Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services. Will the minister update the House how the government's economic plan is delivering a strong economy as reflected in today's national accounts? How do businesses and families benefit from a strong economy, including those in my electorate of Swan?

Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to thank the member for Swan for this very important question. He understands, and his community understands—

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A few questions have been asked in your electorate, as well!

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Rankin is warned.

Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

how important it is to have a strong and growing economy, and how delivering the right framework delivers higher wages for those people. The member for Swan understands that a growing economy does mean higher wages, better wages and more jobs, and today's national accounts show that the Australian economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the June quarter. It is more than double what we saw in the March quarter. There has been significant growth across many sectors, including the manufacturing, construction and agricultural sectors. All of this is very good news for businesses, workers and households in our economy.

Today, this very strong result comes off the back of strong jobs growth last financial year which saw about 240,000 jobs created across Australia. And it's on top of the very good news about the wages growth announced on Monday which saw a 1.2 per cent increase in total wages paid in the June quarter. Our government knows that despite 26 years of uninterrupted economic growth we cannot rest on our laurels. We need to put in place the right economic settings. And we have been doing that. Our very strong enterprise tax plan is delivering. It has delivered already very significant tax cuts to small and medium-sized enterprises across Australia, and that includes about 18,000 businesses in the electorate of Swan. But those opposite would put a handbrake on our economy and punish those small and medium-sized enterprises. They would punish them by increasing their taxes. In fact, they have a massive tax grab ahead, from those small and medium-sized enterprises: they would jack up their corporate tax rate to 30 per cent if they have a turnover between $2 million and $25 million. This is, of course, not in the best interests of those small businesses or the millions of Australians that are employed by them.

Labor used to actually believe in cutting taxes—they used to believe in that. In fact, even the Leader of the Opposition used to talk about it. He used to talk about it in this place and beyond. He used to say that cutting the company income tax rate increases domestic productivity and domestic investment. He said:

More capital means higher productivity and economic growth and leads to more jobs and higher wages.

Unfortunately though, the Labor Party now are focused on the politics of envy rather than the economics of opportunity. They would punish small-business people and they would punish their workers. They are only interested in the politics; not in the right economic policies.