Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

That was your prediction, member for Rankin. You have a short memory. On your way; off you go. He has no idea what was said previously and he is not willing to recognise what he came up with when he was a senior adviser to the previous government. How poor they are in sticking to the facts.

Let us look at the facts. The member talked about our jobs plan. Mr Deputy Speaker, I will tell you where there is a jobs plan. Members opposite forget that only a month or two ago in the budget we invested $5.5 billion in the new Growing Jobs and Small Business package, including $3.25 billion in tax cuts for small business and $1.75 billion in accelerated depreciation measures. I have had great feedback, as most of my colleagues on this side have, about how good this is for small business. They are going out there and are investing in their businesses. They are redeveloping. They are looking at employing more people. They are looking at expanding and growing further. They have been buoyed by this incentive that the federal government announced in the May budget.

In terms of new employment services, there is close to $7 billion for the Jobactive program. We have heard constantly about infrastructure projects right around Australia. We are investing billions in major infrastructure projects. In South Australia there is the north-south corridor—two major projects worth $1 billion. There are the free trade agreements. Every few days we hear that Australian businesses are looking to take advantage of the free trade agreements after the federal government successfully negotiated new agreements with China, Korea and Japan, which will boost jobs, enhance investment and help our economy.

I will give you one example from a recent visit to China by Randall Tomich of Tomich Wines. They have secured a distribution agreement with China's biggest hypermarket chain, RT-Mart, which is set to deliver more than $500 million in annual sales to Australian food and beverage brands. The deal will see the establishment of a designated aisle selling famous Australian brands, whether it be dairy products, vitamins, wine or other food. This company has outpaced Wal-Mart and a European company, Carrefour, in sales over the last two years. The deal, believed to be the largest of its kind by an Australian food company, will benefit from a reduction in tariffs under the free trade agreement. Mr Tomich has said his company's research suggested each store would generate annual sales for the Australian brands of between $4 million and $5 million. If this is achieved, yearly sales of between $500 million and $630 million are possible. Naturally it has taken a lot of hard work and five years to get to this position, but this is what Australian entrepreneurs and businesses are all about—taking advantage of the opportunities currently out there.

Let us compare those opposite. As former Treasurer Peter Costello said, in 2009 the Labor government increased spending by nearly 13 per cent, an increase which had no precedent in modern economic management, except at the height of the Whitlam mania. This is what they do: they spend money and waste money. There are new programs that are wasteful and inefficient. We have created jobs. The recent May figures showed employment rose by 42,000. Since the government was elected more than 280,000 new jobs have been created—280,000 new jobs. We are on the way to rebuilding this economy. Today Gaganis Brothers, just outside my electorate—a great family business—announced an extra 50 jobs. Recently we had success stories like Robin Johnson Engineering, who do great things with their energy systems in the transport, energy and resources sector. Philmac, a world leader in pipe systems in the agribusiness sector, was a recipient of $2.4 million under the federal government's Manufacturing Transition program. This will allow new jobs, new investment and new expansion. Compare this with Labor in South Australia that promised jobs but created very few. The state Labor government promised 100,000 new jobs in six years and have only delivered 10,000—well short. They need to reduce taxes, reduce the emergency services levy, reduce payroll tax and ensure a more competitive environment for South Australia so that businesses can take advantage of what the federal government is offering them through free trade agreements and budget incentives. This will ensure a more prosperous economy.

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