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

My question is to the Prime Minister. When he rolled the member for Warringah almost six months ago, the now Prime Minister said:

Every month lost is a month of lost opportunities.

So, after almost six months of lost opportunities, when will the Prime Minister finally deliver an economic plan for Australia?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition knows very well that the challenge for the Australian economy as it transitions from the mining construction boom is to secure the great opportunities of growth that we see from—

Ms O'Neil interjecting—

Mr Conroy interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The members for Hotham and Charlton!

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

the rise of Asia and the rapid expansion of the global economy. We recognise that the jobs of the future, the jobs of our children and grandchildren, the high-wage jobs to which they are entitled, will be secured through innovation, through science, through technology and through investment. So every single lever of my government is pulling in the direction of jobs, growth and fairness. Those are the goals.

The first package of policies that we released was therefore the National Innovation and Science Agenda, recognising that that is the key to growth. We provided real incentives to invest, real incentives for people to invest in start-ups and real incentives for universities to better collaborate with industries, because therein lies the key to growth.

What have our friends on the Labor side done in their response? They have sought to put the brakes on growth—

Ms O'Neil interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Hotham is warned!

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

at a time when we are seeking to encourage investment—

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

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order on direct relevance. It is three minutes to talk about his policies. He should be able to do three minutes on it.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The Prime Minister will resume his seat for a second. Just while I have a break in proceedings—note that there is no point of order there; the question was very broad, as the Manager of Opposition Business knows—can I also caution all the people I warned in the last sitting week.

Opposition members interjecting—

No, I am just—the member for Chisholm will resume her seat.

Ms Burke interjecting—

No, the member for Chisholm will resume her seat when I am addressing the House. I am just cautioning that all of those members are interjecting in a disorderly manner again.

Mr Mitchell interjecting—

The member for McEwen is warned. He will not interject when I am addressing the House. I do not know how many times I need to tell him. I will do so as patiently as possible. The member for Chisholm?

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am loath to make an administrative point at this time, but how long does a warning last for? This is a new ruling that is absurd.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Chisholm will resume her seat, and she will not reflect on the chair. If the member for Chisholm thinks I should be harsher on those on my left, it is advice I can consider. The Prime Minister has the call. Thank you for your cooperation.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Labor Party's response to these challenging times, to an economy in transition, when we need to see investment, is to propose to raise the capital gains tax in Australia to the highest of any comparable country—higher than any other comparable country—each of which we are competing with for investment. What they are saying is, 'If you come to Australia to invest, seeking to make a capital gain, you'll pay more tax than anywhere else.' That is really going to create jobs, isn't it! That will drive jobs away. It will drive investment away. That is the Labor response.

For our part, every measure supports employment. Opening up markets in Asia, the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, $5½ billion for small business—right across the board, every lever of our government is pulling in the direction of jobs, growth and a fairer Australia.