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

I'm glad you woke up! You were half asleep! The iron laws of arithmetic dictate that we have not been able to get the rest of the tax plan through the Senate. We do not foresee any change in public sentiment on this matter and, accordingly, we will not be taking the larger company tax cuts policy to the next election.

Australia needs to have competitive taxes. There is no question about that, and the time will come, no doubt, when people on the other side of the House will go back to reading the member for McMahon's book on that very subject. But the reality is that in this place we have to live with what we can work through the Senate and this is something we have not been able to achieve.

In terms of tax, it's very clear where the line is between us and Labor. Labor wants higher taxes; we're for lower taxes and we're delivering lower taxes. Labor wants to go after the savings of retirees; we are defending them. Labor wants higher energy prices; we're delivering lower energy prices. Labor wants to have less investment; we want to have more investment. What that means is that Labor's economic policies mean less investment, fewer jobs and lower wages. That is why Labor is such a threat to the Australian economy and why thousands of Australian businesses and millions of Australian families are threatened by Labor's absolute, reckless disregard for looking after the workers it claims to represent.

See this speech in context