Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

In that case, is there any concerns if you're propping up these businesses? They've got to show revenue from a profit for the past three years. So these businesses are doing okay. You won't give me or the Australian people a commitment that they are Australian owned companies. You keep going back to the fact they are Australian enterprises. So they're not Australian owned companies. We could be propping up foreign multinational companies that don't pay their taxes in Australia. They're supposed to be profitable, but we're going to invest in them to actually help them further. Is it the case then that you investing in these companies is going to give them a benefit over their competitors? There are companies out there that are struggling and don't meet the criteria and who possibly need a helping hand. What you're doing is propping up businesses who are going to get this benefit from you and the banks. It's like the big companies Woolies, Coles and Aldi saying, 'We're going to just move aside those smaller ones, like the IGAs and corner shops and people who are trying to make a living out there.' So you're going to prop them up with cheaper loans and then allow these bigger companies to actually take over smaller Australian businesses. How are you going to make sure there is competitiveness? My belief is it's not the government's job to do this. You are investing in businesses in this country and you're going to give them unfair competitiveness against other businesses in Australia.