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

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline how the government is promoting economic growth and how the budget is strengthening the Australian economy?

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

I thank the honourable member for Page for that question, noting that he is also someone who worked in a small business, who comes from a small business family. Of course many small businesses are family businesses. They often employ other members of the family as well as the children and the parents—cousins and aunts and uncles—and those who are not related often become family in a small business. The member for Page knows that. That is one of the reasons why, when we were formulating the recent budget, we were very mindful that if we could put in place measures that helped to strengthen small business—the two million small businesses in Australia—then that would help to strengthen the Australian economy. I am pleased to say that the small business package passed through the House of Representatives today, on time, as it should have—

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ha!

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

Do you think it is funny? You do not like small business, do you? You turned a lot of big businesses into small businesses when you were in government, and now you do not like small businesses again. Labor had five small business ministers in 15 months. Everyone in the Labor Party wanted to be small business minister—but they only got through five in 15 months. Their love of small business was short lived; our love of small business is continuing and enduring because so many on our side come from small businesses. The small business package was calibrated to focus on lifting the tide for all businesses—if you have a strong small business sector out there it helps medium-sized businesses and it helps big businesses as well. That means more jobs, and we welcome that. Of course you are going to find from time to time that you have headwinds but obviously when you have an economic plan, as the coalition government does, you can continue along the path despite the headwinds. The Secretary-General of the OECD, Angel Gurria, said overnight when he was asked by the Australian ABC about how Australia's budget was going:

I think what is being done by Australia is also what is being done by countries in Europe and … United States—in the face of changing circumstances you adapt but you don't lose the main direction, the main aim, which is to make public finances sustainable over time.

The head of the OECD said we were doing a very good job in maintaining the momentum in fixing public finances. As the Prime Minister said, in the first three months of this year we had one of the fastest growing economies in the developed world. We had that growth despite the pressures of falling iron ore prices and despite the pressures on coal prices. We had one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and that is good reason for Australians to be proud.