Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Stoker for the question. I had the opportunity last week to spend a lot of time in Queensland, including visiting, with Senator Stoker, a number of small businesses. We were delighted to be able to continue to tell them that those of us on our side of the chamber are backing them every step of the way and will be delivering for them a 25 per cent tax rate that they will pay five years earlier than they expected. When you ask how we can do that, it's called good economic management. Senator Stoker and I had an opportunity to talk to a number of small and family businesses whilst I was there. I got to visit a variety of sectors whilst I was in Queensland, including a fantastic franchise of Beaurepaires in Beenleigh; Living Silk in Paddington, with the member there, Trevor Evans; Honey I Scratched the Car, in Redcliffe; and the Empire Hotel in Rockhampton. I was there with our great candidate for Capricornia, Michelle Landry. I also had a fabulous opportunity to learn what it is like to be a zookeeper, of course going with Andrew Wallace to that great Australian icon in Queensland on the Sunshine Coast, Australia Zoo.

We were able to talk to these people about the policies they need their government to put in place. Certainly when it comes to tax, they were the first to put their hands up and say: 'We will benefit from these tax cuts being brought forward by five years. We'll have more money that we generate in our back pocket. And what are we going to do with that? We're going to reinvest back into our businesses. We're going to ensure that we reinvest this back.' They understand that when they reinvest the money back into their businesses they are able to prosper and grow. When a small or family business prospers and grows, they are able to create more jobs, in this case for Queenslanders.