Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

We want every Australian, in particular low- and middle-income earners around Australia, to have the best possible opportunity to get ahead and to improve their living standards, and the best thing we can do as a government and as a parliament is to put in place the policy settings that help facilitate stronger growth and that help facilitate an environment where more and better jobs can be created so that more people across Australia have the best possible opportunity to get ahead. That is what we are doing across the whole government of public policy. That is why we are engaged in an ambitious infrastructure investment program. That is why we are engaged in an ambitious free trade agenda. That is what we are looking at how our tax system can be further improved to make it more growth friendly. That is why we got rid of all these bad Labor taxes—all of that lead that Labor put in our saddlebags in their last six years in government. We will not be distracted by Labor's sniping.