Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, you yourself would know, being a marginal seat holder, that we have another scare campaign in marginal seats, headed up by the unions and their Labor mates. ACTU president Ged Kearney has been out misleading hardworking, paying members of her union again. She has once again been using union funds to feed misleading information to her own union members, this time targeting a hypothetical increase to the GST, changes advocated by state governments and former Labor premiers. If Ms Kearney has the best interests of her union members in mind she would stop wasting their money on expensive scare campaigns and start joining in on the very open and very public conversation on tax reform. Some of the scaremongering includes robocalls—and I know, Madam Deputy Speaker, your electorate has been robocalled many times, just like mine—and calling false debates. This lot of rubbish really does need to stop.

It is time to put the facts on the table, and the facts are pretty clear. The Turnbull government's position on penalty rates has consistently been that penalty rates are a matter for the Fair Work Commission to determine—not government. How much clearer can this message be? But somehow, Labor and their union mates are telling porky pies, scaring people that we are taking away their penalty rates. I will say it in another way: the Turnbull government has no plans to change the way penalty rates are set.

A quick history lesson for those opposite, who quite often like to rewrite history: when Bill Shorten was Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations he explicitly amended the Fair Work Act to specifically require the Fair Work Commission to review all penalty rates in awards. As a result of Labor's review, employees in restaurants had their Sunday penalty rates cut. That was Bill Shorten and Labor. This has nothing—I mean nothing—to do with the Turnbull government. For the record: under Bill Shorten and Labor was the only time in Australian history when award penalty rates have been lowered. I will repeat that this had nothing to do with the Turnbull government. This was all about Bill Shorten and Labor.

In terms of the GST there is another scare campaign being run by Labor and the unions over recent weeks in relation to the GST and a hypothetical policy of ours to change the GST rate. Treasurer Scott Morrison has made it very clear that a growing economy is the best way to provide jobs for the future and to maintain a strong welfare safety net. As a government we want to back Australians who are growing our economy by working, saving and investing every day to create a better future for themselves, their families and their communities. On this side of politics we are backing Australians through a strong national platform of economic growth and jobs. As members of the Turnbull government we are getting on with the job. We are securing new trade agreements with the world's largest and fastest-growing economies, we are rolling out a $50 billion national investment plan, we are getting spending under control to balance our budget and to reduce debt, we are putting innovation at the centre of our economic plan, we are making our financial system even stronger to deal with global shocks and uncertainty, we are working with state and territory governments to deliver better services and more choices for consumers and we are encouraging more and more Australians into the workforce by removing barriers to their participation.

There are many commentators—and, indeed, many constituents of mine—who have said that Australia needs a better tax system. I could not agree more. We do need a better tax system—one that will enable us to achieve greater economic growth. I am sure that even some of those opposite will agree that many features of our current state and federal tax system is limiting jobs growth and making it less attractive to run a business and invest in Australia. I know that many of my businesspeople believe that the current system is limiting Australia's ability to prosper.

I have had many constituents raise with me—and I am sure you have too Madam Deputy Speaker—issues with our current system, in particular the area of income tax. One of the most common complaints is how it is becoming an increasing burden on working Australians, especially in 2016 an average full-time worker will more than likely move into the second-highest tax bracket, being taxed up to 39c in the dollar. This is in contrast to 15 years ago when almost 80 per cent of taxpayers paid no more than 30c in the dollar. Commentators have noted that, as a proportion of total tax revenue, personal income tax in Australia is also the second-highest amongst OECD countries.

Business people and other interest groups are calling out for a better mix and combination of taxes at a state and federal level that removes the impediments that are holding Australians back. It is important that Australian people know that as a Liberal-Nationals government we do not default to raising taxes to fix our budget or pay for higher spending. That is what Labor does. The way to fix the budget is to control spending and grow the economy, which is what the Turnbull government is doing.

We are engaged in an open discussion on how we should achieve a better tax system. To once again dispel any myths, the Turnbull government has put forward any reform proposal policy or preferred option to changed the goods and services tax. Any suggestion about the impact of such changes does not relate to any government policy. It does not matter how many times Labor or the unions say otherwise. We have not put a proposal forward. Labor and the unions are working on hypotheticals.

We want to have a genuine discussion about tax reform. A change to the GST will only be considered if put forward by the states and territories who are the ones who receive all the revenue from the GST. Such a proposal would also have to reduce taxes, taxes like personal income tax, and increased income support payments to ensure vulnerable Australians were not adversely impacted, as occurred when the GST was first introduced. Our discussions with the states and territories also include how they levy their own taxes that bring in around $70 billion each year, which is more than the GST. And our discussions involve how we can work together to improve the way taxpayers' money can be better spent at all levels of government rather than just spending.

The Turnbull government will continue to work with states and territories and engage with Australians on what we need as a better tax system that supports jobs and growth in our economy. To do this, we will continue to not rule things out and not rule things in, as we believe that this is the best way to get the best answer on how we can improve our tax system.

The Australian people certainly deserve a better tax system, one that backs them to work, to save and invest. The Australian people do not need the unions and Labor scaremongering and putting mistruths out into our communities. People are already worried enough; they do not need this added stress of the hypotheticals of what we are doing. What we are doing is having a very constructive, open discussion. We are involving all key stakeholders and I encourage Labor and the unions to get on board, and be mature about this. Australia certainly does deserve a better tax system, and something that backs Australian workers, so they can save and investment. Thank you.