Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'll take that interjection. Those opposite ask me what it includes. This includes a $270 billion investment in the capability and potency of our defence force. That's what it includes.

So I say to those opposite: what do we have to show for the pandemic response that supported our economy through the crisis, and what will we have to show for this budget? On the Gold Coast, we have domestic tourists spending at Gold Coast businesses. We have a prosperous economy across Australia that working Australians rely upon to support their families. We have infrastructure jobs now and transport, like light rail, that will provide value for decades to come. We have a more secure Australia with a formidable ADF. We have a safe, free national vaccination program. That's what we have to show for these budget measures.

There's a lot more that we'll have to show for this budget. For those opposite, I will touch on a couple more key examples. I can let them know that the Treasurer understands, although some opposite may not, that tax cuts will be good for families and that growth in household spending will flow through the economy. That'll be good for small businesses in Moncrieff. There will be an extra $1,080 in the pockets of individuals, and $2,160 for couples. That will be welcomed by over 10 million Australians, over 70,000 of whom are in Moncrieff. For some families, that will make the difference in being able to afford a safer car or a new car, or being able to afford school fees. It'll help with all of those household bills. It'll take some of the pressure off paying the rent or paying the mortgage. It does help. Absolutely every little bit helps during these difficult times. For others, it'll be a contribution to the education of their children. It may help with fees or sports fees. Regardless, those Australians in Moncrieff will know what they have to show for this period during the pandemic, and they will be able to spend it themselves.

I previously mentioned the investment in light rail, but let's take the time to consider infrastructure needs across Australia. As I mentioned before to those opposite, this budget commits an additional $15.2 billion as part of the government's record $110 billion infrastructure pipeline over 10 years.

An opposition member interjecting—

Well, we announced it, yes. I'll again take that interjection from those opposite, because we did announce $26.6 million in gap funding for the light rail stage 3 on the Gold Coast, and the Deputy Prime Minister knows that many regional communities will share in the over 30,000 jobs that will be created from the $110 billion in infrastructure. He knows that tourists need transport to get to the Gold Coast and that farmers need transport to deliver produce to their markets. He knows that workers need to travel to their jobs and home safely again. Australians know they can trust the Deputy Prime Minister to deliver on infrastructure.

Let me pivot to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Recently, just in the last week, he visited Moncrieff. The feedback that I have received from the locals who met him at Ashmore Men's Shed and at TriCare aged-care home in Mermaid Beach is that they see the qualities of intellect and compassion that the minister holds and that will be required to lead improvement in our aged-care system. The most important thing that we have to show for this budget, I think, is an aged-care system that treats older Australians with the respect and dignity they deserve. The record investment of $17.7 billion over the next five years, along with the reform we are delivering, will improve the quality, safety and provision of aged-care services. It's a $10 uplift per day per resident, which is considerable in the aged-care environment.

Let's talk about the Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business. He knows that one of the best things that we will have to show from the budget is driving unemployment down to low levels. Of course, that requires investment—a great deal of investment—in skills. Except perhaps for the Greens, everyone in this place understands how fundamentally important jobs are to the mental, physical and financial wellbeing of individuals and how that flows through to their families, and the minister understands that small businesses provide jobs to 50 per cent of all Australians. Low unemployment will be one of the great achievements of the Morrison government. It is great to have a Gold Coast colleague looking after small business, which is the heart and soul of the Gold Coast's economy.

Another legacy of this budget will be a major contribution to the transition to affordable, reliable low-emission energy supply—a transition driven by technology, not by taxes. The Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction understands that taxing our way to lower emissions would also be a path to lower employment. Instead he's enabling change driven by technology. As the Prime Minister has said, higher taxes are bad policy when you are seeking to recover, which is exactly what this country is doing: we are in recovery. The Prime Minister reciprocates the trust the Australian people have given him and the coalition. Everyone on this side of the House trusts the Australian people to be the best judges of how to spend their own money. The tax cuts that they will receive they will be able to spend. We trust the ingenuity of the Australian people to both invent new energy technology and deploy the best of global technology. We trust that, if we lay road, rail, digital and all other kinds of infrastructure, Australians will literally and figuratively drive their own recovery.

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