Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Blair for his very important question. Tonight in the Senate there will be a very important debate that goes to the very core of maximising prosperity in Australia and spreading the benefits of the mining boom to every corner of our country. Through this debate in the Senate we will see who is prepared to stand up and fight for a boost to superannuation savings for 8.4 million working Australians. We will see who is prepared to stand up and fight for small businesses—2.7 million small businesses that will benefit from the $6,500 instant asset write-off. We will see who is prepared to stand up and support vital investment, particularly in our mining regions and particularly in infrastructure.

We on this side of the House are absolutely determined to ensure that all Australians benefit from the resources boom. We are determined to ensure that the opportunities from that boom are spread right around our country. We believe that the benefits should not go to a fortunate few. We believe that the benefits should not just go to those who are in the fast lane of our economy. We do need to spread the benefits around the economy. We on this side of the House understand that there is a patchwork economy and not everybody is in the fast lane of the mining boom. That is why cuts to business taxation are so important. They will drive investment, they will make business more competitive and they will support jobs.

We on this side of the House are absolutely determined to maximise employment in this country, to support jobs in this country, which is why we acted so decisively at the height of the global financial crisis. We also understand that there are sectors of the economy impacted by the higher dollar, impacted by the cautious consumer.

Mr Ewen Jones interjecting—

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