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

My question is to the Minister for Finance, Senator Cormann. Earlier this year, the minister said, 'We are completely and utterly committed to our business tax cuts'. However, this morning, the finance minister refused to say whether the government would abandon its Enterprise Tax Plan if it fails to legislate it in the next fortnight. Can the minister confirm the government will take the full Enterprise Tax Plan to the next election as he committed?

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

What I can confirm for Senator Wong and for the chamber is that the government, indeed, is fully committed to deliver a lower, globally more competitive business tax rate in order to protect jobs and to protect future wages growth, because, of course, those of us on this side of the chamber understand that the future success of working families around Australia depends on the future viability, competitiveness and profitability of businesses right around Australia. If we make it harder for businesses in Australia to be successful, we make it harder for working families around Australia to be successful. That is something that Labor used to understand. Let's see what happens this fortnight. The government certainly is focused on securing the passage of this very important economic reform and, if the Labor Party cared about working families, they would back it.

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

I again ask this minister the same question. The minister has previously committed to taking the business tax cuts—the Enterprise Tax Plan—to the next election. I again ask this minister: can the minister confirm the government will take the full Enterprise Tax Plan to the next election, as he has committed? Yes or no?

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

We are absolutely committed to taking business tax cuts to the next election, hopefully having been legislated by the Senate. The Labor Party has an opportunity to do the right thing by working families around Australia by supporting a policy that the shadow Treasurer, Chris Bowen, supported right up until the time that we put it into our budget. The shadow Treasurer, Chris Bowen, as late as September 2015, made the point that a higher company tax rate hurts workers the most. It falls hardest on workers. That's what he used to say.

Senator Abetz interjecting—

Senator Wong's said similar things, you're quite right. The Labor Party knows what the right thing to do is here for working families around Australia. I tell you what we're going to do. We're going to give you the opportunity to vote for better opportunities for working families around Australia to get ahead, by making sure that the businesses that employ them and pay their wages have the best possible opportunity to be viable, to be competitive and to be profitable into the future. (Time expired)

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

Senator Wong on a final supplementary question.

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

When this minister was asked in Senate estimates whether the government remains committed to taking the Enterprise Tax Plan to the next election, the minister said, 'I've already said yes. I've answered that twice now.' Will the minister keep his word to the Australian people to take the Enterprise Tax Plan to the next election or not?

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

Senator Wong is quite right. My views on this are well and truly on the public record. Whatever your view on the substance of this argument, I don't think that there is anyone in this chamber that doubts my commitment to securing the passage of a lower, globally more competitive business tax rate. I think everyone in this chamber knows, or at least should know, that I passionately believe that to protect—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

I think that everyone in this chamber knows very well that I'm committed to securing the best possible opportunity for working families around Australia to get ahead by making sure that the businesses that employ them have the best possible opportunity to be viable, competitive and profitable into the future. Labor is quite happy to stand up for the big end of town overseas at the expense of businesses here in Australia. They're quite happy to export Australian jobs into other parts of the world. That's fine. Labor can continue to defend that in the court of public opinion. We are standing up for working Australians.