Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Chandler very much for that question. For the first time in 11 years our budget returned to balance this year and, of course, we're on track to deliver the first surplus budget in 12 years.

Since the election, we have delivered and passed in legislation through this chamber a further $158 billion worth of income tax relief for more than 10 million Australians, including immediate tax relief for low- and middle-income earners to ease the cost of living. This builds on our personal income tax plan, which was legislated the year before, and means we have now pursued the most comprehensive tax reform—personal income tax relief and personal income tax reform—since the mid-1990s. In fact, we've abolished an entire tax bracket: about 94 per cent of Australians will not pay more than 30 per cent tax on any of their income.

We've been able to grow employment by adding a further 250,000 new jobs over the last 12 months. We've expanded and extended the instant asset write-off for small business, which employs 5.7 million workers. We have passed legislation to deal with market misconduct in the energy market, something that the Labor Party initially criticised us for and then supported. We've given vital support to our farmers, through increases in the farm household allowance, and we've also established the $5 billion Future Drought Fund.

In recent weeks we have brought forward more than $3.8 billion in infrastructure investment which will help to strengthen the economy, create more jobs and get Australians home sooner and safer. We've been able to list more life-saving medicines on the PBS. Every child asylum seeker has now left Nauru and Manus, and we've closed 19 detention centres since 2013.

Since the 2018 budget we've invested $2.7 billion in 44,000 new home-care packages. The parliament recently ratified three important trade agreements with key trading partners, opening up new export opportunities with Indonesia, Hong Kong and Peru. (Time expired)