Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services. Will the minister update the House on how the government is working to help small and medium-sized enterprises thrive? Is the minister aware of any threats posed by alternative approaches?

Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Forrest for her question. She gets small and family enterprises because, of course, she's built one. She's built a dairy business from the ground up, and her husband is still working in that business. She knows how hard it is to work in small and family enterprises, just as those people on this side of the chamber understand that. That is why we are providing tax relief for all of those small and medium-sized and family enterprises and for 17,000 people and businesses in her electorate of Forrest.

But, regrettably, those opposite unfortunately either don't understand it or, worse, actually want to punish these small or medium-sized or family enterprises. Thanks to a crazy captain's call from the Leader of the Opposition only this week, he is going to increase their taxes. He will hike up their taxes because, of course, he has declared war on small business. He believes that they are the top end of town. Well, I have news for him. They are not the top end of town, and the people they employ are not millionaires. In fact, these businesses employ more than half of the private sector workforce. Millions and millions of Australians are employed by these businesses. But, despite this, the Leader of the Opposition stubbornly clings to his divisive antibusiness plan. He clings to this because he wants to create something in Australia that doesn't exist, and that is class warfare. This is a guy who, of course, wants to embark upon a $200 billion tax-and-grab.

Make no mistake: if he gets his way, this grand assault on the Australian economy will have devastating impact on the Australian people. It will have a devastating impact on retirees, on small businesses, on family enterprises, on women, on anybody who's actually employed and on those people who are trying to get into a job. This Leader of the Opposition is dangerous and he cannot be trusted. Whether you live in Caboolture or on Kangaroo Island, the Leader of the Opposition is punishing aspiration. He's punishing retirees. He's punishing small business.

We have people who are prepared to stand up: people like Trevor Ruthenberg, who will stand up for the people of Longman; Brett Whiteley, who will stand up for the people of Braddon; and Georgina Downer, who will stand up for the people of Mayo. The truth is we know that the Leader of the Opposition is short on judgement. He cannot be trusted. He is Unbelieva-Bill. He is unelectable and, according to the member for Grayndler, he is Disposa-Bill.

Ms Rowland interjecting—

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

I remind the member for Greenway that she's been warned. Member for Greenway, you've been warned.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Yesterday the Prime Minister visited Universal Trusses and spoke about the company in question time. Given the company is owned by the president of the Canberra Liberal Party, is the Prime Minister also planning to visit similarly independent businesses like MB Turnbull Pty Ltd, Turnbull and Partners Holdings or Turnbull and Partners Pty Ltd?

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

I thank the honourable member for his question. it says a lot about the character of the Labor Party that they are attacking a family business, a longstanding Canberra business, and they are attacking it because one of their directors is a member of the Liberal Party. Maybe they all are. And what's wrong with that? It's not an offence. It's not an offence to be a member of a political party. Do you know what? Here's the thing. We believe in free enterprise, we believe in business, we believe in family business and we believe in jobs.

Universal Trusses is a great example of a hardworking Australian family business that would be hit by the Labor Party with higher taxes were Labor to get into government. They would be in exactly the same position as so many Australian businesses recently visited by the Leader of the Opposition. Milltech Martin Bright is a steel manufacturer. Their revenue is such that they will be getting the benefit of the tax relief in this coming financial year. So will Victoria Wool Processors, the Northern Oil Refinery and Northern Oil Advanced Biofuels, and Jako Industries in Fremantle, which the Treasurer was talking about. The reality is there are hundreds of thousands of businesses across Australia that, under Labor's new captain's call assault on family business, will have their viability threatened by Labor wanting to put up their tax. It's extraordinary.

In the most competitive global environment you can imagine, this is a time when we want businesses to have a go, to invest, to employ and to be like aussieBum and export and take on the whole world with their products, be ambitious, invest and grow. We want them to do all those things. What is the message the Labor Party has for them? 'We're going to increase your tax'—that is Labor's message. Higher taxes, less investment, lower productivity, fewer jobs and lower wages—that is what the Leader of the Opposition will be traipsing around the countryside delivering, going from one business luncheon to another, walking in to applause, no doubt, from all those people delighted, so he hopes, to be enjoying what the deputy leader describes as the 'privilege' of paying higher and higher tax.

We know that Australians want to keep more of the money they earn. Australian businesses want to invest the money that they make in their businesses, and that's what they're doing. That's why we have record jobs growth, and the greatest threat to that jobs growth is sitting opposite me today.