Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline how the government is building a stronger economy that will mean more and better jobs for Australians?

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

I thank the honourable member for her question, recognising that she has been a terrific advocate for good economic policy over a long period and continues to be a good advocate a good economic reform. As Australia enters its 24th consecutive year of economic growth, we reflect on the fact that today's growth has been earned through economic reform which has come from both sides of the political divide—the deregulation of industry, the introduction of competition policy, competitiveness in the financial services industry, workplace deregulation and a range of other initiatives which have cut across political divide and helped to build prosperity. A fundamental point is that if we want to have economic growth in the future we need to have the sensible debates the Prime Minister just referred to which focus on the fact that we need to deliver reform today to get the benefits in the economy and for our families tomorrow. These days economic growth must be earned. There is no easy pathway. If we are going to earn economic growth, we have to make the decisions that strengthen the balance sheet of the nation and strengthen business, which ultimately is the major employer in the community. The initiatives which we took to the last election and which we have delivered, such as getting rid of the carbon tax, getting rid of the mining tax, building the infrastructure of the 21st century, signing new free trade agreements, getting rid of red tape on business, more than $2.1 billion, signing up to over $800 billion of new projects through environmental approvals which have been accelerated, helping small business to cut through many of their challenges, all of those things we promised we have delivered or are delivering.

The challenge now for Australia is that we get on with the job of delivering the structural reform today that will deliver a stronger budget and a more prosperous economy in the future. That is going to take bipartisan agreement. It is going to take a commitment from the old Labor Party, not the new Labor Party, the Labor Party of the legends like Bob Hawke and Paul Keating who were there to say, 'Let's undertake reform that is in the nation's interests.' We want to see that Labor Party re-emerge, a Labor Party which cares about the future, a Labor Party which puts public policy at the forefront of their concerns rather than the base politics so familiar to this Leader of the Opposition.