Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on the Morrison government's stable and certain budget management and record jobs growth? Is the Treasurer aware of any threats to Australians getting ahead?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Longman for his question and note his strong commitment to small business, having worked extensively in that sector, and the fact that in his electorate more than 60,000 taxpayers will get a tax cut as a result of the tax package that passed the parliament with the support of this side of the House. And more than 13,000 small businesses will be able to access the extended instant asset write-off which we announced in the budget of this year.

The Australian economy is in its 29th consecutive year of economic growth. We face some major challenges, with the drought domestically and the global trade tensions which are like a dark cloud over the global economy. But we have maintained our AAA credit rating, we have brought welfare dependency down to a 30-year low and we have delivered the first balanced budget in 11 years. We have a balanced budget and will have a surplus budget in 2019-20, which will help build the resilience of the Australian economy, so that it gives us the fiscal flexibility to respond to external shocks whenever they may occur.

But the reason why our economy and our budget have remained strong is because of the employment growth, with over 300,000 jobs being created over the last year—a record number of Australians who are in work; a record number of women who are in work. Over the last three years, every single month, we have seen jobs growth. That is the first time that has occurred in recorded history, in terms of the Australian economy. Today there was a NAB small business survey—which looks at the business conditions for small business—which showed the biggest jump in small business conditions since 2013, for the September quarter.

I'm asked, 'Are there any alternative approaches?'

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Members on my left!

Dr Chalmers interjecting—

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Rankin—who, we know, likes to tax a lot—sits by and smiles, when Labor still has on its books $387 billion of higher taxes, and housing and retirees taxes, which he said he was proud of and pleased with! The Labor Party have often described small business as 'the top end of town'—the member for Rankin was the worst offender: more than 300 times—and we know they've described retirees as receiving 'welfare for the wealthy'. Well, the reality is: when the member for McMahon asked the people of Australia to vote against the Labor Party if they didn't like these policies, they took it literally!

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Is the real reason that the Treasurer always bangs on endlessly about Labor that he wants to distract Australians from the fact that he has presided over higher household debt and government debt than any other Treasurer in the history of this country?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are not going to take a lecture from a Labor Party that delivered $240 billion of accumulated deficits. Mr Speaker, do you remember the four budget surpluses that the then member for Lilley, Wayne Swan, announced? Guess who wrote the speech? The member for Rankin—who, we know, likes to tax a lot.

The reality is: we are paying back Labor's debt, and we are doing that by growing the economy. What we will never do is: we will never whack the Australian people with $387 billion of higher taxes.