Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister said in May of 2014, 'Every day in the lead up to the last election, I said to people that we were going to get debt and deficit under control.' But on page 317 of his own Budget Paper No. 1, the deficit has doubled from $17 billion to $35 billion in the last 12 months.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

There will be no props and we will have silence.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will start the question again.

Honourable members interjecting—

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

We will have silence on both sides of the House for the purposes of the question being asked. The honourable the Leader of the Opposition with no props will ask his question.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister said in May of 2014, 'Every day in the lead up to the last election, I said to people that we were going to get deficit under control. But on page 317 of the Prime Minister's Budget Paper No. 1, the deficit has doubled from $17 billion to $35 billion in the last 12 months. Prime Minister, is this page correct? Has the deficit doubled under your watch in the last 12 months?

Mr Whiteley interjecting—

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

I call the honourable the Prime Minister, and the member for Braddon will desist.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition might have forgotten about Labor's debt and deficit disaster, but no-one else has. The facts, as revealed in last night's budget, are that peak debt is $110 billion lower under this government than it was under members opposite. And cumulative deficits are $40 billion lower under this government than under members opposite.

The Leader of the Opposition had another one of those train wreck interviews today. He had another horror interview.

Ms Owens interjecting—

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

The member for Parramatta will desist.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order on direct relevance. The question went to last budget and this budget. The Prime Minister knows he is straying from it.

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

There is no point of order. The member will resume his seat. The Prime Minister has the call.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I was asked about debt and deficit and that is what I am talking about. The Leader of the Opposition did another horror interview this morning. It was with Neil Mitchell. Thirteen times Neil Mitchell asked the Leader of the Opposition, 'Do you, as Labor leader, accept any responsibility for the problems with the deficit?' Thirteen times he slid around, he evaded, he obfuscated and then, on the 13th time, he finally said, 'no'. Nothing to see here!

Mr Truss interjecting—

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

The Deputy Prime Minister will desist.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He must have believed the member for Lilley when the member for Lilley said in 2012, 'the four years of surpluses I announce tonight'. The Leader of the Opposition might have selective amnesia but the Australian people do not. They know that members opposite created an absolute mountain of debt and deficit.

Ms MacTiernan interjecting—

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

The member for Perth will desist!

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They know that members opposite created the debt and deficit disaster, and they know that only this government will fix it.

Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister inform the House how last night's budget will build a stronger Australia, particularly supporting the tradies and small businesses in my electorate of Hughes?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hughes for his question. I can inform him that last night's budget is the latest step in the coalition's plan to build a strong, safe and prosperous future for everyone. Last night's budget is measured, responsible and fair. It is good for jobs; it is good for growth; it is good for opportunity. It builds on last year's budget, which scrapped the carbon tax and actually delivered $30 billion worth of savings. It draws on the consultations that we have been having right around the country over the last few months, including the advocacy and insights of the indefatigable Minister for Small Business.

Many governments over the years have talked about small business. This government is delivering. We are delivering for small business because, when you deliver for small business, you deliver for everyone. Small business is the most creative and dynamic part of our economy. It is the engine room of growth. It is the engine room of jobs, because small business people typically mortgage their own homes to invest in their business and to employ their staff. Small business deserves a fair go, and that is exactly what this government is determined to give them.

Incorporated small business will get a tax cut of 1.5 percentage points. Unincorporated small business will get a five per cent tax discount up to $1,000. Most importantly, all small businesses will get an instant asset write-off of up to $20,000 on every asset.

Lonsdale Auto Electrical, that I visited today, could invest in a car hoist or a diagnostic computer, and they would be able to write it off instantly against their income. A landscaper could invest in a ride-on mower, a trailer, or an excavator and write it off instantly. A cafe owner could invest in a cappuccino machine, a fridge or an air conditioner.

Ms Owens interjecting—

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

The member for Parramatta is warned!

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

An office business could invest in a fit-out, and for farmers there are extra write-offs, including for fencing and water infrastructure. The budget is about encouraging people to have a fair go. The heart and soul of this budget is encouraging people to go for it, encouraging them to have a go. That is our best instinct. The more people who have a go, the more we will be able to deliver a fair go for every Australian.

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Why has the Treasurer blown gross debt out by $50 billion in 2017-18 since his last budget?

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

I thank the honourable member for that question. Debt is too high—there is no doubt about that. We want to get it down. The best way to get it down is to get the budget back to surplus. The best way to get the budget back to surplus is for Labor, as a start, to support their own savings proposals from the last election.

Labor went to the last election promising $5 billion of savings and, when they came back in opposition, they voted against their own savings. The Labor Party wants us to have increased debt and they are claiming to be concerned about debt. Labor wants us to have increased spending and they claim to be concerned about spending. It does not work for you, because it smacks of hypocrisy.

I would say to the honourable member, as the Prime Minister said, that we inherited a trajectory of $667 billion of gross debt. We are down $110 billion on that. We got it down. We still have work to do. We inherited $123 billion of deficits: We have got that down to $82 billion over a four-year period but we still have more work to do, there is no doubt about that. So I would say to the honourable member, come up to the plate and actually do something to reduce the legacy of debt and deficit left behind by Labor. It was an ugly legacy. I know it is not your fault in particular—I know it is the member for Lilley: He was the one who was doing it, but it gives me no confidence that the Labor Party has now appointed the member for Lilley as the person to frame the policies for the next election.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Silence—I read it in the papers. It is true. I cannot believe it: 'Swannie' is in charge of the re-election policies of the Labor Party. His talents have been missed.

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

The member for Parramatta, on a point of order?

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would ask you to remind the member to refer to members by their correct titles.

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

The honourable Treasurer has completed his answer.

Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer inform the House how the government is helping Australians who want to have go? How will the budget help—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

There will be silence on my left!

Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Would you like me to start the question again, Madam Speaker?

Dr Chalmers interjecting—

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

There will be silence. The member for Rankin will leave under 94(a) for one hour.

The member for Rankin then left the chamber.

The member for Corangamite may begin her question again.

Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer inform the House how the government is helping Australians who want to have a go? How will the budget help small businesses create jobs, growth and opportunity in my electorate of Corangamite?

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

I thank the honourable member for Corangamite for that outstanding question.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

I can see people are anxious to join the member for Rankin.

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

She knows, as all members of the coalition know, that small business is the engine room of the Australian economy. Many of us have actually worked in small businesses. We know how hard they work.

They get up early in the morning, small business people—like others. They get up early in the morning and they go into work and have a go. They try to build better businesses. They invest and they take risks. And those businesses are often family businesses; they have cousins, they have aunts and they have uncles. They have parents and children, and they all work damn hard to try to eke out a living to give themselves and their children a better life. We want to back those people. We want to back those Australians who are putting all that effort in. They are innovative, they are employing and increasingly they are exporting as a result of the good work of the Minister for Trade and Investment. And they are going to have huge opportunities as we go forward.

I say to the member for Corangamite: there are 11,300 small businesses in her electorate that now qualify for a 1½ per cent tax cut or a significant reduction in their tax if they are not incorporated, and in particular they will have the opportunity to deduct immediately up to 100 per cent of anything they buy for under $20,000 that is going to help to grow their businesses. This is a terrific initiative and it is fully funded in the budget. It is fully funded in the budget, because we want small business to go out there to invest and grow.

For example, for a coffee shop: if you want to buy heaters, or if you want to buy some new ovens or if you want to buy new refrigeration you can go out now and buy that item and write it off against your tax liability on 1 July. I say to tradies—of which there are quite a few in the member for Corangamite's electorate: go out and buy a car if that suit your needs—a second-hand car, even—because you can have accelerated depreciation applied to that. Buy new tools; upgrade your equipment that helps you to be more productive—it might be a home computer that is able to be used to help to do the paperwork associated with your business. Go out and have a go; improve your productivity.

If you invest and if you make more money, that is good for all Australians. If you are successful you can employ more Australians. We see that as a very, very good start. And I welcome the fact that the opposition has now given support to the proposal, as did the shadow Treasurer earlier today on the Jon Faine program. That means Australians can go out now and invest to grow their businesses.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Why is the Prime Minister taxing Australians at a higher level than at any time since the Howard government?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What planet is this guy living on? Members opposite live on Planet Tax! It is members opposite who live on Planet Tax—the carbon tax, the mining tax—they have never sought an area of activity that they did not want to tax. That is the problem with members opposite.

This is a government and this is a political movement which in the marrow of its bones wants to cut tax. And we have delivered. We do not just talk about cutting tax, we actually deliver the tax cuts that the Australian people want and deserve. In last year's budget we abolished the carbon tax and the mining tax—two rightly-hated taxes. In this year's budget I am so pleased that we did not just talk about doing the right thing by small business; we have delivered for the small businesses of Australia, with $5.5 billion worth of tax cuts.

Those tax cuts mean that the most creative people in our country are liberated to have a go. Those tax cuts mean that at a time when mining investment is slowing down small business investment is speeding up. The great thing about that small business investment is that it is directed by the entrepreneurs of our country. It is not chosen by the officials in Canberra; it is directed by the entrepreneurs of our country, because they are the people who deserve a fair go. They are the people who want to have a go, and when they have a go every Australian is more likely to get the fair go that they all yearn for.

So this is a government which is delivering tax cuts. We delivered them in last year's budget and we have delivered them in this year's budget. And as far as I am concerned every budget that this government delivers will be a tax cut-cutting budget, because that is what we want to give to the people of Australia.

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

I call the member for Indi.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I want to table—

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

I have already called the member for Indi. And under the standing orders published documents are not available for tabling.