Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Small Business. Today, the minister ridiculed Labor's attempts to pass his small business bills because the Senate is not sitting, but yesterday in question time the minister said:

All we need is this parliament to pass the instant asset write-off and get it over to the Senate so that, when the Senate reconvenes, one of their early orders of business can be to get these measures passed.

Minister, what has changed in less than a day?

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

We will have some silence! The member for Grayndler!

Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, hasn't the once proud Labor Party just shown how low they can go! I kid you not, colleagues: it has been 559 days since Labor has asked me a question about small business. That is more than a year and a half. The Leader of the Opposition masquerading as the shadow spokesman for small business—

Dr Chalmers interjecting—

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

The member for Rankin is warned.

Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

has asked more than 400 questions, but how many have been about small business? Absolutely none.

Mr Champion interjecting—

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

The member for Wakefield is warned.

Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So here we are, more than 110 sitting days since I was last asked a question, and what do I get? I get a question about shabby Labor tactics. Isn't that incredible! Not about the substance, not about what else we can do to support small business, just about shabby Labor tactics. All we got this morning was more lies from Labor.

They have come out saying that I voted against our small business package. No, I did not. We voted against you gagging a discussion about what small businesses need to support their role in the economy. We thought that, given the lack of interest from Labor when in government and now in opposition, small-business men and women who mortgaged their houses deserved a day to discuss their needs in the nation's parliament.

What did Labor want to do? What did the member for Maribyrnong want to do? What did the shadow spokesman want to do? They put out tweets saying we are voting against our own small business package. That is just a blatant lie, and you know it. We voted to give the enterprising men and women a day in the nation's parliament where they are front and centre, where their crucial contribution to our economy can be discussed and celebrated—where members on this side, who have more ideas than you could get from anywhere on your side, can talk about what else we can do to support small business.

We want to explain and communicate what the best small business package in any budget the Commonwealth has handed down means for small business in communities right across our continent. In that light, what do we get from Labor? They do not want to discuss it. They want to gag it. They want to shut the show down. They do not want to hear about the 519,000 jobs lost under Labor.

The real test about Labor—after flip-flopping around, bagging some of the measures, creating confusion and uncertainty, having shadow members contradict one another about the proposition—will be whether there is any funny business in the Senate. That is what I said to you yesterday, Leader of the Opposition. No funny business! We want certain sure-footed passage of this bill. Or are you going to try another political stunt in the Senate? Are you going to be true to form and deny the small-business men and women the best budget they have ever seen from the best government that small business can ever hope for? We are the best friend small business has ever had. We are happy to talk about small business every day while you want to gag the discussion of their needs. Shame on you, Bill Shorten. Shabby tactics, Sunshine.