Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline to the House the right choices the government is making to secure better days ahead for all Australians? How will this budget help Australians to share in the nation's growth story?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Forde for his question. The Australian economy has achieved remarkable things in spite of tremendous headwinds. That growth, that 25 years of growth, means that children have grown up and never known a recession. That is something that every single Australian can take some pride in. Going forward what we need to ensure is that all Australians share in that growth. The world economy is growing and we will grow into that growth, because this government is positioning Australia well for that growth.

But it is important that all Australians, in regional Australia, across the suburbs—right across Australia—can share in the benefits of that growth. That is why the budget that I handed down last night does four key things. We are growing the economy with the investments that we are making, to ensure more and better paid jobs, and we are doing that with $75 billion in investment in nation-building infrastructure over the next 10 years. We are doing it by making our tax system more competitive. Already we have delivered tax cuts for small and medium-size businesses that cover more than half of the employees in the country today. On top of that, we are extending the instant asset write-off to hardworking small businesses to ensure they can continue to get ahead. We are ensuring that we are supporting companies to train Australians. We are investing in a new apprenticeships fund to be shared with the states to ensure the states and territories draw down as they train new apprentices to make sure that those Australians can get those Australian jobs as our country continues to expand.

We are guaranteeing the essential services that Australians rely on, whether it is Medicare, whether it is needs based school funding, whether it is the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Whether it is in any of these areas, these are the things that Australians rely on, and we are guaranteeing them in this budget. We are putting downward pressure on rising costs of living, because we on this side know that, when you have been struggling with weak wages growth, when you have been working against the stiff headwinds, the rising cost of living matters. That is why the energy plan of the Prime Minister, together with the Minister for the Environment and Energy and the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, is delivering more-affordable, more-secure, more-sustainable energy and putting downward pressure on rising costs of electricity prices, with our Snowy 2.0 scheme, in addition to the many other infrastructure projects we are pursuing.

In addition to that, we are putting downward pressure on the rising cost of living on housing. We are doing it not with a silver bullet strategy, which those opposite to put forward, which is a cruel hoax on the Australian people, but with a comprehensive plan that deals with everyone who slept rough last night and for everyone who is seeking to buy a home today.