Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a great privilege to be able to stand today to sum up what the week looked like. Earlier on in the day there was a Q&A that one of our little local papers, the Gatton Star, sent out to some people around the electorate. They were asking questions like, 'What are some of the things that you've achieved?' and, 'What's it like to be a politician?' One of my answers was, 'It's a great honour to be a federal politician and to be able to influence the direction of the country.' Today was evidence of that. Today, 63,095 workers in my electorate are better off as a result of the biggest tax cuts that this country has seen in generations. You can go home and know that you're making a difference.

We'll have the argy-bargy in here of, 'My tax cuts are bigger than yours,' or, 'You should have done more.' Just stop and have a look at what we have achieved in a hostile Senate environment. Credit to those who negotiated, with the complexities of the crossbenchers in the Senate, to get these measures through. Basically, what we did was to lower the tax rate, which addresses bracket creep for the country. We lowered the tax rates for every Australian that was aspiring to move up into the next tax bracket. Now, everyone pays the same rate of tax: 32 per cent. Now they can take an extra shift without being penalised. If their gross wage was hovering just underneath the next bracket, there was no incentive. In fact, sometimes, under the current regime, they were financially worse off if they took those shifts, because they'd sneak up into the next bracket. That's what we refer to as bracket creep.

Our plan creates winners. Unlike those on the other side, who advocated for class warfare, we stood up and made sure that our teachers, our policemen, our nurses and those making contributions to our community are better off. Those on the other side refer to those workers as the top end of town. Well, they're not the top end of town. They're the fabric of my community. I opened up with my comments about influencing the direction of the country; they influence the direction of our communities through what they do on a daily basis. I'm proud to go back into my community and hail from the loudest speakers that everyone in my community will be better off.

Our message is not going to be complicated when we go to an election: jobs and growth. We believe in smaller government and we believe in smaller taxes. Those on the other side have a different philosophy: larger taxes. If you're a pensioner, Labor is coming for you. If you're a self-funded superannuation retiree, Labor is coming for you. If you've got a rental home, if you have aspiration, Labor is not your friend.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a load of rubbish!

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There's an interjection saying that it's a load of rubbish. We will take this to an election.

When we come back next week, we're going to be debating company tax rates. Those on the other side talk as if it's a foregone conclusion. The biggest tax cuts in history are what we've delivered today, and I'll get it on the record every day between now and the election. When we come back next week we're going to have a chat about company tax rates. We're going to talk about the flight of international capital and how fluid it is. If we don't move in that space, if we don't remain competitive internationally, by the year 2022 there will only be one nation in the OECD countries which has a higher company tax rate than us, and that will be Portugal.

We need to be competitive. We need to follow the world markets. We need to follow the UK's downward trajectory on company tax. We need to follow America's downward trajectory on company tax. Singapore is already there. Those nations that we trade with—they're outsmarting us on lower company tax rates. That all feeds back into—

Mr Brendan O'Connor interjecting—

You reckon that's rubbish as well? There you go. The other thing we're going to take to an election is truth and honesty and who you can trust at the next election. What you won't get from this government is saying one thing in one electorate and then going to another and saying exactly the opposite just to appease—Labor threw three Queensland seats under the bus. (Time expired)

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

It being 5 pm, the House stands adjourned.

House adjourned at 17 : 00

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Vamvakinou ) took the chair at 10:26.