Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this matter of public importance as we await the deliberations that are occurring over in the rarefied atmosphere that is the Senate. As we await the vote that's going to occur in the Senate, many people are asking a question of the Leader of the Opposition, and that is: how much more of their money does he think he deserves? They know he won't spend their money wisely and they certainly don't want to give him any more of their hard-earned cash. Why are the Leader of the Opposition's comrades over there in the Senate working to stop hardworking Australians from getting a tax reduction on 1 July? Why are they standing in the way? Why does the Leader of the Opposition have a vendetta against a new tax structure that would address the important issue of bracket creep? Why does the Leader of the Opposition want to prevent average Australians from keeping more of their hard-earned money as they earn more, gain new skills and invest in their own training and intellectual capital? The opposition leader wants a much greater cut of their hard work.

The government has in the parliament legislation that addresses one of the biggest bugbears of the current tax system: bracket creep. We hear too often from our constituents that they feel that they shouldn't do extra overtime, that if they work harder then too much of that money goes in tax. We are putting in place a system that will encourage hardworking Australians to work even harder. The plan that we have before the parliament is a plan that recognises the fact that wages will grow over time. With more experience in the workforce, with more investment in training, you have the opportunity to earn more money. We want to see hardworking Australians keep more of that money, but the Leader of the Opposition, in stark contrast, wants to get his hands on more of their cash.

The plan we have before the parliament is a good plan. It is a plan that has three phases. Phase 1 of the plan will come in on 1 July—if the Labor Party does not get its way and frustrate the introduction of those tax cuts—and under that plan taxpayers would receive an initial tax reduction of around $530. Phase 2 of the plan comes in 2022. And when phase 3 comes in, in 2024, around 94 per cent of taxpayers will be on a marginal rate of 32½c in the dollar or less. I'll repeat that: 94 per cent of taxpayers will pay a marginal rate of no more than 32½c in the dollar. That compares with around 63 per cent of taxpayers if no action were taken. Clearly, this is a government that is about encouraging people to do better, whereas the Labor Party merely wants to stand in the way.

We are about simpler, fairer and lower taxes. They are about getting their hands in the pockets of average Australians when they strive hard to earn a better living for themselves and their families. We're about building a stronger economy because we know a stronger economy creates more jobs and more opportunities for Australians. We are about allowing the pie to be grown. The Labor Party are about redistributing the same pie. We're about fixing Labor's budget mess by putting in place responsible financial management for the purposes of growing a stronger economy, creating more jobs and creating more opportunities for Australians. We're about investing in infrastructure because we know better infrastructure means a more efficient economy and more jobs. It's not just the fact we would have new infrastructure such as the Coffs Harbour bypass, creating safer motoring and faster travel times; we are also in the process creating more jobs.

We're about putting in place free trade agreements so we can have more exports—again, creating more jobs and more opportunities for Australians, and higher farmgate prices for our farmers. The benefits of trade cannot be underestimated. The Labor Party by comparison was unable to negotiate quality free trade agreements. This government has succeeded—free trade agreements with China, South Korea and Japan. And we're now working on a new trade agreement with Europe. We're about creating opportunities. The Leader of the Opposition is about taxing Australians harder.

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