Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer to the Treasurer's new approach of pursuing alternative savings measures. Will the Treasurer consider the following alternatives: (1) scrapping the Prime Minister's signature $20 billion Paid Parental Leave Scheme, (2) scrapping the $2.6 billion Direct Action Policy, (3) dropping his $1.1 billion tax break for multinational companies and (4) stopping his reversal of Labor's measures to ensure that high-income earners pay a fair tax on superannuation?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I really appreciate that question. I do so because obviously it is starting to dawn on the Labor Party that they have to have an alternative to their approach. And the alternative is the embarrassment associated with them voting against their own savings from their last budget. Labor cannot even keep their promises from before the election, so how would you expect them to keep their promises now?

Ms Collins interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Franklin, if there is one more utterance, is gone.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

But one promise we can be absolutely sure of is that they will bring back the carbon tax; we can be absolutely sure of that. And I say to the member for McMahon: on paid parental leave, we believe, for a whole lot of reasons, that women should have the same pay as men. We believe that a mother and her family should not be financially penalised for having a child. We believe that it is a workplace entitlement. We believe that small business should have the very same opportunity as large business—

Ms Chesters interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bendigo will cease.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and as the public sector to pay their employees the same amount of money when it comes to paid parental leave. We believe that women should not be financially penalised for having a child.

Mr Bowen interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I presume the member for McMahon wishes to have his matter of public importance today. He will desist.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Secondly, the Labor Party made a huge number of announcements in relation to taxation savings in the last budget, and when we came in to government the Treasury advised us that they could not be legislated. And why? Because Labor was so incompetent at drafting taxation policy that they were undeliverable policy announcements. Look no further than the mining tax, which under Labor had five different drafts and then, at the end of the day, raised just three per cent of what it promised.

So, Labor is a complete fraud when it comes to taxation policy. They do not know how to write it, and when they introduce the taxes all they do is harm the Australian economy. And the third key thing about Labor that the Australian people ought to understand is that you can never trust what Labor says; you can only look at what they do. And when it comes to Labor, they will promise to have surpluses—

Mr Brendan O'Connor interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Gorton is warned.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They will promise to fix the debt and deficit, but the fact is that they do everything they possibly can to ensure that the budget is worse off, and they do everything they possibly can to ensure that at the end of the day every Australian pays for the incompetence of bad Labor governments.