Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The big employers in my local region are small business, retail, tourism and light industry. They require confidence to invest, freedom from government regulation and lower taxes. That is why this coalition government is moving to scrap the carbon tax and why it has already eliminated most of the almost 100 announced, but not enacted, Labor government tax changes. Together, these actions will mean lower taxes, less paperwork and more certainty. The government is also relieving businesses of at least $1 billion a year in red and green tape, and I am actively working with businesses in the Longman electorate to secure our share of these savings. As part of my commitment, the honourable Josh Frydenberg, the Prime Minister's parliamentary secretary responsible for deregulation, came to our region shortly after last September's election to talk to local businesspeople about their individual cases of regulatory excess. With that red tape gone, they will be able to breathe again and grow again, and they will be able to employ more locals.

It is the coalition's absolute conviction that the private sector, not government, holds the aces when it comes to realising the nation's vast economic promise. Small businesses are the engine room of our economy. They are run by hardworking, community minded entrepreneurs who are prepared to go out there. They are prepared to have a go and they are prepared to take on a risk and employ people. After the hammering they have copped during the past two terms of punitive Labor maladministration, this government will not only stand by them but do everything in its power to encourage them to dream bigger, to reach a little bit further.

My community is a growth region with a bright investment future. New commercial and residential projects are crucial and that is why I am elated to see such progress on North East Business Park. I, along with the state government, have been a strong advocate of the development, which will create 27,000 jobs and ignite local economic activity. Indeed, this government is focused on building better infrastructure, for the huge return in economic and social capital on offer. Further unlocking the Longman region's potential, billions of dollars of the government's Bruce Highway project will be invested in upgrades from the Pine River through to the Sunshine Coast.

Underscoring Labor's legacy of failure is a gross national debt projected to rise to $667 billion; that is $29,000 for every single Australian. It is also $123 billion in cumulative deficits and more than 200,000 Australians unemployed. The coalition has responded to the latter blow as only it knows how: with action that provides a hand up, not a hand out. Benefiting both employees and employers, the pro-investment and pro-employment coalition government has announced a number of incentives that will start on 1 July to help more Australians secure a job.

Job seekers aged 18 to 30 who have been unemployed for 12 months or more and are receiving Newstart or youth allowance will receive $2,500 if they get a job and remain off benefits for 12 months, and a further $4,000 if they remain employed and stay off benefits for two years. As well, job seekers receiving Newstart, youth allowance or parenting payment will receive up to $6,000 for relocating to a regional area to take up a job. Up to $3,000 will be paid to eligible job seekers who relocate from a regional area to a metropolitan area to take up a job.

And employers will receive up to $3,250 when they hire mature-age job seekers—those aged 50 and over—who have been on Newstart, parenting payment, age pension, disability support pension or carer payment for at least six months and then continue to employ them for at least six months. Madam Speaker, I know that you were a great advocate of that policy when we were in opposition. And let us not forget the Abbott government's landmark Paid Parental Leave scheme, a policy designed to help women stay in the workforce. Effectively, Paid Parental Leave is another of the government's productivity-increasing measures.

I am proud to be a member of this coalition government, a government unafraid to think large, in strategic pictures, but which is equally attuned to building up communities through powerhouse local economies.