Julia Banks (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Will the minister update the House on how the government's plan for lower taxes, jobs and growth through trade and investment is helping grow the economy? Is the minister aware of any alternative plans?

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm grateful for the question, because it does highlight the fact that on this side of the House we are so absolutely committed to and focused on making sure we open up more export opportunities for Australian businesses. We've done that in a number of ways. We have opened up important markets, export markets, that are helping to power Australia's economic growth and job creation—like China, Japan, Korea and the TPP-11, which the Leader of the Opposition said was a vanity project and a waste of time, and the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, which the Leader of the Opposition called a dud deal. But we continue to open up these opportunities because we know they're good for Australia's businesses. We know the Export behaviour and business performance report showed that Australian export businesses pay their employees more and increase wages at a faster rate.

Ms Butler interjecting—

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

The member for Griffith is warned.

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Many of these export businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises—businesses like King Island Kelp, which exports to the EU and other markets, a great example in north-west Tasmania of a business that's exporting to the world, helping to drive our economy and helping to make sure that it creates jobs.

The question was: are there alternatives? Well, there are alternative approaches, because what we saw today in the captain's call from the Leader of the Opposition was a decision to abandon those small to medium-sized enterprises, a decision to walk away, despite the fact that historically this Leader of the Opposition backed it. He actually said in 2011, 'Reducing the corporate tax rate will then flow on to workers in the form of higher wages.'

Now we see a backflip on tax, but he's combining that backflip with a triple rollback—a rollback on small-business tax cuts, a rollback on personal income tax cuts and a rollback on border protection. They're going to take away income tax cuts from nine million Australians. They're going to hit 20,000 businesses, businesses that employ 1.5 million Australians, with a tax sledgehammer. But the fact is that not all are like that on the Labor side. There are one or two over there who have a different view. We have, of course, the member for Grayndler.

Opposition members interjecting—

'Who me—Albo?' 'Who me?' he says to The Sydney Morning Herald.

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

The minister will refer to members by their correct titles.

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Certainly. We know that that member has a different view. You see, he sees himself as the new Messiah of the Australian Labor Party. He wants to lead them into the Promised Land. But, like in the Life of Brian, on that side you've got the opposition frantically ringing up the backbench, saying, 'He's not the Messiah; he's just a very naughty boy,' because we can see today they're opening the gulf between the two of them. He too claims he's not the Messiah, but, like that immortal line from Monty Python, 'Only the true Messiah denies his divinity.' The fact is: we now see the splits opening up on Labor. He's going hard left and he's trying to be more centrist. (Time expired)