Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Cormann. In question time yesterday the Prime Minister's advice to a 60-year-old aged-care worker in Burnie who will be only $10 a week better off under his government's personal income tax plan was, 'Get a better job'. Why does the Prime Minister think that an investment banker from Rose Bay is better than an aged-care worker from Burnie?

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

Let me say at the outset that that is a misrepresentation of what the Prime Minister said. Under our long-term plan to provide income tax relief for families a 60-year-old aged care worker in Tasmania will in fact get a tax cut before anybody else. The second thing I would say is that, on this side of the chamber, we have the great aspiration that all Australians of any age in any profession should have the best possible opportunity to get ahead. Not only do we want to leave them with more of their own money by providing them with a tax cut now but we also want them to have the incentive to pursue a career, get ahead and pursue other job opportunities. We are not as ageist as the Labor Party, who suggest that somebody at 60 years of age is unable to go into a better-paid job if that is what they want to do. We want anyone who is working hard in a job they enjoy to have more of their own money. We don't want them to go backwards as a result of bracket creep. We don't want them to be pushed into higher income tax brackets because of inflation. That is why we are pursuing our long-term plan for income tax relief, but we also want to ensure that all working Australians of any age have the right incentive, the right encouragement and the right reward for effort so they have the best possible opportunity to get ahead.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McAllister, a supplementary question.

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the only reason that the Prime Minister is giving investment bankers a tax cut 13 times bigger than that for aged-care workers that he thinks they have better jobs?

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

We've gone through this in this chamber for some time. The government is prioritising income tax relief for low- and middle-income earners. Somebody on $30,000 a year will get an 8.3 per cent tax cut. Someone on $200,000 a year will get a 0.2 per cent tax cut in 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

High income earners get 60 per cent of the tax cuts.

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

Part of this politics of envy, socialist agenda that the current leader of the Labor Party, Senator Wong, is running is this attack on the undeserving rich. The top 20 per cent of income earners in Australia pay 60 per cent of income tax. When this plan is legislated in full by 2024-25, the top 20 per cent of income earners will still pay 60 per cent of income tax revenue generated.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McAllister, a final supplementary question.

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given that the Prime Minister thinks that low- and middle-income earners just haven't bothered to get a better job, is it any wonder that his arrogant and out-of-touch government is holding tax cuts for low- and middle-income earners this year hostage to tax cuts for the top 20 per cent of earners in six years time?

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

I completely and utterly reject the premise of that question. That is not what the Prime Minister thinks. The Prime Minister has great optimism and great aspiration for all working Australians. The Prime Minister and every single member of his team—every single Liberal-National member and senator—wants all Australians, today and into the future, to have the best possible opportunity to get ahead. We thank those senators on the crossbench who share our aspiration for the Australian people.

We want to ensure that every Australian, today and into the future, has the best possible opportunity to get ahead. That is why we want them to be able to keep more of their own money. That is why we want to ensure that the tax system doesn't conspire against them. That is why we want to ensure that they don't go backwards, because you want to keep income taxes high and you want to stop us from addressing bracket creep. You know that bracket creep is not only a drag on growth but it actually reduces people's purchasing power in real terms. (Time expired)