Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

'Friends, corporate tax reform helps Australia's private sector grow and it creates jobs right up and down the income ladder.' Who said that, Member for Newcastle? That was Bill Shorten, the Leader of the Opposition, at the ACOSS National Conference at the Melbourne convention centre on 30 March 2011. Let me say that again: 'Friends, corporate tax reform helps Australia's private sector grow and it creates jobs right up and down the income ladder,' said the Leader of the Opposition.

If that is not enough for you, you might want to listen to what the member for Lilley said. He might recall telling the ABC in 2012:

We intend to fight tooth and nail to get this general company tax cut through which flows first of all to small businesses and then to all companies … We want a general company tax cut.

That is what Swannie said. Well, come on, tiger—get onboard! What are you doing? He said, 'We intend to fight tooth and nail for it,' and now he is running around the country and around his electorate of Lilley talking about trickle-down economics, if he is not over in the UN for three months. The hypocrisy of those opposite on this issue is astounding. And what do we hear from the member for Hotham and others opposite? Absolutely nothing on this issue.

If that is not enough for you, the former Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard said upon her 2010 election campaign launch:

… we will cut taxes for all businesses in this country.

Like her, I also 'stand for tax cuts, tax benefits, tax relief for every Australian business', because I know that supporting business supports jobs. Most people in this country are employed in the private sector. Party politics and differences aside, we all agree, because we know that tax relief for business makes good economic sense.

The difference between this government and the Labor Party opposite is that we are not scared to make the tough decisions. Unlike the Labor Party, we are not scared to stand up for what is in the best interests of the nation. We are certainly not scared to stand alongside business. In fact, when we went to the last election we promised to do just that, because we know that for the students up there in the gallery, who are just heading out now, the company tax cuts will create many jobs around the country, if we support business. As we heard from the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Lilley and the former Labor Prime Minister, at one stage they agreed. Now the Labor Party is playing bitter party politics in relation to this issue. That is what we are getting from those opposite.

At the last election, the coalition was the only party with a strong plan for jobs. There was no plan from the Labor Party, I would say. We are taking a multipronged approach to job creation which will help Australian businesses, workers, families and young people. Those babies who are being born today will benefit from our plan in 20 years from now. This plan includes our free trade agreements. With a population of 24 million people here in Australia, we know that it is a great advantage if we can export and sell our products into markets with billions of people. Whether that is China, India or Indonesia—wherever it is—we know that our free trade agreements will help future Australians.

In the last 12 months alone, we have seen agriculture exports increase from $46 billion to $60 billion—so $46 billion in sales to $60 billion in sales. I suspect a lot of that has to do with FTAs. In my electorate, whilst they do not have much agriculture, people are interested in agriculture. They want to see our Australian farmers do well, and this is an important point that I make here. We have, also, a strong plan for our defence manufacturing sector. We know that manufacturing in the defence sector will provide jobs right around the country and not just in South Australia and Perth where close to 60 new ships will be built over the next two decades—welded up using Australian steel. It will help create jobs in my electorate and other electorates around the country for other items that go in that equipment. This is an important point.

At the time of the last election, we made no secret of the fact that company tax cuts were a significant part of our plan. We wanted company tax cuts in companies up to a billion dollars. Unfortunately, despite my opening lines in relation to those Labor leaders of the past, they are not budging at all on this. The Nick Xenophon Team on the crossbench is giving one per cent of what we are after. That is not a negotiation. That is us getting done over. That is the Australian people getting done over. We have a plan for a billion dollars worth of tax cuts, and crossbenchers want to deliver on $10 million. That is not a plan.

The Labor Party is even more guilty. They are delivering nothing—absolutely nothing—despite what the Leader of the Opposition said just a short time ago. The member for Melbourne's comments in his address on this issue were absolutely disgraceful when it came to the way he spoke about companies that employ people right around this nation. In relation to the member for Newcastle, who just spoke, I have never heard so much rot in my entire life in relation to this bill. What she was saying there was absolute rot. It just goes to show the fearmongering that those opposite rely on to win their seats in parliament, because what she was saying is totally incorrect.

I know that company tax cuts will help medium-sized businesses in particular in my electorate—those businesses that turnover up to $50 million, $100 million or $250 million. I have a business in my electorate that turns over less than $50 million. They turnover about $40 million. They are a bull bar company that sell Australian made bull bars for the front of your Toyota HiLuxes and things that are imported. For those people in the gallery, they employ 140 people in my electorate. If jobs are increased by 10 per cent, that is another 14 local jobs.

But, listen, for those in the gallery who are listening to those opposite from the Labor Party: do not hold your breath. They will never talk about medium-sized businesses with up to $50 million turnover or companies with up to $100 million turnover. All they talk about is big business and multinational tax avoidance. Yet they all voted—every single one of them in this place, apart from the new members—against the Tax Laws Amendment (Combating Multinational Tax Avoidance) Bill in December 2015. That is an important point. All they talk about is the big four banks, yet we did hear the member for Newcastle say that the company tax reductions would only benefit banks to the tune of 10 per cent. They never talk about the other 90 per cent. This is an important point.

I would like, if you will allow me, to play a little game. I will read you a list, and I would like you to consider what the common thread might be here. Angola, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda—what ties these countries together? How did you go? Perhaps the Minister for Health might know.

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