Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I tell you what: it wasn't a mystery to Neville Wran or Bob Hawke or Paul Keating. They understood that their job was to enable workers to get ahead, but now we hear from this smug, insinuating character that they want workers to stay in their place.

This is what we're doing. We have a tax plan in the Senate which we will, if it comes back here with the amendment, send straight back because we want all Australians to get the benefit of a comprehensive tax reform. We want to ensure that 94 per cent of Australians don't have to pay more than 32½ cents for every extra dollar they earn. We want to reward and encourage aspiration.

You would think the Labor Party was a complete dead loss, but there are glimmers of hope. The member for Corio today told Neil Mitchell three things—he could well be expelled for this. He said that all Australians should pay less tax. He also said that people earning $125,000 a year are not millionaires. And he said that bracket creep was a problem that should be looked at.

Mr Morrison interjecting—

The Treasurer is saying, 'We always knew he wasn't such a bad bloke.' There's always the opportunity for him, when the bill comes back from the Senate, to vote like he did the last time and vote for the full package of reform.

Aspiration is what is driving the Australian economy. It is aspiration: the desire of Australians to get ahead, to do better for their families, to ensure that their kids have got greater opportunities than they had, to ensure that their businesses do well. The Labor Party sneer because they are smug in their big taxpayer funded salaries. Let me tell you: in the real world, 90 per cent of Australians work—

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

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