Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Given the Treasurer was forced to apologise for calling new mums double-dippers on national television last night and given the Treasurer's own budget papers refer to double-dippers, will the Treasurer now remove these references from his budget and abandon his entire plan to cut Paid Parental Leave for new mums?

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

Well, no, because the saving associated with this initiative is part of the program to pay for additional spending on child care. The fact is that we have had to spend in excess of $5½ billion extra on child care already and we have also committed to an extra $3½ billion in response to the recommendations of the Productivity Commission, and what is more is we have committed an extra $900 million to preschools across Australia because the Labor Party stopped funding preschools. The Labor Party stopped funding preschools in Australia. Shame! They stopped funding preschools in Australia.

Ms Butler interjecting—

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

The member for Griffith will leave under 94(a).

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

We stepped up to the plate and said, 'We have to find the savings to pay for the gross mismanagement of the Labor Party and the malevolence of the Labor Party towards preschool children and the kindergartens they are at.' So I said, 'Well, I'm sorry. We've got to find the savings.' One way of finding the savings is to do what is appropriate in relation to the Paid Parental Leave scheme set up by the Labor Party, and that is to ensure that $11½ thousand is available to mums when they have a child. But, if they are being paid the same or more by their employer, then they cannot access the government's scheme. In particular, public servants who do access a taxpayer funded scheme should not be able to also access a separate scheme through Centrelink.

I wish there were a magic pudding. I wish there were this money tree that the Leader of the Opposition seems to assume exists, but there is no money tree. Ultimately, the government is in a position where it has to borrow money every day just to pay the bills. When we do have new expenditure to respond to the needs and wants of mums and dads, if we are going to have that new expenditure, then we have to have the savings to pay for it. This is one of those responsible measures and it does just that.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture. Will the minister update the House on the benefits of the budget to the agriculture sector, particularly for farmers in my electorate of Page? Also, how will the budget help create jobs and increase opportunity?

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. Might I say that he, more than most, would know about the turnarounds that we have had in the cattle industry for one—turnarounds that have meant that in the last fortnight we have seen prices of $3.13 a kilogram for cattle in Wagga, $3.16 in Tamworth and an average price of $2.90 a kilogram in Dubbo. I know the honourable member is himself a cattle producer. He speaks of the budget and what it means for people who, for the first time in a long while, are starting to make real money. People who make real money are obviously looking for the capacity to reinvest in their farm. It was during the budget just past that we managed to deliver a tax deduction for those whose turnover is less than $2 million a year, and that is a substantial cattle producer. That deduction would mean that someone at Kempsey or someone at Kyogle could go out and buy a new welder and write it completely off at a cost of less than $20,000; a compressor that costs less than $20,000 and write that completely off; a motorbike—we do not want to write it off in the paddock but write it off for tax purposes—and write that completely off; a cattle crush that costs less than $20,000. Why that is important is that these things are manufactured in our nation. These are things that are manufactured in Australia. It is a stimulus to the manufacturing industry of our nation.

I am also happy to state that we are in consultations with the Treasurer and with industry about bringing forward the write-offs on water reticulation, even for companies and organisations whose turnover is in excess of $2 million. This is a great stimulus to the refurbishment of the irrigation precincts and to the establishment of the capacity to make sure that we make our areas more drought prepared. Not only that, we are consulting for the write-off of 100 per cent of fences in the area and also to make sure that we can write off hay sheds and silos so that people get a greater capacity to market their grain. This is all part of this budget.

On top of that, if the turnover of a small business is below $2 million, they get a small business corporate tax deduction of 1½ per cent. We all know that, as a partnership, both individuals get the tax free threshold; on top of that, we are allowing a small business rebate to the value of $1,000. All these things are part of what this government has done for people on the land. It does not even mention the $330 million we put towards drought. It is a clear statement that a change in government really does make a change to the lives of people on the land.