Amanda Stoker (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak against this matter of public importance that's been put forward by the Manager of Opposition Business, because the Australian economy, while it faces some significant international challenges, nevertheless remains strong in its fundamentals. Internationally, trade tensions between the US and China are weighing on the world economy, with both the IMF and the OECD downgrading their global economic forecasts. These increasing trade tensions will see business investment and trade volumes slow, while our greatest ally, the UK, is, because of Brexit, facing its own challenges and is in an uncertain economic position. As a result, when we look at countries like Singapore, Sweden, Germany and the United Kingdom, we see that they have experienced recent negative economic growth, if we look at the June quarter. Looking closer to home, we have faced drought, we have faced flood and we have faced bushfires, which are challenging our country even as we speak. They all contribute to a difficult economic environment.

So, while it's unquestionable that what people call 'headwinds' are faced by the Australian economy, it is entirely questionable that the response that has been proposed by the Labor Party is the right one. In the face of what is, in these circumstances, quite strong economic performance, the Labor Party does nothing but talk our economy down. And they would expose the Australian economy, if they had the opportunity, to greater risk through their constant program of higher taxes and higher debt. If the Australian people want any proof that the Labor Party are reckless economic managers, they need look no further than this very motion. And it's really a little bit rich to hear Labor complain about stagnant wages when, as I travel around Queensland, I hear over and over that the reason businesses who so very much want to be able to pay more to their staff right now but haven't been able to do so in a measure bigger than 2.6 per cent is that they are absolutely crippled by the utter failure of state governments—like Labor in my home state of Queensland—to deal with high energy prices. And they are absolutely crippled by the way federal Labor stripped all flexibility from employers and their ability to negotiate terms that work for their business.

This isn't about paying workers less—quite the opposite; it's about paying them more. But we find ways to pay staff more by getting them to work in ways that are higher-value, higher-productivity ways for that unique operation. That requires the kind of flexibility that is anathema to Australian Labor. But, despite the negative attitude of the Labor Party, the Australian economy continues to show incredible resilience and is the envy of the world.

I'll give you an example. The Australian economy has just completed its 28th consecutive year of economic growth, and it has maintained its AAA credit rating. That's a significant achievement, one that is not able to be matched by many worldwide. Add to this that employment growth at 2.6 per cent is more than twice the OECD average—and it's more than three times what this government inherited, something those opposite tend to forget. A record number of Australians are now in work, which is no small achievement, with over 1.4 million new jobs created in the private sector since the Liberal-National coalition came to government. Australia's GDP continues to grow, and it's evidenced by factors such as the increased expenditure that we saw in the June quarter in the vast majority of consumption categories. Moreover, living standards of Australians continue to increase because the net disposable income per capita has risen to be 2.7 per cent higher throughout the year.

It's also quite remarkable how, despite those external and international economic headwinds, the Australian economy has remained resilient and on track for the first economic surplus in over a decade. These economic results are particularly impressive, given the economy has yet to see flow into the figures that we see reported the income consequences or the stimulus effect, shall we say, of the recently passed tax cuts. We also haven't yet seen reflected in the data reported back the full impact of the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to reduce interest rates. So when we see both of those levers reported, we can expect to see those numbers continue to improve. And yet, despite that strong economic performance even in difficult international circumstances, the Labor Party continue to wrongly assess what the problems are and they continue to talk down the Australian economy and its performance. When they do so, it harms Australians and their prospects, it harms their confidence, it harms the ability of Australian traders to get ahead in the international market and it does their base no service. Furthermore, not only does the motion ignore the reality of the government's good performance but it shows a complete lack of understanding of how we go about generating growth. So let's give those opposite a little reminder.

The government's agenda to ensure a stronger economy and higher wages was set out in this year's budget, and it was endorsed by the Australian people at the election. Given the current domestic economic environment of low inflation, low interest rates and low unemployment, this agenda focuses primarily on increasing labour demand by raising productivity. This is the most effective means of driving economic growth, which flows on to higher wages. The more employers that are out there looking for the right person for their business, the higher the rate they're going to pay to get the right person for the job. It's not rocket science, and yet those opposite don't seem to understand.

That's how we pull the important policy levers when it comes to getting wages to grow. On the tax front, the government's long-term structural reforms to personal income taxes are providing relief. They are boosting household incomes and they are incentivising workplace participation. In a sense, reducing the tax rates that regular Australians need to pay is a way the Australian government is giving them a pay rise—by letting them keep more of their own money. And yet, every day of the week, those opposite stood in the way of major long-term structural tax reform that puts more money in the pockets of all Australians. These reductions provide greater reward for effort. They encourage aspiration, something that we know those opposite don't seem to want to understand. As of last week, the ATO has issued more than 5½ million individual tax refunds for this financial year, totalling more than $14 billion. Again, that is going back into the pockets of Australians. The government has reduced taxes for small and medium-sized businesses, while setting up a new $2 billion securitisation fund to increase their access to capital so that they can invest, so that they can become more productive and so that they can make the gains that are needed to see wages grow.

The expansion of the instant asset write-off in this year's budget to an additional 22,000 businesses employing no fewer than 1.7 million people further supports the business investment that is needed to boost productivity—because that's how we deliver a stronger economy, that's how we deliver more jobs for all Australians and that's how we deliver the slow and steady, but real and tangible, long-term sustainable growth in wages that those opposite did not deliver when they were in government and cannot deliver, based on the policies they took to the last election.

We know that everything about this matter of public importance is just more of the political guff we have come to expect from those on the other side: flashy on the outside, empty in substance and, when you look deeper, really nothing more than an emperor with no clothes.