Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

When he did so he accused me of playing cheap politics on this issue. He then proceeded to give a master class in cheap politics himself by trying to shut down debate on the flimsy pretext of urgency, knowing full well, member for Moreton, that the Senate was not sitting at the time and that guillotining debate in the House would make zero difference to the timely passage of the bills.

Cheap politics is something we have come to expect from the Leader of the Opposition. It is all those opposite are left with, given that their so-called 'Year of Ideas' has so far yielded so little. But not content with merely having no ideas of their own, Labor wants to shut down debate on the coalition's good ideas that will assist small business. Labor simply do not want the millions of small business owners across Australia to hear the good news about how the coalition government is making it easier for their businesses to grow, employ and prosper.

Labor do not want Australians to hear about it, because it shows them up for their years of treating small business policy as a second-order issue. Labor merely paid lip service to the small business sector. They treated the small business portfolio like an unwanted raffle prize, passing it to up to five ministers in the space of 15 months in the final chaotic years of their government. Is it any wonder then that little was done to improve the lot of small business owners in Australia? Contrast this with the actions of the coalition government. Not only do we have a Minister for Small Business who is well established in the role and has a genuine enthusiasm, but he is a minister who has a seat at the cabinet table. For the first time in many years, small businesses have a minister with the willingness and the authority to look out for the interests of the small business sector.

And when it comes to the interests of small business, as a general rule small business owners do not expect handouts from government. Ask most small business owners and they would tell you that they want less government intervention in their business, not more. The coalition government understands this intrinsically. We want to release small businesses from the burdens of excessive taxation and excessive red tape. And we want the tax system to work for small businesses, not against them.

Small business owners across Australia know that we have delivered on all fronts. The coalition government has cut corporate taxes on incorporated small businesses and reduced the taxation burden on unincorporated small businesses The coalition government has announced reforms to save more than $2.45 billion dollars annually through reduced compliance costs. And the coalition government has allowed small businesses to deduct immediately 100 per cent of the cost of each and every piece of capital equipment with a value of up to $20,000.

This Jobs and Small Business Package is a winner. It has been enthusiastically received by every small business owner I have spoken to in my electorate. Industry groups and peak bodies have been singing its praises. In fact, the only group that has not been enthusiastic about it is the group of members opposite from the Labor Party. They say they support this package. Well if they do, I urge them to get on board, to go back to small businesses in their electorates and to spread the word about the benefits of the coalition's package for small business. After all, if they do not have any ideas of their own they may as well talk about ours.

The Labor Party gave us smoke and mirrors; they did not give us any rubber on the road. They did not deliver for small business. The coalition has funded this package and is delivering for small business.. I commend the minister for the Jobs and Small Business package and in doing so I commend the member for Forde's motion to the House.

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