Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question goes to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer please—

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

Mr Dutton interjecting—

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

I ask the member for Fairfax to resume his seat. The member for Isaacs and the Minister for Home Affairs will cease their interchange. I can't hear the question. The member for Fairfax will begin his question again.

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. My question goes to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer please update the House on how the Morrison government is maintaining the resilience of the Australian economy in the face of some challenging economic circumstances? And, also, is the Treasurer aware of any alternative approaches which may undermine the strength of our economy?

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

I thank the member for Fairfax for his question and note his extensive experience in business before coming to this place and the fact that, in his electorate, more than 20,000 small businesses will be able to access the extended instant asset write-off announced in last year's budget and will get a tax cut from 1 July this year. We know that the Australian economy has faced a number of economic shocks that are outside of our control: the trade tensions between China and the United States, the drought, the bushfires, the floods and, most recently, the coronavirus. When I was recently at the G20 meeting in Riyadh, the impact of the coronavirus was the most significant topic for discussion. We know that it's affecting the global economy, with the IMF saying that economic growth will be down by about 0.1 of a percentage point this year, in 2020.

Here in Australia we've seen an impact as well—on agriculture, on tourism, on international students and in disruption to end-to-end supply chains across the economy. But our economy is resilient. The economic discipline that we have undertaken over the last six-and-a-bit years has put Australia in a strong place to weather these economic shocks. Unemployment today is lower than when we came to government. We've delivered the first balanced budget in 11 years and the biggest tax cuts in more than 20 years, and that is putting Australia in as strong a position as any other country to weather these economic shocks.

But I'm asked: are there any alternative approaches? There's a very innovative approach from the member for Rankin, who likes to tax a lot. His very innovative approach, which he gave when he was burnishing his leadership credentials the other day at The Australia Institute, is to deliver a 'wellbeing budget'. Gone are the days of measuring GDP. Gone are the days of measuring unemployment. Gone are the days of lower taxes and balanced budgets. What are you going to get from the member for Rankin's wellbeing budget? Double the hugs and triple the taxes. When Labor haven't delivered a balanced budget since 1989, when the Berlin Wall was still standing, of course they're going to look for something else to measure. We know the member for Rankin, with the member for McMahon, was co-architect of the $387 billion of higher taxes. Only the coalition can be trusted to create a stronger economy and more jobs.

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

My question is to the Treasurer and refers to his earlier answer. Why won't the Treasurer admit that, since he took over, economic growth has almost halved, wages growth has stalled, consumption growth has weakened, business investment and productivity have declined, underemployment has increased and government debt and household debt have reached new record highs, and that all of this happened before the fires and the coronavirus hit?

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

Where's the member for Rankin when you need a hug in this place! Where is the member for Rankin now? The member for Rankin mentioned unemployment. These are the facts. When Labor was last in office, unemployment was 5.7 per cent.

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

The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order. The Treasurer will resume his seat. Just before I call the Leader of the Opposition—members on my right!—I'm going to say to the Leader of the Opposition: the Treasurer is 21 seconds into his answer; I'm happy to hear a point of order, but I remind him that only one point of order can be taken on relevance. It is quite extraordinary that he's only 21 seconds in.

Mr Albanese interjecting—

That's alright. You wrote the standing order. I thought you might've remembered it. The Treasurer has the call.

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

If I was each way, I'd be watching my back right there, because the member for Rankin is gathering the kitchen utensils. The question referred to employment growth and unemployment. Unemployment was 5.7 per cent when Labor was in office; today it is 5.3. When Labor was in office, employment growth was just 0.7 per cent; today it is 1.9 per cent. Investment was referred to by the member for Rankin. Under Labor, non-mining investment was in freefall, falling 10 per cent over their six years in government; there's been growth of over 30 per cent since we came to government. Under the last year of Labor, 62,000 small businesses shut their doors, whereas—

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

The Treasurer will resume his seat. The member for Hindmarsh, on a point of order.

Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We're well into the second minute; it is on relevance. The question was clearly restricted to the time during which the member has been the Treasurer of this country, not any previous period.

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

I'd just say to the Treasurer that is a reasonable point. He is entitled to compare and contrast, which he has done. But there was another problem with the question that I'm happy to point out now, which is that, when it begins with 'why won't you admit', it does kind of leave things wide open. But the Treasurer needs to come back to the question.

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

I can inform the House that in January of this year—while I've been the Treasurer, Mr Speaker—the IMF said that Australia's economic growth in 2020 and 2021 will be higher than the United States', higher than the United Kingdom's, higher than France's, higher than Germany's, higher than Japan's and higher than Canada's. The facts tell the story that the Australian economy has grown on the coalition's watch. More small businesses have been created, more people have found jobs and, importantly, we have delivered lower taxes. More than $300 million of lower taxes have passed through the parliament. Only the coalition can be trusted to deliver a stronger economy and more jobs.