Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to our Treasurer. How is the Morrison government's well-established record of providing tax incentives and tax cuts to small family businesses, especially in my electorate of Reid, helping the Australian economy to generate more jobs for all Australians? And is our Treasurer aware of any alternative policies?

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

I thank the member for Reid for her question and acknowledge her experience in small business and also as a psychologist. There are more than 13,000 businesses in the electorate of Reid that are able to apply for and benefit from our expanded instant asset write-off, including Jada's Cafe in Five Dock, which has used the expanded instant asset write-off to get a new kitchen.

There is a fundamental difference between the values that drive the economic policies put in place by this coalition of Liberals and Nationals and the values that drive the coalition on the other side between the Labor Party and the Greens. We believe in lower taxes for families, we believe in backing small business to grow, and we believe in encouraging the individual and their enterprise. Those policies include cutting taxes for small business, and we have cut the headline company tax rate for small business down to 25 per cent, the lowest in 50 years. We've also put in place the biggest investment incentives that Australia has seen. Those incentives are driving more investment in machinery and equipment across Australia and across businesses in Reid and other electorates represented on this side of the House. Today, in the ABS payroll jobs data for the last fortnight, we have seen an increase in jobs across the country. Jobs are now 3.9 per cent higher than going into this pandemic. Jobs are now higher in every state and territory. The Australian economy is on the road to recovery.

I'm asked, 'Are there any alternative approaches?' The 12th man of Australian politics, the person who brings out the drinks, the member for Rankin, came and gave a speech last night. It was an 11-page speech about himself. He spoke about his credentials for the job. He described his experience as being unusual, if not unique. What was his biggest credential for this job? Having worked for Wayne Swan, the Treasurer.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order on direct relevance. Mr Speaker, on your first day in the chair you ruled that it was going to be in order to ask questions about alternative policies. What he's talking about now is nothing to do with policy.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Alternative policies was the question. The Treasurer has the call, and I ask the Treasurer to remain relevant to the question.

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

The member for Rankin showed us what his alternative approach was at the last election, with $387 billion of higher taxes that he was the co-architect of and that he said he was proud and pleased of. Higher taxes on superannuation, higher taxes on housing, higher taxes on your income, higher taxes on family businesses—he wants to bring them back. Only this side will deliver lower taxes for all Australians.