Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

) ( ): There used to be a time in this country where if you worked hard, you could get ahead. I believed that if I worked hard I could make something of myself. It was the Australian dream: work hard, aspire and give it everything. But not everyone in this place believes in an Australia like that. Labor doesn't believe in rewarding those people who work hard. Labor doesn't believe in Australians getting ahead. The Leader of the Opposition has been very clear that he'll come after the new wealthy, those with incomes above $75,000. That's right: he'll roll back your tax cuts—the same tax cuts that the Turnbull government delivered. If you're a hardworking, experienced teacher, school principal, clinical nurse, health professional, miner or diesel fitter, he sees you as the next elite, and he is coming after your hard-earned pay.

I take the case of a schoolteacher six years out of university. Just as that teacher is working hard to get ahead in their career, around the time when they're settling down to start a family and buy a home, Labor wants to come after their hard-earned wages. Make no mistake: the teacher would become part of Australia's new wealthy—the elite Australians that the Leader of the Opposition hates so much. So he'll come after you, just as he wants to come after Australian businesses and companies. In contrast, the coalition government says, 'Work hard, aim higher and aspire.' This government values hard work, and we're ensuring, through our reforms, that if you work hard, you can get ahead. Every Labor member in this room voted against our tax cuts because they hate aspirational Australians.

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