Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This motion presents me with a great opportunity to pay tribute to the member for Goldstein for this motion. The member for Goldstein is a great advocate for sound economic policy in this place, in his career prior to coming to this place at the Institute of Public Affairs in trade policy and in his many good works in public life. It's terrific to see him acknowledged by colleagues in this place and recently chosen as the chair of the House economics committee. The motion more broadly gives me an opportunity to speak about the government delivering on strong economic management and delivering on the plan to grow the economy, to provide jobs and to guarantee the services that Australians rely on. The motion also gives me a welcome opportunity to highlight the hypocrisy that typifies the Labor Party.

Responsible financial management is a fundamental building block of good government. It's the building block of a strong economy and of the government's investment in health, education, security, a strong safety net and all the other essential services that government provides. The coalition's proud record of strong financial management was burnished by the great example of the Howard and Costello years. John Howard and Peter Costello inherited from the Labor Party a $96 billion debt and then they left the budget with a $20 billion surplus. They left things in great shape, yet the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government blew that legacy in six short years. They set Australian federal debt levels on a trajectory tracking towards a $1 trillion debt level.

The global financial crisis provided an excuse for Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard to unleash an unprecedented period of rapid growth in government spending. This led to successive budget deficits and mounting public debt which didn't slow down post-GFC. The shortfall between spending and taxing wasn't the only issue. It was also the initiatives Labor's policies produced. They produced wasteful programs like the school halls and the pink batts that tragically caused the deaths of young lives. Labor gave us the carbon tax and the mining tax, which were handbrakes on the economy.

Since 2013, our government has worked diligently to bring the federal spending under control and to balance the budget. That's why Australians have welcomed our government's policy efforts over the past five years to combat budget blowouts and to reduce the deficit left behind by a government addicted to spending.

Our budget management credentials are strong. We've created more than a million jobs since coming to office. Last year, we created over a thousand jobs every single day. Our government delivered over 400,000 jobs in 2017, the highest number of any year on record. The new level of jobs created over the last 12 months represents around four times the jobs growth that occurred in the last year of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government. We've halved the deficit. We've introduced a tax-to-GDP cap of 23.9 per cent. We have the lowest average real growth in spending of any government in more than 50 years, legislated through $40 billion worth of savings. We have the lowest welfare dependency in 25 years, with only 15 per cent of the working-age population on welfare, and that is a great human dividend. We've cracked down on tax avoidance both by multinationals and by tax avoidance through the black economy. And through sustainable budget management, for the first time in a decade next year, the government will no longer be borrowing to pay for everyday expenses.

The challenge of government isn't just to develop great policy ideas; the challenge is to develop affordable policy ideas that advance our country, that deliver opportunity, that offer Australians the freedom to pursue their own prosperity and that don't saddle future generations with insurmountable debt. The results of our hard work are paying off. Our strong budget measures mean that our government can assist small and medium businesses—they're the workhorses of the Australian economy—by providing tax cuts for small and medium businesses.

This week, we've announced we're bringing forward tax relief for small and family businesses with a turnover of up to $50 million annually. These businesses will pay a 25 per cent tax rate five years earlier than originally forecast, leaving them money for investment and job creation. Our strong budget management also meant that we could legislate personal income tax for lower- and medium-income earners, giving back Australians more of their money—putting it in their pockets to spend on the things that matter to them.

Our government's strong and enduring record stands, as always, in high contrast to that of those opposite. Not only did Labor rack up a massive debt over six years in office but they haven't learnt their lesson. Labor promises the world but doesn't deliver. They don't deliver any concrete ways of paying for their expenditure. Just like they increased taxes for Gonski and the NDIS, they now have plans for $200 billion worth of new taxes on hardworking families, medium and small businesses, retirees and farmers. They endanger the Australian economy. We cannot afford the Labor Party.

Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I had to laugh when I read this motion moved by the member for Berowra, because it's factually incorrect. This government hasn't been legislating tougher measures against multinational tax avoidance. The government have said that the opposition is opposed to their multinational anti-avoidance legislation in parliament when we actually voted for it. So the motion contains factual inaccuracies, and if this is the sort of stuff that they're going to come in here and move then it is no wonder the economy is in the mess that it's in.

The member for Berowra said that they'd inherited all this debt from the Labor Party—well, they've doubled that! They've doubled the amount of debt that we have in this country, sending it almost through the half-a-trillion dollar mark. When it comes to closing multinational tax-avoidance loopholes, we all know what this government's record is like because they voted to keep them open in 2013. When Labor was proposing a wave of tax loophole changes into our tax system, changes introduced by former Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury, the coalition voted against them. They voted to keep those tax loopholes open. And who could forget, in 2015, when the current Prime Minister tried to claim credit for a $300 million tax judgement against Chevron that relied on laws that he and his colleagues voted against. We had the former Treasurer claiming, 'We've won this great case against Chevron,' despite the fact that he actually voted against the laws that enabled the government to win that tax judgement against Chevron.

When it comes to tax transparency, the coalition voted against transparency laws when they were in opposition and then when they got to government in 2015 they actually watered them down. It was the great occasion when this government teamed up with the Greens in the Senate—that's right, they got into bed with the Greens in the Senate—and reduced the number of companies in Australia that are subject to tax transparency laws or, in other words, having to disclose on an annual basis the amount of tax that they actually pay to the government through their private entities. Two-thirds of those firms that were previously included in that legislation when Labor established it were then exempted by this government's actions in 2015.

We've seen the Liberals again and again oppose Labor's sensible measures to close tax loopholes. It's only Labor that has really been serious in the last decade about closing down those tax havens. Only Labor will make firms doing business in tax havens disclose to shareholders and significant tenderers their country of domicile. Labor will also require country-by-country reporting and will work with superannuation firms to make sure that they develop guidelines for tax haven investments.

We've seen that phoenixing has become a massive issue, where dodgy directors deliberately burn companies in an attempt to avoid their obligations to employees, taxpayers and honest businesses. It affects many in our community, ruining innocent people's lives and livelihoods. Illegal phoenixing activity costs billions of dollars to our economy annually. Yet just last month, more than a year after promising action, the government was finally dragged kicking and screaming to provide a time line for legislating to tackle dodgy phoenixing activity. Director identification numbers have been cited as the single most effective measure to crack down on illegal phoenixing activity. This is something that Labor has been advocating for years, and it is only just recently that the government has agreed to look at this. After ruling out the use of biometrics, after multiple court reports of dodgy directors burning innocent people and after billions of dollars being drained from the tax system, the coalition has finally decided to do something. It shouldn't have taken so long, especially considering that the government was briefed on this issue about three years ago.

This government have really given up on governing when it comes to tackling multinational tax avoidance. They've voted with the Greens in the Senate to reduce transparency. They voted against Labor's sensible tax transparency measures. They voted against closing multinational loopholes. And they've delayed the introduction of director identification numbers, which would ensure that we can crack down on phoenixing activity. When it comes to talking about tax transparency, only one party in this parliament has the runs on the board—and that is the Labor Party.

Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, hear, hear, to the member for Kingsford Smith! I too rise today to oppose the member for Goldstein's misleading and erroneous motion. In his motion, the member for Goldstein somehow seems to forget his own government's abysmal economic track record. This is a government that has somehow managed to cut essential service after essential service while simultaneously forcing our nation's debt to a record high. Just last month, Australia's gross debt level surpassed half a trillion dollars—almost doubling what it was when the Liberals first took office.

And things aren't getting any better for average Australians; in fact, many people in my community are feeling a lot worse. I note that the member for Goldstein wants the government to live within its means. While even failing at that, these words also recognise his narrow view of the Australian economy. While ensuring that the government lives within its means is important, it is vital to ensure that working people have the means by which to live. Short-sighted measures by this government—like slashing penalty rates of thousands of Australians—do nothing but make things worse for people and the economy at large.

Despite having countless self-proclaimed would-be leaders amongst its ranks, this government has yet to show one shred of leadership in any of its five years. Contrary to the member for Goldstein's implication, this government has never had a true plan—as his motion states—'to support Australians in getting off welfare and into work'. This government has done nothing but demonise vulnerable groups in our society. The LNP has had five years to get its act together, but we are still waiting.

But Labor is showing leadership. Even from opposition, Labor is doing the hard work. Labor members all around Australia have been consulting with their communities, with workers, with those who are seeking to find work and with those who have since retired from work. We have been consulting with businesses, community groups and those groups that are holding up parts of our community that need a hand and picking up the pieces when things go wrong. We are supporting and consulting with those who are studying, and we are consulting with families.

We've been listening and we've been able to use what we've heard to identify what it is that Australians really want, and that is fairness. That's what it boils down to. What Australians want is a fair go. They're sick of a government protecting the big end of town, millionaires, multinationals and big banks. They want a government that will stand up for fairness for regular Australians. A Shorten Labor government will achieve just that by demonstrating the leadership that Australia has been so sorely lacking for the last five years. We will do that with a fair-go action plan. This isn't one of those Liberal three-word slogans; this is a detailed suite of policies that will deliver a fair go to Australia.

The member for Goldstein's ridiculous assertion that Labor lacks a plan couldn't be further from the truth. We want our kids to be able to find work, so we're going to skill them up. We know that young Australians with a great education have a far better chance of finding work, so Labor is funding education from preschool all the way through to older Australians who are looking to retrain. While the Liberals have tried their hand at cutting vital funds from every sort of Australian, Labor is investing in schools, in universities and in TAFE. We're making sure that every Australian, regardless of where they live or what their bank balance is or what school they choose to go to, has the opportunity to get the qualifications which will help them land a decent job.

I think it's about time that ordinary Australians got a fair go; that Australians had a government that stood up for each and every one of them instead of just for the top end of town. I think it's about time that Australians had a compassionate government with vision. I think it's about time that they had a government that had a plan in mind, and a plan to get there. I think it's about time that Australia had a Shorten Labor government, whose fair-go action plan will bring back some of that much needed fairness for those who need it most. (Time expired)

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

It's been interesting listening to the last two speakers from those opposite. As usual, they have nothing positive or constructive to offer and their contributions are based on a litany of mistruths. But we're used to that from those opposite, as we proceed through this electoral term.

Just for the record, for those opposite in case they haven't been listening—which wouldn't surprise me the least bit—we have in fact delivered record amounts of funding to education and to health. I can tell you from going around the schools across my electorate of Forde, both non-government and government schools, that they are more than happy with the funding that they are receiving because it's allowing them to provide a wide range of additional services to students in those schools. Some of those schools are in very low socio-economic areas, and the schools have used those funds extraordinarily wisely for a range of programs to help students be the best that they can be.

Importantly, we're bringing the budget back into balance, if not into surplus, sooner than was expected. If you saw the recent budget update, the figures are substantially better than what was initially projected in the budget six months ago. Importantly, we've delivered for our small and medium businesses in this country; those with a turnover of less than $50 million. We've delivered the first tranche of income tax cuts for those businesses that employ the majority of Australians—hardworking mums and dads who put their lives on the line and their family assets on the line every single day to employ Australians in a wide range of businesses.

Across my electorate, some 15,000 small-to-medium businesses have benefited from those tax cuts. Not only have they benefited from those tax cuts but they've also benefited from the instant asset write-off. I was at Beaurepaires in Beenleigh last week with the minister for small and family business, Michaelia Cash, and Ronnie was explaining to me that, through the instant asset write-off, he was able to purchase a new air compressor for his business. That new air compressor takes up a quarter of the space the old air compressor did but, most importantly, that new air compressor has reduced his electricity bills by 25 per cent. The practical steps that this government is taking demonstrate the practical assistance that we are providing to our small-to-medium business sector. That gives Ronnie the opportunity to continue to build and grow his business. Not only is the instant asset write-off helping him employ local people but it's making his business more efficient, and it's one of the leading Beaurepaires franchises in the country.

Equally, and most importantly, with a strong economy, we've seen record jobs growth over the past few years. There is nothing more important for Australians than having a job. The best form of welfare is for Australians to have a job that is meaningful and purposeful so that they want to get up in the morning and go and work. It gives them the opportunity to provide for their family, create wealth and contribute to our communities in a far more positive manner than they otherwise could. We know that the studies show that the benefits of a rewarding, fulfilling job are enormous. And when they're involved in work, people tend to get more involved in community activities and service clubs because they have the opportunity and financial resources to do so. Importantly, they demonstrate to their children the value of working. As we see in some of my communities where we do have multigenerational welfare, if we can get people off welfare and into a meaningful, productive job that will set up the next generations of our community for the future. But all we've heard about from those opposite—and we know what they're going to do—is $200 million of new taxes to strangle our economy and destroy those jobs. (Time expired)

Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is certainly an interesting motion, to say the very least. To think that this government would consider that it is living within its means when debt and deficit have gone through the roof under their watch! Labor's record in managing money is a good record. As a nation, we really need to recognise our wealth as we truly are a very lucky country. Australia has experienced uninterrupted economic growth for a record 27 years, and we can thank one of the greatest prime ministers and treasurers that this nation has ever had, the Hon. Paul Keating, for Australia's economic growth. There are only two countries in the developed world to achieve this record, and Australia is one of them. This is a remarkable achievement.

Last month marked the 10th anniversary of the global financial crisis. The global financial crisis was a result of the financial mistakes of other countries, and the cost to Australia could have been considerable. With US$691 billion in assets—nearly $1 trillion Australian at current exchange rates—and 25,000 employees worldwide, Lehman Brothers remains the biggest corporate collapse in American history. This financial crisis was catastrophic and resulted in hundreds of thousands of people internationally losing their jobs. International debt increased overnight into the billions and eventually, for America, into the trillions. People lost their homes and their assets, but this did not happen in Australia, and this can be attributed to my Labor colleague and former Treasurer Wayne Swan, who ensured that Australia's economy did not crash like America's, the United Kingdom's and those of so many other countries. Instead, Australia's economic growth continued to prosper under former Treasurer Wayne Swan's stimulus package, and Australia was one of just four developed countries—along with Israel, Poland and South Korea—that avoided a recession in 2009.

Let's compare and contrast that with the current LNP government. Australia now has a Prime Minister who is the immediate former Treasurer, whose priorities were tax cuts for big business and the banks. Labor has been saying for quite some time that this LNP government's priorities are just plain wrong and unfair. This government's trickle-down economic policy is seriously flawed and simply does not work. There can be no better reference than the former Howard government's Treasurer, Peter Costello, who said just last week that this government's economic policy is 'weird'. There's a consistent lack of inconsistency—namely, through a rolling farce of budget rules, or lack of them, over the last few weeks. Last week, the government announced a tax plan—not fully offset—saying it would simply be paid from economic growth and the surplus. This is a clear breach of the government's own budget rules. Let me explain this to those opposite who may have suffered a memory lapse. Budget Paper No. 1 from this year's budget, on page 3-7, states:

Unlike the government, Labor will ensure that we deliver those tax cuts for small and medium businesses in a fiscally responsible way, the same fiscally responsible way that will allow us to properly invest $14 billion for government schools and make proper investments in health, universities and TAFE and invest $1.75 billion for preschools.

We will fund all of these because our priorities are and always have been clear. We will deliver better and fairer tax reform. We won't prioritise hardworking Australian's tax dollars to big business and the banks—that's the LNP government's priority and it would have passed if it weren't for Labor's lobbying efforts in the Senate. This country needs and deserves fairer tax reforms. Labor's economic history is clear and our future plan even clearer. We won't be lectured to by this government on fiscal discipline when they have so clearly given up or completely lost their way.

Let me finish by saying that in my electorate of Herbert unemployment is high both in the general and youth populations. If this government truly believed that a job is the best form of welfare, it would fund vital infrastructure projects that would create local jobs in my electorate; it would match Labor's $100 million for stage 2 of the Burdekin pipeline; and it would match Labor's commitment of $200 million for energy infrastructure. These infrastructure projects will actually fund local jobs, create opportunities for young people in my community to get apprenticeships and address the fact that we have very high unemployment.

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wasn't planning on speaking today, but the member for Herbert has impressed upon me the need to refute some of the pretty laughable claims she made. She said Labor's history is clear, and I would entirely agree with that. Labor's history is very clear on the economy and budget mismanagement. When we inherited government we had a worsening budget position, a slowing economy and rising unemployment. That is Labor's legacy. That is Labor's history. We now hear the Labor Party being very interested in budget rules. The only budget rule we know from the Labor Party is that whatever they promised they broke. If they promised surpluses they delivered deficits. If they promised deficits they delivered even bigger deficits. Who could ever forget then Treasurer Swan when he stood up—with more front than Myer, quite frankly—and said, 'Tonight, I'm announcing four budget surpluses.' How many budget surpluses did Treasurer Wayne Swan ever deliver? Zero. He delivered no budget surpluses. Now, after five years of hard graft, five years of difficult work and five years with an unprincipled opposition in the Senate that has sought to frustrate and block every key economic reform, we are in a position where we've got the fastest-growing economy of comparable countries, an unemployment rate that most other comparable jurisdictions would absolutely die for and a budget that is coming back to surplus a year earlier than expected—on time and as delivered, but actually beating it by a year.

This is the absolute contrast between this government and the government whose track record—according to the member for Herbert—is so clear. The former Treasurer, now Prime Minister Morrison, was very different to any Labor Treasurer we saw, whether it was Wayne Swan or the very lamentable period when Chris Bowen was Treasurer, in the latter days of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government. Every, single target that Treasurer Morrison set, he either met or exceeded. In every single budget and every single MYEFO not only did we meet the target that had been set down previously; we beat it. That doesn't happen by accident. Labor thinks all of these things happen by accident.

Bill Shorten and Chris Bowen have been running around our country talking about the millionaires and billionaires—the so-called millionaires and billionaires that they were going to go after. And what do we see on the eve of the next election? We see Labor's biggest, single new tax. The biggest, single new tax that the Labor Party is proposing is the retirees' tax, which will hit 1.4 million Australians. People on fixed incomes and some people earning well below $30,000 a year who might lose up to 30 per cent of their income will contribute the most to the $200 billion or thereabouts—$200 billion and growing—of additional taxes. So here we have the Labor Party and Bill Shorten running around all hairy-chested about going after the millionaires and the billionaires, and who's he going after? He's going after nanna. That's who he's going after. It's absolutely outrageous.

The other group they've been going after—although they've had a latter-day conversion, thankfully—is small business. We've heard Bill Shorten and Chris Bowen talking endlessly about the Apples and the Googles of the world. The message to the Labor Party has been that Australian businesses with a turnover of more than $2 million—a turnover of more than $10 million, indeed—are not Apples and Googles; they are small businesses who might employ a handful of staff. They might be a small manufacturer in horticulture or farming. These are not Apples and Googles undeserving of reduced taxes. They are absolutely deserving of it.

The member for Herbert goaded me into making this contribution, because I couldn't believe what I was hearing from her on Labor's track record. The Labor Party now clutching at budget rules as being some kind of stick to whack the government with is quite laughable.

Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.