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Parramatta for that question, because Australia has experienced 21 years of continuous growth. One of the reasons we have experienced 21 years of continuous growth—unlike any other developed economy—is that we have had governments that have had the foresight to put in the big reforms to create prosperity for the future. This government will not shirk from those big reforms and we will be going forward in the years ahead, putting in place fundamental reforms that will drive prosperity and productivity in our economy.

The school improvement program being taken forward by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research is absolutely critical. None of these things can be done unless we keep our economy strong. We have quite a resilient economy. We have strong public finances. We have low net debt. These are things that other countries and finance ministers elsewhere in the developed world would give their right arm for. We understand the importance of strong growth within the framework of good fiscal policy, which is what we are putting in place every day. Every day we come into this House we ask ourselves, 'What can we do to make our country stronger, what can we do to make our country smarter and what can we do to make our country fairer?' We can keep our economy strong, we can make it smarter by investing in education and, of course, we can make it fairer. This government is committed to making a fairer Australia. You could not get a better example of that than our commitment to triple the tax-free threshold—that is, people on low incomes not having to pay a dollar of tax until their income gets to $18,200. That is an absolutely fundamental reform, not just in terms of fairness but also in lifting workforce participation. That reform is opposed by those opposite. Last week we had the debacle of the Leader of the Opposition and shadow Treasurer bumping into each other all over Sydney. The bottom line for what happened there is that they are going to take away a tax cut from seven million low-income Australians. That is the bottom line.

We on this side of House understand cost-of-living pressures, the importance of a strong economy and the importance of making the country smarter and overall making the country fairer. That is what our program is directed to do. Those on the other side of the House stand for massive cuts to health and education, cuts which will hit growth, will push up unemployment and will push up deficit and debt. The contrast could not be clearer.

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I ask a supplementary question. The Treasurer has spoken about the importance of the government's reform of tripling the tax-free threshold. What does this mean for working people and their families in my electorate of Parramatta, and what would be the impact of taking this tax cut away?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Parramatta for that very important question, because tripling the tax-free threshold is very important to many families not just in Western Sydney but right across the country.

Mr Hockey interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for North Sydney is warned!

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He is squealing, Speaker, because he knows that his plan to take away these tax cuts from low-income families is known more and more every day. A typical Parramatta family now pays over $550 less in income tax. Think about that for a moment—they pay $550 less each year. This goes to the very core of living standards and to the very core of dealing with the cost of living. The opposition march into Western Sydney and go around the rest of the country not admitting to the fact that they are going to take away this essential tax cut from so many working families. What happened in Western Sydney last week? The shadow Treasurer got up and told a real porky. He said, 'They're only going to get $3.' Then he had the audacity to wipe it from his transcript. He doctored his own transcript. He might be able to doctor the transcript but he cannot doctor away the brutal tax hike that he is taking to working families in this country.