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

The senator at the back there says perhaps a little bit of wages growth. Well, you know what? Wages are actually growing above inflation. If the senator on the Labor side was really interested in stronger wages growth, he would vote in favour of business tax cuts. Any sensible economist will tell you that a lower, more competitive business tax rate will boost investment, boost productivity and increase real wages over time.

Don't take my word for it. That is what former Treasury secretary Ken Henry used to say when Labor was in government. When Senator Wong was the minister for finance, she was out there campaigning for lower corporate tax rates. I've got a plethora of quotes from Senator Wong where she's singing the virtues of a lower, more competitive company tax rate. But political opportunism and the politics of envy in Bill Shorten's left-wing agenda are all designed to play into some sort of populist—