Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How is the government's economic plan supporting job creation? What will the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement do to further strengthen the economy and to create more jobs in my electorate of Forrest and elsewhere?

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

I do thank the member for Forrest for her question, and I do appreciate her interest in a strong and prosperous economy and in finalising the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement as quickly as possible.

As you would remember, Mr Speaker, two years ago something quite significant happened: we had a change of government. Two years ago we said that we had a plan for a strong and prosperous economy and for a safe and secure Australia. Two years ago this day we said that Australia was under new management and was once more open for business. And every day since then this government has been backing up working Australians. Every day since then this government has been focused on more jobs, on more economic growth and on greater community safety.

We had a plan. The plan is working, and we are sticking to the plan. Three hundred and thirty-five thousand more jobs are in our economy today than there were on 7 September 2013. Jobs growth is four times as strong now as it was in the final year of the Labor government. Not only that: car sales are at record levels, housing approvals are at the-record levels, company registrations are at record levels and bankruptcies are at record lows.

None of this happens in a vacuum. All of this happens because of good government policy. The job-destroying carbon tax is gone, and every household is better off. The job-destroying mining tax is gone, and Australia is once more a good place to invest. Last year we brought down a budget for saving, and we have secured $50 billion worth of savings over the forward investment. And because of last year's budget for saving, this year we brought down a budget for confidence—the best budget ever for small business, with the biggest small business tax cuts in our history. That is what we are doing every day. We are sticking to our plan for lower taxes, more infrastructure and freer trade.

On the subject of free trade: one vital building block in our economic future is the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. This is the most important free trade agreement of all. Once concluded, more than 95 per cent of our exports to China will enter duty-free. No other economy has received such a good deal from China. Everyone is in favour of this—everyone except the Leader of the Opposition and the CFMEU. I ask— (Time expired)