Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I was wishing to congratulate the new Speaker sitting in that chair, but, Deputy Speaker, it is wonderful to be able to congratulate you on your recovery and your health and that you have returned to that important chair. We are equally happy to see you there.

You've got to give it to the member for Rankin. He is slick as he auditions for the job of Leader of the Opposition after the next election. Of course, his so-called matter of public importance is part of that critical strategy. When those on the opposition front bench fall, he plans to snare the prize by trying to build an argument and a narrative that he is the one who is interested in the future of the Australian economy. But the reality is Labor has had nothing of value to say over the past 12 months—in fact, over the past two years—of the COVID-19 pandemic. They most certainly have no agenda on how they want to build the future of the Australian economy and not just back Australians through the difficult time but back them to build the future so that they can realise their ambitions, their dreams and their hopes for themselves and their families as part of the success of the future of Australia.

The reality is members on the opposition side have always preferred that Australia fails rather than a coalition government succeeds. They give no quarter and no recognition of the incredible achievements of not just government—although obviously that is a critical part of the conversation—but how Australians have risen to the challenge of the past two years. If we look back to two years ago at the situation facing not just Australia but the world, we saw a situation where people were looking into the abyss, into the great unknown, not sure about where we were going to head. People were deeply worried about their future not just for themselves but also, of course, for their families, for their small businesses, for their standard of living and for their future.

Working with the government, Australians have risen to that challenge on an epic scale across the entire continent, where we face a considerable outcome. We're going to have one of the highest vaccination rates—if not the highest vaccination rates—of any nation in the world. I remember when members of the opposition said that whether we could deliver vaccines was a critical test of our job. I hate to break it to them, but we've not just met that benchmark; we've smashed it, with one of the highest vaccination rates anywhere in the world—and we've done that without the considerable number of deaths that have occurred in many other countries. In addition, we've come out of the COVID-19 pandemic with a level of low unemployment. We've done it because we have understood that the success of Australia doesn't come from Canberra down; it's because we have backed Australians through this critical time.

You just need to look at the challenges that people, particularly those in the great states of Victoria and New South Wales, have faced. We've faced considerable challenges around lockdowns, where small businesses have struggled to get back onto their feet because of the punitive measures introduced by state governments, often called upon even more obsessively by members of the Labor Party on the opposition benches, who want to see small businesses being trashed as a consequence of harsher measures. We've turned around and said, 'What can we do to back the small businesses of our country?' They're the chief employers of our country, so they're in the best position to be able to keep Australians standing on their own two feet. The situation, particularly in New South Wales and Victoria, has been very clear. The number of new hires is up 25 per cent in New South Wales, while in Victoria new hires are up 15 per cent as we come out of this period. It's meant that Australians are in a position to be able to back themselves, back their families and, of course, back their communities as the foundation of the success of the great Australian recovery.

But it's not just in that space. We've seen the hard data. This matter of public importance is about the underlying strength of the economy and, particularly, wages. You set the benchmark, just like the vaccine rollout; so let's go with it. The latest ABS data shows wages grew by 2.2 per cent throughout the year, higher than the 1.5 per cent forecast in the budget. Wages growth of 2.2 per cent in the September quarter is the strongest since the start of the pandemic. The benchmark was set for wages growth. The benchmark was not just met or beaten but smashed by this government, because we have continued to back Australians as a consequence.

We know that this is in direct contrast with the proposals put forward by the Labor Party. You just need to look at their position in the lead-up to the last election. We see the member for Maribyrnong here. I'm sure the member for McMahon has legitimately left because he wouldn't want to be reminded of his contribution to their train wreck election outcome—let alone the member for Rankin, who was the co-author of their $387 billion taxes plan which would've hit households, would have hit Australian retirees, would have hit jobs and would have hit the interests of everyday Australians. For the past decade, every single time that the Labor Party have confronted a challenge, they have had one solution: to impose a new tax. If they've run out of money, they've imposed a new tax—because they see your money, the Australian people's money, as their own. When it comes to the challenges of fiscal discipline, it's, 'Let's hit retirees and push them below the poverty line by imposing an up to 30 per cent income tax on their interests.'

Let's look at what they want to do with households. Whereas we want to promote housing affordability in this country—and this government has a very proud record of getting first homeowners into homes—Labor's solution was to add more taxes to increase rents. Let's go to the portfolio for which I'm partly responsible. Labor wanted to cut greenhouse gas emissions. What was their solution? It was to impose a new tax along the way. In fact, at every single point they have found a new tax. When they've come up with a proposition before an election and they've been asked about their new taxes, they've said one of two things: either that there will not be one—and then they've broken their promise after their election; or they have said, 'We are absolutely doing it, and you're perfectly welcome to vote against us.' And that's what the Australian people have done every step of the way.

When we come up to the next election, Australians are going to face a choice about the future of our country, and it is going to come down to who they trust to be able to deliver economic growth and opportunity so they and their children have the best chance and best wicket at life. And they know the consequences of what happens with the Labor Party—and we've seen this before: they want to impose more taxes on households, on income earners, on retirees and on houses themselves to make sure they can get as much of your money under their control. The solution from the Labor Party is always, 'How do we empower Canberra to impose and conform?' and the solution from a Liberal government is always, 'How do we empower Australians and get out of their way?' This is going to be one of the biggest challenges that are going to face the Australian people at the next election.

I know that members of the Labor Party hate us talking about it, but the reality is that, throughout this entire pandemic period, they have consistently argued why the government should spend billions of dollars of more money, on the basis of them complaining that they want money to be funnelled to certain interests or certain benefits. And this government has, at every point, been prudent and responsible in how it has spent money to make sure that there has not been needless waste and, of course, needless debt.

That is an indicator of where this discussion is going to go in the future in the lead-up to the next election. Labor will spend more money and incur more debt and, as sure as night follows day, it will put pressure on interest rates and we will see those many Australians out there who have mortgages pay higher prices under a future Labor government. They will face more costs in debt refinancing, more challenges about their capacity to be able to afford their mortgage and, of course, will face a big challenge about whether they are going to be able to maintain their standards of living. When it comes down to it, Labor always goes after Australians' hip pockets, because that is the only solution that they have to any problem. They always see the solutions for the country through themselves, not through the success of the millions of Australian households and how they can stand on their own two feet.

But, more critically, this government is making sure that we map out a plan for the future development of the Australian economy in a globally challenging environment towards carbon neutrality. In the last sitting of this parliament, we outlined Australia's first comprehensive, economy-wide plan, not just to get Australia to be carbon neutral but also to make sure that we can thrive in that environment and lay the foundations for the future economy and future export industries that Australians are going to come to rely upon; make sure that we can back those industries that are going to have to adjust, so they reach a soft landing; make sure that we can back those Australians to be able to secure their job so their communities can survive and thrive; and make sure that we build that future that Australians so desperately want. We want a future where every Australian can realise their ambition and their dreams. Labor want one where their solution is more tax.

See this speech in context