Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister please update the House on how the government is acting to keep the Australian economy strong? How would a reckless approach to economic management put our economy at risk?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank very much the member for Petrie for his question and his commitment to economic policies that are keeping our economy strong so we can guarantee the essential services that Australians rely on. Under our government, unemployment has fallen to five per cent. There are 60,000 fewer people on unemployment today than there were at the last election. Three hundred and fifty thousand jobs were created last year and that includes 100,000 jobs for young Australians—the strongest year in youth employment growth that we've seen on economic record in this country. We've had the lowest budget deficit for 2017-18 that we've seen in a decade, and the government's plans are ensuring that the budget is coming back, projected into surplus next year, one year ahead of schedule.

What we also know is that the early read on the 2018-19 results for the September quarter shows that our position is $9 billion better off than what I was able to announce in the budget this year, which says one thing: we are on track to deliver a balanced budget next year—one year ahead of what we had originally proposed to do as a government. That means our AAA credit rating has been affirmed. In addition, from today we know that Fitch Ratings agency has also affirmed that AAA credit rating once again. These are the results of sound economic management and sound economic policies. But it is also true that there were 100,000 first home owners who got into the housing market last year. That is the best result in eight years—young people being able to buy homes; getting back into the housing market; the best we've seen in eight years and, as a share of all new credit in the housing market, the best since 2012, getting up above 18 per cent. That's what our economic policies and economic management are delivering for the Australian people.

Labor's reckless taxes and their reckless approach to electricity prices mean this: they won't take a big stick to the electricity companies, but they will take a big stick to the value of your home. That's what they will do with their reckless policies: abolish negative gearing as we know it and increase capital gains tax. They're quite happy to get the big stick out on the home owners, but, when it comes to the big stick that we say should be applied to the big electricity companies to bring them into line, they drop it; they walk away; they cower under the table. Home owners know that we've got their back. Home owners paying electricity prices know we've got their back. But, on that side of the House, we know this: they won't stand up to the big electricity companies. What they want to do is reach into the pockets of Australians, clawing back more and more tax because they do not know how to run a strong economy.