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

I can confirm that the government is considering lower taxes for hardworking Australians. That's what we always do, because we understand that providing tax incentives for Australians to work hard and get ahead helps the economy grow, which creates more opportunity for all Australians to get ahead. We want to create more jobs so that more people can get off welfare and back into work. That's what we want to do. The coronavirus supplement was put in place for a six-month period, at the $550 level. That was always temporary. It was historically unprecedented crisis-level support. It is very important now for Australia to move out of the crisis settings and into the new normal.

We want to ensure that all Australians have the best possible opportunity to get back into work, which is why the policy put forward by Senator Ruston enables those Australians on JobSeeker to earn more before they lose any of that income support. In fact, Senator Ruston has put forward a policy, which is a very good policy, to increase the amount of income they can earn to $300 a fortnight. That's $300 a fortnight that people can earn, instead of $105 a fortnight, before they lose any of their JobSeeker support. We are a government that encourage people to have a go. We are a government that reward people who have a go. And that is how we'll strengthen the economy and help the economy recover after this coronavirus pandemic.