Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

A lot of that money could go to health care, a lot of it could go to education and a lot of it could go to supporting, training and helping people into work. Instead, that $65 billion of taxpayers' money is going straight into the pockets of big business. This is at a time when company profits are soaring and wage growth has flatlined. Under this government we've seen record lows in wage growth, reaching just 1.9 per cent. With the cost of living increasing year after year after year, this is having an incredibly devastating effect. Economic data has shown that living standards, which had previously been climbing, fell backwards in the last quarter.

It won't be the rich who will be hit by this move by Prime Minister Turnbull, because he's giving them a $16,400 tax cut. It won't be the rich; it will be ordinary, hardworking Australians who just deserve a fair go. But, under this out-of-touch government, they're not going to get one, because the government does not understand what it's like for people who are struggling to get by. The Prime Minister doesn't understand. His electorate of Wentworth is absolutely nothing like my electorate of Longman. While his constituents may have a median personal income of around $1,100 a week, many people in Longman struggle to feed their family on an income of around $580 a week. It is nothing like Wentworth. I'd forgive the Prime Minister's ignorance if he actually did try to understand—if he listened to ordinary Australians and heard their stories, but he won't. He's stubborn. He's made up his mind without listening to all of the facts. It's no wonder he thinks that a cut to big business and banks is a good idea when we know that he only listens to his colleagues and the powerful lobby groups that wander up and down the halls of parliament and he shuts everyone else out. He hears those lobbyists claim that this hit to our economy is worth it and he hears the promises that it will drive investment, but he shuts out the fact that the biggest investment boom Australia has ever seen was when Australia had a headline corporate tax rate of 30 per cent. That was the time of the biggest investment boom, at 30 per cent. The Prime Minister, his backbenchers and his government ministers shut out the assistant governor of the Reserve Bank, who quashed the argument that this tax cut will drive investment. They shut out anyone whose position differs from their own, and that can be very, very dangerous. It's not easy to have a proper thought in your head when you're stuck in this echo chamber. The hypocritical priorities of this government are glaringly obvious.

Just yesterday during the matter of public importance discussion—and I stayed for all speakers, including government speakers—I was subjected to government speakers attacking the use of welfare to help vulnerable people get back on their feet. Yet here they are today advocating for corporate welfare—unbelievable! They are throwing money at big businesses who turn over tens of millions of dollars each year. They're fighting to increase taxation on working Australians but slash taxes for millionaires and businesses.

The government just do not care about workers. I honestly think they have got it in for then. At every chance, they give a worker in this country another hurdle to jump over, another cut to endure, another attack to appeal—every single day. It's why the government trash the trade union movement at every single chance they get. The trade union movement is the organisations standing up for workers in this country. It is through the increased bargaining power of a unionised workforce that everyday Australians can actually get a voice loud enough to be heard, to stand up and face this government. That's their voice. But the government don't like it. They don't like that voice one bit. The Prime Minister doesn't like it when the united voice of Australian workers collectively matches the reaffirming 'yeses' that he likes to surround himself with. He does not like that one bit.

But the voices of those opposed to the Turnbull government—I have to let you know, Deputy Speaker—are growing louder. They are growing louder in cities and suburbs. They are growing louder in states and territories. They are growing louder in regional towns and communities. They are growing louder even in his own party room, of course. The government have never had a real plan for Australia. They are still stuck in opposition mode. Every time any government member gets up to speak, it's never about policy, because they know how rubbish their policies are. Instead, all we ever seem to hear the government talk about is Labor. That's all we ever hear. If we listen to question time or a debate in the chamber, we hear you talking about Labor and not about your policies. People in the political sphere often say it's the role of government to create policy and the role of opposition to pick out the flaws, but the government seem to have got it the wrong way around, because the government have no actual costed policies. Labor have had to craft our policies early to fill that void. Because the government have run out of spin to try and sell their misuse of taxpayers' money, they're attempting to pre-emptively fall into the role of opposition. It's quite interesting. I understand the government want to get some practice in before the impending electoral defeat, but now is the time to lead. Now is the time to have a plan. That's what people expect of government. Lead. Have a plan. Give us a vision. Tell us how you're going to get there.

We've listened to businesses and unions, we've listened to groups and stakeholders, we've heard the economic debate and we've developed a very strong plan to move Australia forward, to tackle the rise of inequality that the government's policies exacerbate time after time, to help repair the economic mess that the Treasurer's reckless misuse of taxpayers' funds has created and to ease the cost-of-living pressures for all Australians—from the seniors, who have already given so much to this country, to the youngest people, who are just starting out. While the government showers its corporate mates with unjust tax cuts, let me tell you what Labor will do. While that's happening, let's not be blind-sided. Let's look at what Labor will do. We will invest in quality education for all Australians, whether you live in Perth, Brisbane, Darwin or Hobart. We will invest in education for all Australians. This means not sneaking through cuts and mislabelling them as new funding. It means reversing the government's short-sighted cuts to TAFE and vocational education. I really wonder how this government can claim that they're all about Australian jobs when they're making it harder for people to get the skills they need to make them ready for the workforce. Instead, we're seeing them let jobs go overseas, bring overseas workers in and cut local people out of local jobs. That's what we're seeing. That is why Labor will introduce true labour market testing for 457 visas. Businesses should not be able to game the system, cutting costs at the expense of Australian workers looking for jobs.

Labor is also committed to making strong investments in reliable infrastructure projects around Australia. We understand that, to help Australia grow, we need to build the foundations that we can then expand upon. They are foundations like unlocking the Northern Australia infrastructure fund. That's still locked away. We are trying to get it unlocked and make some really wise investment decisions in our country—decisions that will create jobs and get people into work. You don't need to go much further than my electorate. When you start moving up the coast—whether you go to Rockhampton, Mackay, Cairns or Townsville—there are people there who are ready to work, willing to train and willing to get skilled; they just need a job. Unlocking the NAIF would help do that. Stop using the money to pay the NAIF board. Unlocking it to create some jobs is what we need. The people in my electorate would absolutely welcome that.

A real centrepiece of our platform is Labor's reshaping of a tax system to be fairer to Australians and not just a select few—not just the rich. A fairer tax system means a level playing field for first home buyers, for example, through reforms to negative gearing and capital gains tax. It is not about dipping into your retirement savings. That is not what we do to help people get into housing. Dipping into your retirement savings is obviously a bandaid measure that we know will cause problems down the line, going back to what I mentioned before about a government that needs some vision and a plan. A fairer tax system also would mean capping at $3,000 the deductions that people can obtain by managing their tax affairs—not being able to write-off thousands or tens of thousands of dollars by having some crafty accounting done.

Let's be very clear: a fairer tax system would impose a 30 per cent minimum tax on discretionary trusts, closing another loophole for people who've been able to forego paying their fair share of tax. We want to make sure that that gets tightened up, again, making sure that people pay their fair share of tax. A fairer tax system doesn't mean upping the taxation rate of ordinary Australians so the budget doesn't collapse entirely under the weight of a $65 billion handout to companies that don't need it. For around 85 per cent of people in my electorate who are going to be hit with a taxation rate increase, this is going to have a devastating impact on their families and their family budgets. While the government is handing $65 billion to big business and banks, they're sitting down at the kitchen table trying to work out what they're going to do with less money coming into their family budget. They are looking at that handout and trying to find some way where that looks even remotely fair or is remotely going to help them and their families.

We need to have policies in this country that help people get ahead, not just a select few—not just for people who are wealthy, people who are fortunate. We need policies in this country. We need a government that has vision and a plan to get there. I can't understand how anybody can stand in this place and say that a $65 billion handout will somehow trickle down to people in our communities—how that is fair and how that is going to help those families sitting around the table, working out their family budget. I would implore that this government takes a view of creating a vision and a plan.

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