Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will say this very clearly for the member for Mallee, who claims to be a Victorian but is in the government that has cut the guts out of funding for Victoria.

Mr Broad interjecting—

I will speak slowly so you can keep up. You have a choice: $65 billion in tax cuts for big businesses, or you can use that money to fund pensioners, to fund people on low incomes, and you wouldn't be putting an extra $300 tax on every worker earning less than $87,000. It's about choices. You made it quite clear that in your view of the world the people who get rich are the ones you worry about. In our view of the world, society depends on how you treat your most vulnerable. While you want to leave them to the scrap heap, we actually want to encourage people and help them grow. Think about the long break over Christmas. On the north shores of Sydney, while flouting the boating laws, the 26 Newspolls-in-a-row losing PM was enjoying his Cristal and stogies. This year he had a little bit extra to celebrate. Do you know what that was? This year he gave himself a $16½ thousand tax cut. This is a bloke who stores millions of dollars overseas so he doesn't pay full taxes in Australia. And now, 'Captain Cayman', as he's commonly known outside, the Prime Minister, comes back to Canberra and continues his hardline assault on Australian families and Australian workers.

Under this government, Australian living standards are on the decline for the first time in a generation. When we look at this fact, since the Liberal government came in in 2013 the cost-of-living increases have outweighed income growth by 3.8 per cent. The incompetency of this government becomes crystal—or Cristal—clear, we might say. What is the government's response? Let's give big businesses a tax cut. Big businesses get a $65 billion tax cut while Australian workers earning under $87,000 get slugged with a $300 a year tax increase. That is before they get slugged with these outrageous health insurance increases. That's before they get slugged with the energy prices. And I did laugh at the member opposite talking about energy; they won't pull the gas trigger, because of the issues they had with the dual citizenship of the now Deputy Prime Minister, which means Australians are paying more for gas than they need to.

More than two million Australians will have their taxes increased while the PM celebrates his $16,000 windfall. Just think of that for a moment. That's nearly the same cost as a pensioner. A pensioner earns about $20,000 a year. That is all they have to live on. Yet the multimillionaire merchant banker gives himself a $16,000-a-year tax cut. When we talk about opportunities and things we can do to address issues, there is one: don't go giving millionaires tax cuts and putting the tax up on ordinary Australian workers. Go the other way around. Support the people who are struggling to make ends meet, and those with plenty of money can support themselves.

I tell you, for those who weren't here yesterday, you missed an absolute ripper of a day. We often hear those opposite talk about how wonderful they are and they've all been in business—blah, blah, blah. We had the rich daddy's club yesterday. Rich daddy No. 1 talking to rich daddy No. 2, who was talking to rich daddy No. 3 saying, 'I was in business.' 'How were you in business?' 'My rich daddy gave me a job.' That's not how it works for most of us. Most of us have to get out. While they're all celebrating their ability to go and work in the family business—if you look at a lot of Liberal philosophy it always is getting ahead off other people's hard work; that's how they get to here—

See this speech in context