George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Bilyk, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to, on the last day of the parliamentary year, reflect upon the many achievements of the Turnbull government in the past year. With an election having been fought and won by Mr Turnbull, our national economic plan, our policies and our commitments have been endorsed by the Australian people. What a year of achievement it has been. In particular, what a period of achievement it has been for this Senate. The government is governing and the Senate is functioning effectively. We have delivered tax cuts for more than half a million middle-class Australians by ensuring that they were not pushed into higher tax brackets. We have passed important changes to Australia's superannuation system in securing $6 billion in savings and ensuring that the system is sustainable and fair for all Australians. In only a matter of months, we have delivered $20 billion of measures for budget repair.

Meanwhile, out of the chamber, we have expanded our big export trade deals by entering into an enhanced strategic partnership with Singapore, delivering $2 billion in new investment in Queensland, in particular, and more opportunities for our exporters. We amended the Fair Work Act to protect Victoria's volunteer firefighters from the CFA, we passed the registered organisations bill to ensure that union bosses are subject to the same transparency and accountability obligations as company directors, and of course we have now passed the ABCC bills to bring the rule of law to the construction sector. (Time expired)