Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) | Hansard source

As the member for Wright just said, they were all told it was going to be easier. Sadly, that is very, very far from the case. It is not easier. It is getting tougher each and every day. The government has no answers and is completely out of credibility in this space.

We welcome the reduction in taxes for people on lower to middle incomes because we're a party of lower taxes. We've always prided ourselves on having a lower tax environment, and that was exactly the purpose of the three stages of tax cuts. This government has presided over a 27 per cent increase in personal income tax receipts in its time in government. The coalition, should it be returned to government, will focus on delivering lower, simpler, fairer taxes. We will look at fighting bracket creep to enshrine aspiration in our tax system, not just for households but for business.

I've spoken to a number of businesses of late, including manufacturing businesses—and it's interesting to see the Minister for Industry, Science and Resources in the chamber—who are talking about shutting their manufacturing processes here in Australia and moving them offshore. They'll keep their R&D here, but they've said to me it is just too hard and just too difficult. One of the key drivers of costs for them is electricity, but the increase in our electricity costs is, in part, a direct result of government policy. On the one hand you have the Treasurer saying, 'We need to reduce taxes to deal with the cost-of-living issues,' yet on the other hand we have the Minister for Climate Change and Energy driving up living costs by virtue of government policies in the space of energy. Energy goes into every single part of our economy. Until the government is prepared to deal with those issues, we will not see a reduction in the overall cost of living for people. As a businessperson said to me recently: 'If I think costs are going to continue to go up, I'm going to put my prices up in preparation for those costs going up. I'm going to insulate my business.' That is the mindset business is in today. I don't see that any of the government policies currently proposed are going to do anything to address those issues.

On this side, we want to reward hard work and support a strong economy where every Australian can get ahead and to unite Australians rather than pit people against each other. Whilst the coalition is supporting this bill, it is clear that these changes do nothing in the long term to provide relief—or they only provide relief for a fraction of the cost-of-living burden that Australians have incurred. The Prime Minister, who campaigned on integrity and transparency and even uttered the phrase, 'My word is my bond,' can no longer be trusted by the Australian people.

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