Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on how the budget will strengthen the economy and reward hardworking Australians in my electorate of Forrest?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Forrest for her question, and I am delighted to be asked about the people of Forrest because, like every other electorate in the country, Forrest is full of hardworking small-business people who deserve a fair go. And that is exactly what they are going to get from this government, and that is exactly what they are getting from this budget. This budget is about a fair go for small business, a fair go for people who are having a go for the benefit of the people of our country.

At the heart of this budget is a $20,000 instant asset write-off for small business. That is the heart of this budget: a $20,000 instant asset write-off for small business. This is one for the tradies of Australia. This is one for the tradies of Forrest. It is one for the tradies of every electorate, because they are having a go and they deserve a fair go from government, and that is exactly what they will get from this government. It is one for the tradies of Australia who will be able to re-equip their workshops. It is one for the tradies of Australia who will be able to upgrade their tool kits because they are working hard, and some of them are doing it tough. They deserve a fair go because they are having a go for Australia.

This budget has probably been the best budget ever for small business, as demonstrated by the reaction. Let me read what Peter Strong, the executive director of COSBOA, has said. He said that 'this is a small business budget', that the $20,000 tax write-off is extraordinary and will send a message loud and clear to people that the government is thinking about them—in a good way—giving them something that will really motivate them to go and spend and buy things and grow their business or save their business and employ people and get cash flowing through the economy. The head of the Business Council said that this small business package is an absolute 'shot in the arm', and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry said:

… it turbo-charges Australia's two million small businesses, and small business is the backbone of Australia.

That is what this budget does. It turbocharges the small businesses of Australia, who are the backbone of our economy. By contrast, what will the Leader of the Opposition give them? Well, we will see tonight night, won't we? We will see tonight. But I know what he has in his heart for them: the carbon tax comes back, the mining tax comes back, there are more superannuation taxes. Even the member for Lilley comes back, because he is the man preparing their election policy.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Social Services. Is the minister aware that many nurses need to take six weeks maternity leave before their baby is born and are currently able to spend 24 weeks with their baby after the birth? Does the minister believe this arrangement for nurses is a rort?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. The government supports paid parental leave and recognises that it provides much-needed support and assistance for families. The safety-net paid parental leave scheme that is in place—the safety net is there—is provided to those families that were not getting anything from employers: absolutely nothing. Of those, 92 per cent of employees who work in the private sector—particularly for small businesses, who simply cannot pay more for paid parental leave, as the Minister for Small Business would know—are unaffected by these arrangements. Only eight per cent of those who are unaffected by the arrangements work in the public sector.

I should stress that anyone who has a child now and is getting paid parental leave, and anyone who is expecting a child now, is unaffected by these changes as well, because these changes come into effect in July of next year. But the principle is this for large employers, be they large Commonwealth employers or large state and government employers: is it really fair that small business employees and their employers actually have to pay more in taxes or in high deficits and higher debt to ensure that they can subsidise the schemes put in by the public sector? Is that fair? Is it fair that someone who is getting $20,000 a year in employer-provided paid parental leave should then also get another $11½ thousand in taxpayer-funded paid parental leave?

We support a safety-net paid parental leave scheme and we support a fair paid parental leave scheme—a fair scheme—but we are not going to support the one cooked up by those opposite with the unions.

Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline how the government is helping Australians who want to get out there and have a go? How will the budget help small businesses create jobs around the country and, particularly, in my electorate of Lyons?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is a great question. That is a great question from a great member for Lyons—and he is absolutely right. This government's budget is focused on helping Australians to have a go. Whether they be in families, whether they be in small businesses, whether they be farmers, wherever they are located, whether they are starting up their own business or whether they are working damn hard for someone else, this budget is about giving Australians the chance to have a go. In particular, our initiatives for small business, such as a 1½ per cent tax cut for incorporated small businesses—

Mr Champion interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wakefield seems anxious to leave early again!

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Have a go! Have a go—out the door! And then there is a tax cut of up to $1,000 for unincorporated small businesses. But, most significantly, anyone out there who has a small business with a turnover of less than $2 million can buy items that support their business activity and write it off against their tax on 1 July—100 per cent of it. So they now have an opportunity to buy the equipment that is going to help make their businesses more profitable and successful.

There are 7,050 small businesses in the member for Lyons' electorate, and many of those are in agriculture, in farming. In fact, across Australia, eight in 10 jobs in farming are in small businesses. In construction, six in 10 jobs are in small business—all those tradies out there: Tony's tradies! Tony's tradies are getting a massive benefit out of this budget because we want them to get the very best tools, we want them to be able to improve their business, we want to help smash that red-tape burden that they have to go through at night, in order to make their business viable.

The member for Lyons called me this morning and told me the story of Jane Shaw, who is the proprietor of the Ingleside bakery in Evandale. That is a beautiful town, Evandale, and it is a great bakery. I am familiar with it! The Prime Minister went there—the Prime Minister's bakers as well! She has a staff of 15 people, mostly casuals and two who are full time, and has a turnover of around $1 million a year. She described the budget news as 'really fantastic'. She has great optimism. This morning she was planning what the business can buy with that new allowance and she said, 'This is going to massively help with the cash flow.' We are the best friends of Australia's small businesses. We are the best friends of the workers.