Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm not quite sure that it's a pleasure to rise to speak on this debate, but I will speak nonetheless, and I thank the proposer of this matter of public importance, Senator Gallagher, for bringing it on. We have another day of debate around demonising those who wish to try and do well and creating a little bit of the politics of envy around what's happening in this country, while at the same time just blaming the government for all of it. That sounds great in a short speech in a debate that seven people across Australia are listening to, but we really have to get out into reality and check the facts on these things.

The disappointing thing, though, after listening to Senator Ketter's contribution and the contributions to the similar debates we've had this week and last week, is that nowhere in there is there anything about nurturing aspiration, encouraging growth and trying to get people to try to do things for themselves. It's all about trying to flatten out society and to create a base—almost a socialist approach to policy—which, I have to say, is very disappointing. These token ideas that are put forward are not going to do what the opposition claim they will. There is this idea of addressing what they're calling inequality in this nation. What about dealing with things like cost-of-living pressures? What about the equal opportunity to get a job? Instead, if you take the policies of the opposition, they prefer to stifle businesses from investing and stifle them when it comes to growth and employing more Australians to actually contribute to the economy—preventing Australians from trying to put away for their future, invest, save and create a better environment for their own kids as they get older.

I point to policies in terms of job creation and helping young people get jobs, which is important in regional communities particularly—I think Senator Polley would agree—like the Youth Jobs PaTH Program, which is targeted at helping young people get jobs. It is this novel idea of trying to get people who want to work to work. I think we should be providing that opportunity for everyone. That's what programs like this are targeted at. They are real programs which will deliver real results and hopefully create employment opportunities for young people.

No-one in this chamber or anywhere across the country denies that there aren't people who are doing it tough. That's not what this is about. Everyone has to acknowledge that there are people who are doing it tough, but to conflate the issue of people doing it tough with the notion that people shouldn't be doing any better is not the right way to go about it. To suggest that people will only improve their standard of living if we bring down the top end and tax them more heavily is absolutely the wrong approach, in my view.

The Turnbull government has done a lot when it comes to assisting those in need and providing essential services through things like the NDIS and increased education funding, providing those essential services which will help people—students and those with a disability—to contribute to society. The budget that we brought down earlier this year does that. You have to look at the Tasmanian government as well. After the last three years, under the leadership of Premier Will Hodgman, the state's now heading in the right direction, with job growth of 10,000 new jobs since the 2014 state election. That's good news for our state—and I think again that Senator Polley would agree.