Andrew Broad (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We build a strong economy so we can build a great society, and there is power in stating a focus. If you do not know where you are aiming, you do not know in which direction you should go. So I think that there should be two key focuses as we start to talk about tax reform and what sort of economic modelling we need to do for the country. The first focus is: every Australian who is able-bodied should be able to have a job. There is value in honest work. Norm Jefferies, an old farmer, once said to me after I had been shearing: 'It is an honest feeling to be physically tired at the end of the day after some hard work.' And a job gives self-worth. It creates self-esteem and allows self-determination. But how do we do this?

I think we have got to recognise that small business creates jobs. We have got to create incentive to employ people. We have got to work with the state governments to lift the payroll tax threshold. Lifting payroll tax obligations off small business would be a great incentive to help those businesses employ more people. We have got to create mutual obligation upon able-bodied recipients of welfare. They are receiving something from the taxpayer; we are saying that they are not welfare recipients but they are actually job seekers.

As a result of the free trade agreements we have a changing face of the Australian economy, and now is the time to look at creative financing models to remove productivity constraints within the Australian infrastructure network. We can access finance at very low cost using government bond rates. Also, given that we are no longer in the construction phase of the mining boom, those who used their skills during that phase can reapply them to build the roads, the rail and the infrastructure we need to be able to capitalise on the market opportunities that are before us.

The second focus is: every person who wants to buy their first house should be able to afford to do so. Low-income earners who are purchasing their first home should be able to access some superannuation to assist them to get a deposit on their first home. If you look across some of the country towns in my patch, those people will be paying rents of $200 a week on a property that has a net value of about $100,000. They may not be able to save for a deposit. If they are given some assistance to pay a deposit, they would easily be able to pay the loan off, given that it is in line with what they are already paying in rent, and that would create a sense of pride and a sense of community. This would not undermine a person's retirement savings, as establishing and owning a residence is the fundamental core to financial security in retirement. There is also something better about a house. To quote Darryl Kerrigan from The Castle: 'A house is more than a house. It is a home.' You can build better relationships and build stronger communities.

I think there is value in having some restrictions on negative gearing. Deductions should be considered but only on the third and fourth premises. You could work this out with a financial figure or you could work it out in premises numbers, but people should be able to buy their first house and then buy an investment property, but I do think it is slightly unreasonable that someone should be able to gain negative gearing benefits when they are on their third, fourth or fifth premises. That is putting competitive tension against someone who is purchasing their first home. I also think that it is unwise to say that that concession should only be on new premises. I think that is market distorting and it needs to be across all premises.

Getting a job and buying a first home are the statutes of a strong economy. This is the point we should be aiming for when we have discussions about tax reform. My fear is that we are having a lot of general discussion around the parliament without clearly defining that the two most important things for a strong economy are, firstly, people having the sense of self-worth that comes from working, and, secondly, families being able to buy a house, put down their roots and make a home—using creative financing to build and address the infrastructure constraints across our economy so that we can grow our net wealth as Australian people.