Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Cormann, the Minister for Finance and Minister representing the Treasurer. Can the minister update the Senate on progress on implementing the government's plan for stronger growth, more jobs and repair to the budget?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to inform the Senate that the government are making good progress now, heading in the right direction, when it comes to implementing our plan for stronger growth, more jobs and repairing the budget. When we came into government, we inherited a weakening economy, rising unemployment and a budget position which was rapidly deteriorating on the back of unsustainable and unaffordable spending growth. Over the last 22 months or so, the government have been working very hard to turn that situation around. We have been implementing our plan for stronger growth by getting rid of the carbon tax and the mining tax, getting rid of red-tape costs for small business to the tune of $2 billion a year, rolling out record investment in productivity-enhancing infrastructure and improving access to key markets in our region—in China, South Korea and Japan.

In the past fortnight, we have been particularly successful in making progress on our economic and fiscal reform agenda. We were able to legislate the Jobs and Small Business package. As late as today, we have been able to legislate to reverse the disastrous decision the previous government made in relation to employee share schemes. The Senate today supported our efforts to again ensure that employee share schemes are able to provide a real incentive for people to help the businesses that employ them to be as successful as they can be.

Over the last fortnight, the government has been able to pass, through the parliament, through the Senate, more than $14 billion worth of budget improvement measures, which means that, since last year's budget, we have been able to legislate budget improvements to the tune of more than $50 billion over the current forward estimates. The government are getting on with the job. We are getting things done.

Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Will the minister further advise the Senate what the government is doing to further strengthen the economy and repair the budget?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

While we have made progress, while we are heading in the right direction, we are the first to acknowledge that there is still much more work to be done. When we come back after the winter recess, we look forward to working with the Senate to legislate our jobs for families package—our package providing better access to simpler, more affordable, more flexible childcare arrangements to help families get into work, be in work and stay in work. We look forward to Labor's support of our proposal to help families access better child care and, also, to Labor helping us to legislate the savings required to pay for it.

There are still some outstanding matters from Labor's last budget on which we would like to think that Labor, on reflection, will support the government, because we are still doing the hard yards in implementing some of the measures out of Labor's last budget.

Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister please inform the Senate if there are any alternative approaches to strengthening the economy and repairing the budget?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, no, we cannot say that there is an alternative plan, but I am pleased to inform the Senate that, bit by bit, the Labor Party are backing our plan. This time last year, everything was bad, according to the Labor Party; this year, the Labor Party, bit by bit, are supporting one measure after the other that we are putting forward to strengthen growth, create more jobs and repair the budget. I say to the Labor Party: we are very grateful for your support for some of the key important structural reforms over the past fortnight; but, when we come back in August, there are still some outstanding measures out of your last budget, the 2013-14 budget, to deal with. Because we have not had any alternative spending reduction proposals since the last election, we should go back to the spending reduction proposals in Labor's last budget. We have their proposal to save $2.1 billion from Student Start-Up Scholarships, a $2.1 billion saving which Labor initiated which we would like to legislate. (Time expired)

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.