Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer outline what the national accounts figures show about the Australian economy? What are the impediments to boosting growth?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for La Trobe for winning back his seat. I am sure that Jason Wood 2.0 is going to be even better than Jason Wood 1.0, because he shares the same values that we all share, and they are that you want to have a strong economy with good jobs growth and you want to give people hope that tomorrow is going to be better than today. Today the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the September quarter national accounts. This is the final statement on the economy that Labor left behind. It shows that the economy is growing at below trend. It shows rising unemployment and it proves that the deficit has been deteriorating. It also proves that the debt is going to keep increasing. The fact of the matter is that the economy is now going to have to deal with the fact that mining investment is going to come off from around eight per cent of GDP to three per cent of GDP. One of the challenges for us—which we are up for—is that we have to build the infrastructure that is going to help to drive a productive economy over the next few years. It is now time to retool Australia for the challenges that lie ahead. The Prime Minister—the infrastructure Prime Minister—is absolutely committed to that, as are all members of the coalition.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for McMahon!

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

But there is a roadblock—the Australian Labor Party. The Australian Labor Party is blocking initiatives, like the abolition of the carbon tax, that are going to help to grow the Australian economy. This will, in fact, grow the Australian economy because of its abolition. As proven by Treasury data, the carbon tax is a handbrake on growth, there is no doubt about that. But the Labor Party wants to keep that handbrake in place. When you have mining investment coming off, the Labor Party's solution is to do everything it can to keep a tax on mining. When mining investment is coming off, what does the Labor Party do? It says, 'Do everything you can possibly do to make it harder to open a mine in Australia.' That is what it wants.

Well, that is the Labor Party, because the Labor Party just does not get it. It does not understand that more taxes and more regulation inhibit growth. They inhibit aspiration. They inhibit the capacity of business to employ more people and to give Australians hope that tomorrow will be better than today. The Labor Party thinks of the last six years as a great big black hole. Nothing happened. The problem is the damage that it has done. What it has left Australia with is an economy that is underperforming. It is stuck in second gear. But what I say to the Australian people is: the coalition is up for the challenge. We are ready to help to grow the Australian economy.