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

My question is to the Prime Minister, and I refer to the Prime Minister's previous answer. The budget numbers presume the government's big business tax cut will be legislated in full. Do the numbers in the budget also presume the Prime Minister's secret deal with Senator Pauline Hanson on his corporate tax cuts will also be implemented in full?

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

I refer the honourable member to my earlier answers. The budget delivers more money from the hardworking efforts of Australians that they can keep. They can keep more of what they earn. The Labor Party calls that a gift. The Labor Party calls it a giveaway. Well, it's not. What we're doing in the budget is ensuring that Australians can keep more of the money they've earned, and the benefit goes to those on lower and middle incomes, and then, over seven years, that big personal income tax reform will ensure that 94 per cent of Australians pay no more than 32½c for any additional dollar they earn. That is a plan to reform the tax system, and it's a good plan. It's one that will reduce the barriers and the disincentives to hard work, aspirations and getting ahead. It's one that encourages Australians to do more of what they have been doing over the last 4½ years to create the jobs that we have seen. Over one million jobs—1,013,600 jobs—is the record jobs growth that we've seen, and it is because our economic plan is working.

The budget also shows that we're bringing the budget back into balance. We're living within our means. It also shows that, contrary to the lies we see put out by the Labor Party every day, we are spending more on health, hospitals and schools. We know we have a by-election coming up in the seat of Longman. The Labor Party has a truck going around Longman claiming that funding is being reduced for the hospitals in Longman. That is completely untrue. It is a lie, an absolute lie. There will be more funding every year going into Queensland hospitals and, under the new five-year hospital deal, well over $7 million of additional funding for Queensland public hospitals, an increase of 34 per cent.

The Labor Party does not yet realise that you cannot make a lie into a fact by repeating it again and again. Their lies will not wash, because the Australian people know the budget is delivering and our economic plan is delivering, and that's proved by the strong record growth in jobs.