Fraser Anning (Queensland, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Acting Deputy President, this is not my first speech. I rise to speak on today's matter of public importance and the need for the Australian parliament to provide significant and meaningful tax relief to Australian businesses.

An immediate cut to the company tax rate is essential in the interests of boosting jobs and investment and Australia's international competitiveness, and yet there is resistance. The opposition have not always been so short-sighted. Those of us who are old enough can remember the Hawke and Keating era of relatively business-friendly, responsible Labor government. However, an enthusiastic revival of the antibusiness policies and collectivist sentiments of the Whitlam era has seen Labor devolve to the harebrained business-wrecking approach previously cast aside. We have seen unnecessary opposition to reasonable policies that will result in benefits for all Australians.

Economic history remembers that in a not-so-distant past, meaningful cuts by none other than Labor themselves resulted in company tax rates tumbling from 49 per cent to 33 per cent. Australians reaped the benefits of those tax cuts, seeing, in conjunction with a number of factors, a marked increase in GDP from the late eighties. In 2010 Gillard promised to cut company tax rates, with the then Treasurer, Wayne Swan, saying:

Reducing company tax will create new jobs and grow the economy right around the country …

At the time, Mr Swan also stated that he was open to a reduction in the rates from the current 30 per cent to 25 per cent, exactly what we see being proposed today. Mr Shorten himself has previously criticised the Greens for their opposition to similar so-called big business tax cuts proposed by Labor.

Why has Labor abandoned this responsible approach? Maybe the idea of hypocrisy is lost on those opposite, because they now argue that the company tax cuts are unaffordable and that the whole concept is ridiculous. They have called it wasteful and flawed, and labelled it as trickle-down economics and a giveaway that will have negligible effect on job creation. I have to say I am deeply disappointed in the Labor Party for taking such a cynical position. The argument previously used by successive Labor governments to support tax cuts in the eighties, nineties and 2000 applies equally today. A reduction in the corporate tax rate will grow the economy, and the benefit to GDP is at least one per cent after the budget cuts are included. It will total many billions of dollars.

Outside Australia what we have seen since 2000 is a global downward trend in company tax rates which continues to widen the gap between Australia and many other countries. Yet successive governments haven't implemented any meaningful cuts. Our current rate of 30 per cent is amongst some of the highest rates around the globe. It is uncompetitive, plain and simple. It's higher than the OECD average, higher than the Asian average, higher even than the European average and, surprisingly, higher than the 'socialist union' average—excuse me—the European Union average.

What we need in this place is for those opposite to support meaningful tax relief for Australian businesses. The cut to the corporate tax rate similar to the US will see an increase in Australian competitiveness on the global stage and flow-on benefits to businesses and workers in equal measure. Lockheed Martin, the world's largest defence contractor, is earmarking for its pension program some of its exceptional expected windfall as a result of President Trump's tax cuts. The company has also come out and stated it is going to increase its commitment to initiatives like employee training, charitable contributions and education in science and math. Additionally, AT&T have reported they have some more flexibility as a result of the tax cuts. I call on the Labor opposition to close their ears to the socialist siren song of the Greens and not to allow the economy to be drawn onto the rocks of business-wrecking high taxes. Channel your inner Paul Keating and support business tax cuts.