James Paterson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

There is only one side of Australian politics that is obsessed with the economic policies of pre-1989 Eastern Europe, and that is those who are trying to introduce the policies of pre-1989 Eastern Europe. The Greens have long aspired to retrofit our dynamic, modern economy with outdated command and control economic policies. Senator Rhiannon, as we know, is a particular fan. But the most disturbing new development in Australian politics today is that the Labor Party is now copying them. Clearly inspired by the so-called success of ageing socialists like Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn, who want to turn the economic clock back to a centralised, interventionist past, the Labor Party is embracing reckless, dangerous, economic populism.

It is not obsessive to warn the Australian people about the disastrous consequences of going down the socialist path—it is prudent. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann put it well recently when he said:

Pursuing the socialist ideal of equality of outcome leads to mediocrity and stagnation.

I was born in 1987. I'm 29 years old. My generation is blessed in many ways. One of those blessings is that, unlike our parents and grandparents, we've never lived under the shadow of socialism. We've lived in an era of unprecedented prosperity and growth. Many of us don't even remember the last recession in Australia, let alone the old totalitarian regimes and the devastating damage they did to humanity. But it is my generation who has the most to lose from a return to policies inspired by these socialist ideals.

A common myth about socialism is that it is bad for rich people and good for poor people. It's often not the case. People who have already accumulated wealth typically retain it, even when economies take a turn to the left. Once you've built your wealth, new regulation and taxes are certainly undesirable but, short of confiscation, you'll probably be okay. It's the people who don't yet have wealth who suffer the most. It is their aspiration to build wealth for themselves and their family that is most affected by socialist policies. Overwhelmingly, the people who will lose out from a shift to the left are the young. We don't yet own houses. We might still have a HECS debt to pay back. Our super balances are pretty meagre. We don't have extensive shareholdings. I should be clear: I am not talking about myself here—I'm a highly paid politician; no-one needs to lose too much sleep over me—but I do genuinely worry about the prospects for my generation if the Labor Party continues down the path it is on.

History teaches us where that path leads. Higher taxes stifle aspiration, and that's exactly what Bill Shorten has in store for Australia. We know that, if elected Prime Minister, he has a plan to increase taxes by more than $150 billion—$65 billion in higher taxes on all businesses, including small business; $15 billion in a further hit to small business by going after trusts; $32 billion in higher taxes on housing by scrapping negative gearing; $13 billion in higher taxes on savings and investment by increasing the capital gains tax; $22 billion in higher income taxes to discourage hard work and risk-taking; and $20 billion in secret further changes to raise more money from superannuation.

No-one will be harder hit by these policies than young, aspirational Australians. Higher taxes on business will make it harder for my generation to get and keep a job. Higher taxes on housing will make it less widely available and less affordable, not more. Higher taxes on savings will make it harder for young people to put money aside for their future. Higher taxes on income will dampen the entrepreneurial spirit of young people and discourage them from working harder and taking risks. Higher taxes on superannuation will only make it more difficult to save for a secure retirement. These plans are a recipe for economic stagnation and decay. Young people who are just starting out financially will bear the brunt of that burden. If these taxes are put in place, they will have fewer opportunities to get ahead and succeed.

Sadly, as we know, higher taxes are not the only thing Bill Shorten has in store for young Australians. He also wants to saddle them with even more debt. Our debt problem is bad enough already. Despite the best efforts of this government—not at all helped by the Labor Party in this chamber—gross government debt now exceeds $500 billion. That's more than $21,000 for every man, woman and child in Australia. And we know that if this generation doesn't fix that problem now, it is future generations who will have to shoulder that load. Incredibly, Bill Shorten wants to make this serious problem even worse. His plan for higher taxes is outweighed by his plans for higher spending. That means more debt—more debt that young Australians will ultimately have to pay back.

Labor senators in these debates like to talk about their supposed concern about inequality and fairness, but here's nothing less equal or fair than saddling future generations with our debt. Yet that is their plan. The Labor Party might not like it, but there's no doubt these policies are inspired by socialist thinking. If that's what motivates them, they should be honest about it. If it isn't, then it's time they abandoned these policies and updated their constitution, which, in 2017, is still, remarkably, promising. It says:

… the democratic socialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange …

and proudly calls the ALP a 'democratic socialist party'.

The contrast with this government could not be clearer. We are motivated by free enterprise and economic freedom. We believe in individual liberty and reward for effort. We don't want to increase taxes; we want to cut them. We don't want to increase debt; we want to reduce it. We want to do these things because we know that it will provide the best opportunities for Australians to get ahead and succeed. We want young people to be ambitious for their future and we want the government to get out of the way so that they can seize it.

The strong economic results we have seen today are the dividends of our responsible approach to economic policy. On this path, Australia has a bright future. The socialist panacea risks all this. It poses a serious risk to our future, and it is young people who have the most to lose. That's why we will never stop highlighting the dangerous and irresponsible economic policies that the Labor Party offers. We'll stop talking about pre-1989 Eastern European policies on the day that you stop advocating them.