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

(—) (): The reason we get elected to this place is to do the right thing by the Australian people. Those of us on this side of the chamber are committed to making sure that Australians today and into the future have the best possible opportunity to get ahead. That is why we want to ensure that the businesses that employ them and pay their wages have the best possible opportunity to be viable, competitive and profitable into the future. This is something that Bill Shorten once understood. Mr Shorten used to very forcefully argue how we needed a lower, globally more competitive business tax rate to attract more investment, to drive up productivity, to drive up economic growth, to generate more jobs, to drive up wages. Mr Shorten is on the record again and again—Senator Wong is on the record again and again—having made that point. In fact, the shadow Treasurer, even in opposition, as recently as seven months before we put it into the budget, argued in favour of a lower, globally more competitive business tax rate. (Time expired)