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

I have received a letter from the honourable member for McMahon proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

The budgetary and economic failures of this Government.

I call upon those members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

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

This is the last sitting week before the fourth budget of the Abbott-Turnbull government. The Australian people have every cause to be concerned about this fourth budget of the Abbott-Turnbull government because this government has form. This government has delivered to the Australian people economic management for which there has been a real price for the families of millions of Australians and for our country. In fact, we are still paying the price for the 2014 budget as we prepare for the 2017 budget. Just this week, as we speak, this Prime Minister and this Treasurer are trying to get through some of the harsh cuts from the 2014 budget in their omnibus savings bill. The fact of the matter is that this government is projecting a surplus based almost entirely on those harsh cuts from the 2014 budget, which have not passed and will not pass this parliament. The dysfunction and the wrong priorities of this government mean that our economy has had a very real price to pay.

Yesterday in question time the Prime Minister gave a very revealing quote about how he sees the economy and how he sees the Australian people. He said:

Every day the government is delivering the economic growth that Australians deserve.

Either the Prime Minister is not across what is happening or he has a very different opinion about what Australians deserve than this side of the House does, because the fact of the matter is our economy is growing below trend. Unemployment has increased and underemployment is at record highs, with 1.1 million Australians wanting more work but unable to find it. There are fewer full-time jobs than there were a year ago and wages growth is at record lows.

The Prime Minister, the Treasurer and the entire government think that the answer to record low wages growth is to cut wages further. It is telling us that the one thing that unites this government—the one thing that the Turnbull people, the Abbott people, the Dutton people and the Bishop people all agree on—is that people who work on Sundays should be paid less. I would mention the Morrison people, but there is only one of those left!

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

The member for Corangamite, on a point of order.

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

Mr Speaker, I draw your attention to the fact that the member needs to refer to members by their proper titles.

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

The member for Corangamite is correct. I have made this point many times. I did not hear the member for McMillan because I was in consultation with the Manager of Opposition Business on a serious matter, but he will refer to members by their correct titles. I refer him to the fact that I have sat people down who were deliberately flouting that ruling.

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

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The current Prime Minister knifed the member for Warringah because, he said, we were not getting the economic leadership that Australia needed. What we have is a continual failure of economic leadership from this Prime Minister and his Treasurer. This will be the current Treasurer's second budget. The last one had a one-point plan for jobs and growth, and we saw last week the spectacle of us asking the current Treasurer whether the centrepiece of the 2016 budget would even be in the 2017 budget. We asked 12 times, and we did not get an answer about this one-point plan for jobs and growth. It was embarrassing. Then we had the Prime Minister leaving the Treasurer hanging out to dry all week and then briefing the papers that it would be in the budget. It just goes to show why the Prime Minister is out there saying he is going to take over the economic management and the salesmanship from his Treasurer.

We should not be surprised because—there have been so many of these promises it is sometimes easy to miss one—this is what the Treasurer has done over the course of the last 18 months: he promised an increase in the GST and then retreated from it in that famous 46-minute waffle at the National Press Club; he promised big, swingeing personal income tax cuts and he told us how passionate he was about personal income tax cuts, and what has followed has been very little indeed; he went with his Prime Minister on a 48-hour frolic through the fields of state income taxes and withdrew all funding from public schools in Australia; he talked about the excesses of negative gearing before being rolled by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection in cabinet; and he has loved to criticise tax increases and tax changes proposed by us, that is until he adopts them. He criticises them right up until the day that he adopts them.

This Treasurer, even today, was talking about how we should not have more tax rises. He said that he opposed Labor's proposed increase in the tobacco excise and he railed against changes to superannuation tax, and then he got up and announced those very things in his last budget. Goodness knows what he is going to announce in this budget! Of course, this is the Treasurer who personally came up with the masterstroke of linking his unfair, unsustainable cuts not only to the National Disability Insurance Scheme but also to his childcare package. That was his baby all the way through.

Of course, the Treasurer has his one-point plan. He says that that is his answer for increasing growth and jobs. That is his one-point plan. Of course the fine print, which he does not like talking about, tells us that this will deliver one per cent growth in the economy in 20 years time. In terms of wages, he was saying yesterday not to worry about the penalty rate cuts because the corporate tax cut is going to increase wages, apparently. What do the government's documents tell us? They tell us that it will increase wages—by $2 a day in 20 years time. There has never been a more exciting time to be an Australian! They will cut your penalty rates and give you $2 a day back in 20 years time! That is the great plan for the future that this government delivers us. What an exciting proposition for the Australian people—a big wage cut now, big business gets a big tax cut and you get your penalty rates cut!

We saw yesterday the big four banks' economists talking about the corporate tax cut. To be clear, these are the banks who get the tax cut. These are supporters of the tax cut. The opening paragraph of the story said:

Chief economists at Australia’s biggest banks have questioned the overall benefit to the economy provided by a cut to the corporate tax rate, at a time when the country’s biggest companies sit on record high levels of cash and continue to spend billions buying their own shares.

These are the people who support the tax cut. These are the ones who get the tax cut, and you cannot even convince them that it is good for the economy. No wonder the Prime Minister wants to take over economic salesmanship from the Treasurer. We are seeing Peter Costello and Paul Keating say that this is the wrong plan for Australia. Anything that can unite those two must be a very bad idea, especially if they agree that this is a wrong plan for Australia!

Of course, the most important thing is that this $50 billion just cannot be afforded at this time because of the deficits and the debt blowouts which this Prime Minister, this Treasurer and their two predecessors have presided over. This government's budget disaster has seen the 2016-17 budget deficit go from $11 billion—forecast by them—to $37 billion. Of course, we have seen net debt forecasts increase by $100 billion. This is a Prime Minister who said that net debt at $188 billion was a colossal figure. I wonder what it is under his watch. How would he describe it under his watch when he said previously that such a figure was 'colossal'?

This really leads us back, again, to a Treasurer who is constantly out of his depth and is not up to running a G20 economy. This Treasurer is at war with his Prime Minister and at war with his Minister for Finance. Goodness knows the Australian people have every right to be concerned about what will be in this 2017 budget. Everything he promises he fails to deliver on. We know he is barely on speaking terms with his own Prime Minister.

There was another resounding vote of confidence in the Treasurer just this week. We see every day in question time that those on the backbench go wild every time the Treasurer is up on his feet. They just cannot control themselves. The backbench go crazy when the Treasurer brings in his pet rock—they just go off! They just go crazy. We saw some extra support from a frontbench colleague of the Treasurer with a ringing endorsement. He did not name the frontbench colleague, in fairness. I do not wonder why when he or she said of the Treasurer, 'He'll need to perform or he's out.' What a ringing endorsement from his cabinet colleagues!

Well, I agree with the said unnamed frontbencher from the other side. But I probably have a different view about what a better performance looks like. I will share it with the House. I would think a more believable plan to return to surplus based on believable policies would be a better performance, not discredited, unfair cuts. It would involve proper budget repair instead of attacking the most vulnerable in our economy. It would involve proper tax reform, such as negative gearing and capital gains tax reform. That would be a better performance from this Treasurer. How about a housing affordability plan? That would be a better performance. The Treasurer should not be replaced now; he should be replaced at the next election by a Labor government with a plan and the courage to tackle the issues facing Australia's future. (Time expired)

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for McMahon talked about paying the price. Well, we are absolutely paying the price for six years of incompetence of which he was a part. There were six years of incompetence when the member for McMahon was the worst immigration minister this country has ever seen. Then those opposite were unceremoniously turfed from the Treasury benches with an $18 billion black hole. So we are paying the price for six years of Labor.

What is worse is that those opposite have the audacity to come into this place, after trying to frustrate every attempt at turbocharging the economy or improving the budget, and complain. The member for McMahon and the Labor Party have been completely taken over by the hard left of their party. That is true of every single policy adopted by the Labor Party now. I see the member for Scullin smiling. I know he is very happy with his takeover of the party. That the member for McMahon opposes every single policy on improving jobs and investment in our economy is an absolute disgrace.

In looking at how the economy is travelling, the government and I accept that there are always things that we as a government and parliament should do better. But we are the fastest growing economy in the G7. Let's not forget that. We had growth in the last quarter of 1.1 per cent, a very encouraging number. We have unemployment at 5.9 per cent. Everything we are doing is geared towards increasing investment and increasing opportunities for Australians, which ultimately will increase wages and increase the number of jobs in the economy.

The member for McMahon sounded as though he was arguing against himself in his speech when arguing against the company tax cuts, because we have all seen various members of the government come to the dispatch box with the book written by the member for McMahon. I have not read it, and I would not buy it. But I have lots of good quotes from the book, I can assure you. As the member for McMahon has said:

It's a Labor thing to have the ambition of reducing company tax, because it promotes investment, creates jobs and drives growth.

So the member for McMahon was arguing against himself for 10 minutes.

Dr Chalmers interjecting—

I see the member for Rankin very loyally supporting the member for McMahon. He said:

… Australia would go well out of a lower company rate than it is right now.

The member from Rankin also said:

You're right that Bill said that in the medium term it would be a good aspiration to have a lower company rate.

So we had every member of the Labor economic team arguing for company tax cuts. But now the member for Scullin and the hard left of the Labor Party have completely taken over the economic narrative and they are now saying, 'No, we don't want to be internationally competitive.'

We have also seen the Labor Party, hijacked by the CFMEU and others, arguing against the China-Australia free trade agreement. We all recall the Leader of the Opposition referring to it as—

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

We voted for it.

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for McMahon says, 'We voted for it.' So why did the Leader of the Opposition refer to it as a dud deal? Why would the Leader of the Opposition vote for a dud deal? I will tell you why. It is because the CFMEU pulls the levers in this Labor Party, and the CFMEU said, 'No, we don't want the China Australia Free Trade Agreement,' but then in the end they buckled. That is why, Member for McMahon, you did it. It is shameful that somebody who thinks they are the heir to a proud legacy has now repudiated every single area of consensus that we have shared for about 30 years. For 30 years we have not had to argue in this parliament about lower tax rates, whether that be personal income tax cuts or corporate income tax cuts. We have never, ever had to argue about that. Now we are re-litigating the arguments that we were having with the communists 40 years ago, because they are back. They are back, they are large and they are in charge.

But we will keep arguing for it because we represent the millions of Australians who fund our entire system. We represent the millions of Australians who get up first thing in the morning and who do not see their children when they get home late at night because they are paying ever higher taxes. There is no dollar that the member for McMahon can say no to spending. There is no spending reduction that he will support. It is an absolute disgrace.

We know the model from the Labor Party now. The model is higher taxes—

Mr Husic interjecting—

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Chifley is already under a warning from question time.

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that the Labor Party model now is higher deficits, higher debts and higher taxes for Australians. That is the model. We have progressed $24 billion in savings, most of which have been opposed by the Labor Party. We have also seen, shamefully, from the shadow Assistant Treasurer and others opposition to a multinational tax avoidance bill that has seen us collect $2 billion in additional revenue. Why would you vote against that, Labor Party? Why would you vote against that, member for McMahon? It is quite a day when the Greens show more economic sense than the Labor Party. It is an absolute disgrace that you would do that and that you would jeopardise our AAA credit rating. If the member for McMahon was still the Treasurer—but let's remember that you are not because you were unceremoniously dumped in the 2013 election—we would have lost the AAA credit rating at that point. And, now, the Labor Party have tried to frustrate every single attempt.

We will keep going. We have been able to show the Labor Party ways in which we can repair the budget and improve the economy simultaneously—1.1 per cent economic growth in the last quarter. They are great numbers. We are the fastest-growing economy in the G7. I would expect that the Labor Party would applaud that.

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We did that for six years, you clown.

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, Mr Deputy Speaker, I think being referred to as a clown by the former Treasurer is quite extraordinary. And we love seeing you there, Swannie. Mr Deputy Speaker, I will refer to those opposite by their titles. We would love to see the former Treasurer back on the front bench because we think you are the greatest electoral asset that we have. So come back to the front bench and keep the interjections going.

The member for McMahon started his remarks by saying we are paying the price. We are paying the price for six years of Labor. We are paying the price having gone from $20 billion surpluses to $40 billion deficits that we inherited under this government. We are paying the price for the former Labor government sending us in a trajectory of $667 billion of debt, increased spending and a slowing economy. Now, we are the economy that is the envy of the world. Of course, we have more to do.

One thing that this government will ensure is that low-cost energy, a competitive advantage of our economy that we have enjoyed for many generations, continues into the future. The member for McMahon could not explain whether the Labor Party's 50 per cent renewable energy target was a target, an aspiration, an option or a goal, but what we do know is that Labor's policies on energy will make our heavy industry and manufacturing uncompetitive. So when they talk about states like South Australia and Victoria—and I am a proud Victorian; Victoria is the heart of manufacturing in our country—one of the primary economic and competitive advantages that we have had in low-cost energy is something that they have tried to frustrate every step of the way.

Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What about renewable energy in Tasmania?

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

The member for Braddon was under a warning from question time. She has continuously interrupted. She will leave under 94(a).

The member for Braddon then left the chamber.

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have made real progress on our budget. In the face of staunch opposition from those who created the problem, we have made absolute strides in improving our budget bottom line and in returning to budget surplus by 2021. We will ensure that that timetable is met. We will also ensure that our economy continues to be the envy of those in the G7.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That was another contribution, just like in question time, that does not mention the fact that the deficit under that mob opposite has tripled since their first budget and does not mention a blowout in net debt of more than $100 billion. There was nothing about the consequences of that incompetence for Australia's AAA credit rating and what that means for mortgage repayments and confidence in our economy. We had another question time and another daily display of that rare combination that they have on that side of the House—of swaggering arrogance and staggering incompetence. It was another question time with them pretending that somebody else is in charge and pretending that they can have the power and ego of those jobs without the leadership or the responsibility, or taking responsibility for what has happened to the budget under their watch. It was another question time that showed that those opposite are not just out of touch; they are from another planet.

All you need to know about this government is that, under this government, there are tax cuts for the top end and there are pay cuts for workers in the electorates that we are so proud, on this side of the House, to represent. Let's just consider some of the choices that are being made over there. They have chosen to keep a deficit levy that gives a millionaire a tax cut; at the same time, they have chosen to cut family tax benefits.

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

Tell the truth.

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

The member for Corangamite was warned in question time as well.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Judged by the Prime Minister's actions, he thinks that the three biggest challenges that we have as a nation are: (1) low-income workers are paid too much; (2) multinational corporations pay too much tax; (3) it is not quite simple enough or easy enough to slander someone on the basis of their race. These are the priorities of those opposite.

Deputy Speaker, while I think of it, the truest thing that was said in question time today was when your offsider, the Speaker, said that the Treasurer's time had expired. We think that, too, on this side of the House. As they shuffled out of here with their long faces trying to avoid the Treasurer's gaze, he desperately searched around looking for some reassurance that his performance today was not as bad as he feared it might be and that he might not be up for the chop—the same fate that befell our old mate Joe. He looked around for some kind of reassurance and did not get it. All he saw were the long and ashen faces of those opposite who are mourning because they have lost the one thing that they care the most about—that is, any shred of economic credibility. They are in mourning on that side of the House because that which they prize the most is gone.

They think Australians are mugs. They think that if they tell them that they are all about jobs and growth enough, the Australian people will not cotton on to the facts that sit under that ridiculous slogan that they keep mouthing in here—the record underemployment, the record low wages growth, the negative quarter of growth in the quarter before last and corporate profits going through the roof while wages are growing at record lows. All of these things are the people-facing part of the economy—the part of the economy that those opposite do not understand now, have never understood and will never, ever understand.

We remember the last time that the member for Wentworth was the temporary leader of the Liberal Party—some of us were here in other roles; some of us were here in our current roles. We remember very well when he did his—as the member for Wakefield described it—'chicken Churchill' routine from this dispatch box about debt. As the member for McMahon said, he described the $188 billion worth of debt as a 'colossal' figure. He described it as a 'towering summit' of debt and, of course, now it is $317 billion. So if it was bad at $188 billion, what is it now on his watch?

I am grateful to the member for Fenner because the member for Fenner reminded me as we were talking last week—as we do from time to time—of another little doozy that the member for Wentworth did from this dispatch box right here. He said:

Mr Speaker, there will come a time when Australians will look wistfully at $188 billion of debt and ask not when our debt will rise to that peak, but when it will descend to it.

It was a very good question. How right he was. Net debt is now $317 billion and rising, $133 billion more than what he inherited.

It is long past time for those opposite to accept responsibility for the budget deterioration on their watch. Theirs is a recipe for division, inequality and immobility. Their trickle-down agenda does not accord with our values, not just Labor's values but Australian values—the fair go and they need to accept that that is the case. It does not accord with our values because an Australia which showers largesse on the wealthiest and most powerful while cutting the wages and payments to those on middle and lower incomes is not the country that we on this side recognise or cherish. On this side of the House, we are about growth which is inclusive, hard work which is rewarded and a decent safety net for those left behind.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (15:39): I might remind the member for Rankin, referring to the Speaker as 'my offsider' might not be a good career move.

Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the House for this opportunity to talk about the wonderful economic performance of Australia and about the great job the Treasurer is doing in helping to drive Australia's economic growth. Economic growth was 1.1 per cent in the last quarter, 2.4 per cent for the 2016 calendar year. Once again, Australia is growing above the OECD average and faster than every G7 economy. The good economic news just keeps on getting better. Look at Australia's terms of trade—that is, the ratio of our export prices to import prices. That grew by 9.1 per cent, delivering a 15.6 per cent improvement on the December 2015 quarter. That is terrific economic news and, in particular, great news for our exporters.

It is not only the cities that are driving this growth. Regional Australia certainly has a great economic story to tell.

Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tell us about the economic contributions of the regions.

Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am glad the honourable member asked that question because I will tell you. In the last 12 months to December 2016, there was a 23.7 per cent growth in the agricultural sector.

Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is fantastic.

Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is fantastic news, 23.7 per cent. Things are looking up on the land.

Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tell us more.

Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will. Compare and contrast that to Labor's last quarter when they were in office, when agriculture went backwards by 0.5 per cent. Under us, it increases but under Labor it decreases. It is a very sorry tale. I have more good economic news. I think we have to keep the good times rolling here. The gross value of farm production is forecast to increase by 8.3 per cent to a record $60 billion—

Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How much?

Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I kid you not—in 2016-17. This exceptional value of farm production comes off the back of record crop production in every single Australian state and a strong performance across livestock industries as well. So things are looking up in regional Australia. You have got to give a lot of credit to this government when you look at things like the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement, the Australia-Korea Free Trade Agreement. All of these agreements struck by the Liberals and Nationals have made a real difference.

Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor could not do it.

Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They could not do it; they could not get them over the line. I note that only just last week Australia and China signed a joint statement on enhancing inspection and quarantine cooperation between Australia and China. This will allow our beef producers to export more chilled beef into China worth more than $400 million a year.

Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

worth more than $400 million?

Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I kid you not, $400 million. It is great to see economic growth powering along in the regions. Of course, we are working hard to deliver over $24 billion in budget repairs. I have got to give credit where it is due to this hardworking Treasurer. He never stops working for this economy, maintaining the coveted AAA credit rating. This is in stark contrast to those opposite, who have been obstructionist on all manner of issues. The backpacker tax is one such example. We saw the member for Hunter pull up stumps, not engage at all and, of course, he got the rug pulled out from underneath him by the Greens at the end of the day—very embarrassing.

Let's talk about the company tax cuts, the enterprise tax plan. From those opposite, there has been nothing but hypocrisy. As the member for Deakin pointed out in his address to the House, the member for McMahon said it was a 'Labor thing' to have the ambition of reducing company tax because it promotes investment, creates jobs and drives growth. Compare and contrast that to what we have seen over there, the errant hypocrisy. No wonder no-one trusts the Leader of the Opposition. He also said reducing the corporate tax rate sees more capital flowing into our domestic economy. What an errant hypocrite he is.

Those opposite come into this House, they block and they obstruct but nevertheless there is hope for the country because the Liberals and Nationals are here delivering economic growth. We are here. We never sleep. We deliver economic growth right across our country and maintain our AAA credit rating. There are good times ahead not only for the nation but in particular for country communities around Australia. I commend the Treasurer for his great work.

Andrew Leigh (Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the end of last year, there was a lovely little yarn in one of the Sydney papers about a cabinet leak. It said that preliminary figures had come to cabinet on the census completion rate. The story did not contain the actual number itself. What it did say, though, was that it had a decimal point in it. According to the story, 'one minister did not seem to get it. How could you have a fraction of a person or a fraction of a household?'

With mathematical skills like that, it is really no surprise that, since the government have come to office, net debt is on track to soon double. When he was Leader of the Opposition, the member for Wentworth launched the coalition's debt truck. When they were in opposition, they promised the budget would be in surplus in their first year and in every year after that. Yet we have now seen the deficits rising faster than they were in the global financial crisis, and—as the member for Rankin has pointed out—net debt is on track to soon double.

The Australian people were promised a government of adults, but they got a government of screaming teenagers. If only the Treasurer were as ambitious for the country as he is for himself. If only the Treasurer could spend a little bit more time on focused tax reform than on updating his LinkedIn profile, which is probably what he is doing these days. This is a Treasurer who, as the member for McMahon has pointed out, has flip-flopped on every possible tax reform issue—a higher GST, state income taxes and capital gains tax changes. He took capital gains tax changes to cabinet and was rolled. He was against cigarette excise. He was against superannuation until, as the member for McMahon has pointed out, he backflipped and took Labor's position.

They have had four years in government, and they are still blaming Labor. Bart Simpson would be embarrassed to blame-shift like these guys blame-shift. They are patting themselves on their back today for closing multinational tax loopholes, for cracking down on multinationals, but at the same time they are rejecting Labor's sensible proposals to close debt loopholes that would raise eight times as much revenue. When it comes to inequality, these guys think Mount Everest is a level playing field! At a time when home ownership is at a 60-year low and wage growth is at a 30-year low, their solution to housing affordability is to tell people to 'get a good job that pays good money'. How do they propose to ensure that we have good jobs that pay good money? They are going to cut penalty rates. Take $77 a week away, and then see how you afford a house. This is at a time when, in the last quarter of last year, house prices rose 10 times as fast as wages.

Not everyone is going to be worse off under the Turnbull government. On 1 July, when the millionaires' tax cut kicks in, a neurosurgeon will get a tax cut of $7,000, a plastic surgeon will get a tax cut of $5,000 and a futures trader will get a tax cut of $2,000. Ninety-four per cent of the benefits of this millionaires' tax cut will go to the top one per cent—a group that has doubled its share of national income over the course of the last generation. Frankly, the changes that the government are bringing about through their unfair budgets are so unfair that the Sheriff of Nottingham is now voting for Xenophon in the Senate!

We heard something very true today in question time. The Prime Minister said, 'I represented the big end of town, and I've always done the best by them.' Frankly, the Prime Minister continues to do his best by the big end of town. Under this government, the big end of town get a proposed $50 billion tax cut. They get shielding from closing debt-deduction loopholes, and they see cuts in penalty rates for low-wage workers. Every decision made by the government seems almost calculated to increase inequality. At the same time, we have seen wages for the top 10 per cent of workers grow three times faster than for the bottom 10 per cent of workers, and the richest three Australians have more wealth than the poorest one million Australians. With inequality at a 75-year high, we have a Prime Minister who is of, by and for the top one per cent. The moral arc of the Liberal universe is short, but it always bends towards inequality.

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When I read the topic for this MPI today, I thought, 'Cripes—this is going to be the quickest MPI on record unless the opposition have their words muddled.'

Government Member:

A government member interjecting—

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a very short list, isn't it? The Howard government balanced every budget. They were in power for more than a decade and did not make a slip. It was a cautious, conscientious and economic strategy, which had our nation purring along.

Dr Leigh interjecting—

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Fenner has had his turn.

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When they handed the account to Labor, there was money in the bank. There was money in the bank, Mr Deputy Speaker Coulton; you would remember it well. But that is where the wheels fell off, as we all know. During Labor's six years in the driver's seat, how many surpluses were there?

Honourable members interjecting—

I do not think there were any. The member for McMahon and the member for Lilley promised a surplus. How many times did they promise a surplus? It was over and over again. They promised and promised, but could not even break even—not even once. They left a trail of destruction and a whopping great hole, and spent billions of dollars that they simply did not have. They did not have it. They tried to buy friends, offering all sorts of sundries and handouts, whether they wanted them or not. They tried to pass off their willy-nilly spending as sound economic strategy. They were stimulating the economy—stimulating the national gag reflex, as it turned out, because Australians wised up and cut them loose.

The problem, though, is that we inherited the fallout of Labor's reckless and irresponsible spending. When I say 'we', I am not talking about the government. The truth be told, when we took the public purse from Labor, we knew it was going to be empty. It came as no surprise. But it is not the government who have to cop it. It is not the government who have to cop their incompetence; it is the Australian people.

Mr Watts interjecting—

Thank you, member for Goldstein. It is mums and dads, families and aged pensioners. Everyone under the age of 30 who is listening today is going to have higher taxes and increased spending. And what do we have from the shadow Treasurer, the member for McMahon? He has negative gearing and capital gains tax reform. Let's forget about what it does to rent or how much money it will actually raise. It will be bugger-all.

They voted against the 2015 multinational tax avoidance bill. The member for Rankin is a smooth talker. Is that dude a smooth talker? He is a smooth politician. He is good at telling a story, but he does not come here to represent the Australian people and what is in their best interests; he represents what is best for him. He asks, 'How do I get that "honourable" in front of my name?' The member for Fenner says: 'Blame the coalition. Their debt's bigger.' That is what they are saying. But seriously, what could we do with the $15 billion that we are currently paying in interest every year? It is $15 billion. Dolphin Stadium was just built in my electorate at Redcliffe. You could build 1,579 of those a year with $15 billion. I need an overpass at Carseldine worth about $100 million. We could build 150 of those every year. We could fund all the 72 joint strike fighters we are about to have delivered or 15 new Moreton Bay rail links at $1 billion each. We could quadruple the foreign aid budget or replace the education budget.

The $15 billion a year in interest that was left to us compounds, and of course the deficit grows when you have that sort of interest. What do Labor do? They come in here and they block and block and block everything. They did not even vote to rein in multinationals in 2015. They did not even vote for that. The Labor Party are like the rogue tenant that took six years to evict and now they stand trying to guard their damage and refuse to allow the emergency services, us, to clean up the mess.

The productivity in this place is horrible. I come in here some days and sit down and think, 'Do I have to listen to this? Fair dinkum. The productivity is shocking.' We do three MPIs a week. What would be great is getting rid of a couple of them. We get the shadow frontbench and the rugby scrum over there. Some of them are smart individuals. I have no problem with that. Then you have our frontbench and we work out how we could help the Australian people. On the weekend, Peter van Onselen ran an article in The Australian, saying:

The uncomfortable truth that no politician wants to confront is that Australia doesn’t have a plan to pay down the national debt. Worse still, there isn’t even a plan to develop a plan.

How are we going to pay off $500 billion? I say we need bipartisan support. (Time expired)

Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Wendy is a single mum who lives in Maroubra in a rented flat with her 13-year-old daughter. Wendy works two casual jobs just to make ends meet and she is looking for more hours. She receives family tax benefit part A and part B and rent assistance. She lives from week to week and she told me that recently she had to borrow $1,000 from a friend just to register her car. Wendy is intent on bettering herself and she studies part-time for certificate IV in financial services accounting. She is trying to educate herself and her family out of the poverty trap. I guess you could describe Wendy as a decent, hardworking Aussie battler.

But life has just become a lot harder for Wendy and her daughter because the Turnbull government have just decided, as part of their budget priorities, that they will freeze for two years family tax benefit part A and part B, making life harder for Wendy and her kid to make ends meet. Put on top of that the fact that the Turnbull government supports cuts to penalty rates for the lowest paid workers. So, when people like Wendy work on weekends, her penalty rates will be cut in the future. They have taken away the children's dental scheme, so Wendy now struggles to get access to dental services for her daughter. If the government had their way, they would charge a co-payment every time Wendy went to the doctor or took her daughter to the doctor. And, if Wendy's daughter is lucky enough to win a place at a university, if the government had their way she would be paying $100,000 just to earn a degree. It gives you a picture of this government's priorities when it comes to the budget and the fact that they are intent on making life harder for hardworking Australians like Wendy.

On the flip side, if you are a large multinational business, if you are wealthy, what is the Turnbull government doing? They are giving you a tax cut whilst they are freezing the income of people like Wendy. Whilst they are cutting penalty rates, they are giving the biggest businesses in Australia a tax cut. If you earn more than $180,000 a year, you will get a tax cut under the Turnbull government's budget priorities. These large corporations that they wish to give a tax cut to include the big four Australian banks. Yes, believe it or not, they want to give a tax cut to the big four Australian banks. Don't those big banks need a leg up! Don't they deserve a handout from the government in these difficult times! Aren't these big banks struggling to make ends meet and they need a tax cut from the government!

Let's look at how the big banks have been performing over recent years. Let's look at the top of the list, the CBA, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. They made $9.45 billion in profit last year. They are the people who, over the course of the last couple of years, brought us the CommInsure scandal, where they ripped off hundreds of thousands of customers on their insurance. They are the ones who brought us the financial planning scandal, where they ended up having to review the files of literally tens of thousands of their customers because some of their planners had been ripping them off and forging documents. That is the Commonwealth Bank, with a profit of $9.45 billion. And then there is NAB. They made a cash profit of $6.48 billion, and what were they involved in? They recently sacked 41 of their planners for ripping off their customers and they recently paid back $14.5 million to customers for ripping them off. Then we go to Westpac. They made a cash profit of $7.82 billion and they recently had a banker who was jailed for forging signatures and falsifying documents and they had to refund 10,600 customers for charging them for insurance that they did not need.

All of these banks had planners who had to be reported to ASIC and have been sacked. Three of them are being prosecuted for manipulating the bank bill swap rate. And, believe this or not, with all of these scandals, not one executive of the big four banks has bitten the bullet or has got the sack for any of these scandals. They are the people that the Turnbull government want to give a tax cut to, but they want to make people like Wendy pay a lot more. It says everything about the budget priorities of this government. Is it any wonder you cannot get your budget through the Senate? Is it any wonder that the Labor Party is opposed to reforms such as those that you are proposing. People like Wendy have the ear of the Labor Party. We listen to people like Wendy and we will defend people like Wendy. (Time expired)

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

I rise today to speak about the budgetary success of our government. Before I talk about that, I want to speak about Wendy in the member for Kingsford-Smith's electorate. Isn't Wendy lucky that she was not confronting the sorts of cuts that Labor made—$23 billion in family tax benefit A and B over six years! This is an example of the unprincipled action that we are seeing from the Labor Party. What an absolute joke. Poor Wendy! We are investing record amounts in health and education and, if you consider our childcare reforms, we are standing up for those who earn the least, providing people who earn $65,000 or less with an 85 per cent subsidy. I say to Wendy, 'You are very fortunate that you are not living under a Labor federal government.' They trashed our economy, they trashed our budget, they drove up the debt and the deficit and now they are not working in the national interest with the government—

Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like you did when you were in opposition?

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Chifley!

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

to maintain our AAA rating. The Labor Party do not care about the budget. They do not care about this economy. They do not care about a AAA rating. All they do—

Mr Irons interjecting—

As the member for Swan has said, they do whatever it takes. The biggest challenge that we confront as a government in running the economy is members opposite. We heard the member for Rankin talk about 'slaying them' in reference to the member for Deakin's contribution. Talking about slaying them, he was the architect of four surpluses that were never delivered! Four surpluses promised by the member for Lilley when he was the Treasurer were never delivered. It was an absolute shocker, and the Labor Party went to the last election promising $16 billion more in deficit than our government.

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Economic geniuses!

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

As the member for Petrie has said, they are economic geniuses! Our national economic plan is underpinned by a determination to grow jobs and to build a stronger economy. And what have we done? We have introduced multinational tax avoidance and diverted profits tax bills. I refer to the member for Fenner. Even if I accept the member for Fenner's proposition, the fact of the matter is that this is an example of where the Labor Party have been disgraceful in their hypocrisy.

Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Another example?

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

There are plenty more to come. The hypocrisy goes as far as the eye can see. The fact is the Labor Party opposed our efforts to combat multinational tax avoidance, which, in this year alone, are going to deliver a $2 billion saving, as forecast by the ATO. The Labor Party has stood in the way of delivering $2 billion in savings. Even the Greens were more economically responsible than Labor! The Labor Party does not have the guts or the courage to support us on the policies that it knows will deliver savings.

Mr Thistlethwaite interjecting—

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Kingsford-Smith is out of his place. If he wants to speak on the next bill, he will be silent.

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

We stand up for this economy. The Labor Party has a responsibility to act responsibly in the national interest. At every single turn, the Labor Party is wrecking this economy and our government's efforts to rein in the budget and to run the economy responsibly.

Consider also our efforts to cut corporate tax rates. In the UK it is 20 per cent, in Canada it is 26.5 per cent, in the US it is now going down to 15 per cent. The Labor Party previously supported corporate tax cuts. It said it was a Labor thing. The only thing that is a Labor thing is hypocrisy. The only thing that is a Labor thing is a focus—

Mr Keogh interjecting—

I will take the interjection. Why am I so angry? I am angry. We are all angry. Do you know what? The Labor Party is so reckless that it opposes $5 billion of its own savings. We are trying to run this government and this economy responsibly. Do you know why we are angry? We are dealing with the worst opposition ever. Bob Hawke and Paul Keating would be ashamed of the pathetic standards that we see from this Labor Party. We are focused on jobs and a strong economy, and Labor should start operating in the national interest.

Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You should have been here in 2010!

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Chifley can leave under 94(a). He has had at least four warnings. He was already under warning from question time.

The member for Chifley then left the chamber.

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As my colleagues have noted, yesterday, while justifying his stripping away of workers' rights in the form of penalty rate cuts, the Prime Minister stated that his government is delivering the economic growth that Australia deserves. Really? Does Australia deserve an economy growing below trend? Does Australia deserve high unemployment and record high job losses? Does Western Australia deserve to be ripped off again by an outdated and unjustifiable GST distribution system? The Prime Minister screamed today in question time that he was doing his best for Australians. If this is his best, I would hate to see him on a bad day! Really, Prime Minister? If this is your best, try harder. Really, do better. We hear the jobs and growth mantra all the time. Here is a simple fact for Mr Turnbull: there are fewer full-time jobs than there were a year ago. It is not really growth, is it. There are 1.1 million Australians out there looking for jobs to support their families, and they cannot find them because they are not there. Is this really what our Prime Minister thinks Australians deserve?

This government is supporting the slashing of take-home pay for everyday Australians while, at the same time, it is prepared to shell out a $50 billion handout for big business. It is hard to tell if the Treasurer is going to go through with it; he is not able to give anyone a straight answer. He has been asked 12 times in the media recently about their big, bold plans for jobs and growth—their corporate handout, that is—and, now, he cannot promise it. What the Treasurer has promised, however, is an increase in the GST—perhaps so Western Australians can pay more to send their money over the Nullarbor! In February last year, the Treasurer declared he could convince Australians that he should increase the GST. Although I would like to see how he would do that—and I would like to see him try—he cannot even convince his own party to back his ideas or to back him personally, for that matter.

The Treasurer has been rolled by the party room on negative gearing reform. The cornerstone of his economic policy, the corporate handout, probably will not survive the budget. But, really, who can tell?

The handout was a failure from the outset. It was never part of a comprehensive tax reform. It endangers Australia's AAA credit rating and even the big four banks are questioning the benefits of the policy. That's right: even the Prime Minister's banker friends have lost faith in his government's ability to drive Australia's economy, as have we all.

This Prime Minister and Treasurer are also standing by the penalty rate cuts—they do it again and again. It will mean some of Australia's lowest paid workers, who rely on Sunday penalty rates, will take home $77 a week less. How does the Treasurer expect the economy to lift when people have less disposable income? As we know, the net debt has this year blown out to $317 billion. We have lost our AAA credit rating in Western Australia, due to the incompetent Liberal government, and we are looking down the barrel of the same fate for the rest of this country. This is the Prime Minister's and Treasurer's Australia, where you do not deserve an opportunity to work, you do not deserve the opportunity to own your own home and you do not deserve to be paid a fair wage for a fair day's work.

I am looking forward to getting home for a few weeks, but I am also looking forward to getting back here in May to see what kind of budget this government is going to deliver. I am looking forward to seeing whether the Turnbull government has paid attention to the voters of Western Australia. As we all know, this government has recklessly and ruthlessly threatened withdrawal $1.2 billion of infrastructure funding—yes, they really have done that. This funding needs to be directed to job-creating, economy-building infrastructure projects such as Metronet and, very importantly, the funds need to go to developing a plan for a new outer harbour in Kwinana. It is a long-term nation-building project that will create much-needed jobs and economic opportunities for the people living in local communities across Brand and across Western Australia, and will provide further economic opportunities for the nation. It would help grow the local state economy and the national economy, which the Liberals have manifestly failed to do at all levels of government.

Despite the benefits of this project, despite the new jobs, despite the calls from industry to support it, this federal government does not seem to understand that it is necessary infrastructure. They are not interested in it. They cobbled it together for the hopeless 2014 budget and they really need to pay attention and get interested quickly. I hope we see some commitment for it in the upcoming budget.

The government fails the economy of Western Australia with its disregard for staggering unemployment figures. In the north of Brand, in the suburb of Parmelia in Kwinana, where I was born, we have seen growth in unemployment from an already shocking level of 15.2 per cent in the December 2015 quarter to 17.7 per cent in the December quarter of 2016. It is a massive increase of 2.5 per cent in a single year from an already high level of unemployment. This government has failed the people of Western Australia and has certainly failed the people of Kwinana and of Parmelia. I hope we will do better in this budget. I look forward to seeing whether it will cut— (Time expired)

David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those opposite have failed continually on the economy and they have failed continually when they were in government. If they ever return to the Treasury benches their plans for the economy will smash it again. These are the people who took a position of having $50 billion in the bank and turned it into $200 billion of debt—that is quite a feat. One in 10 manufacturing jobs were lost under their appalling economic stewardship and we saw a loss of confidence in the Australian economy, without precedent. So we were in an extraordinarily bad situation under the previous Labor government.

Let's look at some of the proposals that they have before us. It is good to see the member for Fenner here, because he might be able to illuminate how this one works, because we all know he is a very thoughtful fellow and an author of some repute. I would really appreciate an interjection on this topic. One of the tremendously bad tax policies that those opposite have is to increase capital gains tax on everything by 50 per cent. You ask: what is the theme of that policy? Would you say that that is a business tax increase theme. But they describe it as a housing affordability policy. If it is a housing affordability policy you would think it would be related to housing. But if you look into their policy—and I am really looking for the member for Fenner to illuminate why this is the case—it applies to farms, to factories in regional towns, and to any investment to which capital gains tax currently applies, but you will be required to pay 50 per cent more tax. It would be tremendous to see a personal explanation from the member for Fenner on this extraordinarily complicated thing that is hard for people to understand, to explain how it helps housing affordability to increase tax by 50 per cent on someone who invests in a farm in rural Queensland. How does that work? I am not hearing any response on this. I would really appreciate it, because I am genuinely confused on this topic.

The other good one is that they think a big business is one that has $2.1 million in revenue. Do you know what I think? I think that they think revenue and profit are the same thing. I think they think that if you have $2.1 million in revenue that means you are making $2.1 million. Do you know what? It doesn't actually mean that. In fact, many small businesses in Australia have very small operating profit margins—it might be five per cent. Five per cent is very standard. So let's imagine you are turning over $2.1 million and you are making five per cent on turnover. Do you know what you are making? About $100,000, which is not much more than the average full-time wage. Those opposite say that that is a big evil corporation that should not be provided with any tax relief. That is just an extraordinary proposal—that a business making $100,000 profit is a big business that should not be provided with any tax relief. It is quite extraordinary.

My other favourite is the superannuation policy they took to the last election. This was the secret economic policy. They said: we are going to save exactly the same amount as the government—and this is a hard one because it has already happened, so it is hard for the member for Fenner to help us on this—but we are not going to tell you how. We are not going to tell you what our superannuation policy is. We know exactly how much it will save but we do not actually know what it is. That again is kind of a novel approach to policy making.

Ninety per cent of Australians work in the private sector. Hardly anyone opposite has ever had a full-time job in the private sector. That is a reality.

Ms Madeleine King interjecting—Oh, come on!

No, we can do the numbers. I would be very happy to go through it. A very small proportion of those opposite have had full-time jobs in the private sector, and that is an extremely big problem for people who would purport to say that they can run the economy.

Under this government we have the fastest economic growth in the G7—2.4 per cent. We have economic problems internationally but strong economic performance in Australia. We have taken on this extraordinary burden of debt that those opposite left us, with $24 billion of budget repair. Importantly, we have delivered income tax cuts for hardworking Australians on average incomes. They think a small business earning $100,000 is a big evil corporation. We think that that is the sort of organisation that should be absolutely supported. We are about growing the economy. Those opposite do not understand how to grow the economy. Their record is appalling and it is so important that they are not given the opportunity to implement their terrible policies.

Debate adjourned.