Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. We now know that big business has refused to commit to create Australian jobs and to increase wages; to avoid offshoring; to invest in remote and rural Australia; or, my favourite, even to pay tax. Why is the Prime Minister so committed to his $65 billion giveaway to big business when big business won't commit anything in return to him?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, as I said to the House earlier in this question time, we don't rely on the altruism of company directors in framing taxation policy; we rely on economics—in fact, economics 101, something which seems to have been forgotten by the Labor Party.

Business will respond rationally and will invest more when the incentives are to invest, and it will employ more. And, because you get stronger economic growth you get more jobs. As Julia Gillard said—the heroine of honourable members opposite—if you're against lowering company taxes, you're against economic growth, and if you're against economic growth, you're against jobs.

But one thing that the Labor Party is really against is self-funded retirees and Australians who invest in those companies that need to grow strongly so that they can pay dividends to them. Our self-funded retirees generally invest in Australian companies because they benefit from the strong economic growth.

I want to give the honourable member opposite another dispatch from the frontline of his class war from another self-funded retiree, Stuart. He is in his 70s. He is in his retirement and he has about $450,000 in his self-managed superannuation fund. He's in the retirement stage. It's less than $1.6 million, so it's not liable to the 15 per cent tax. He gets annual dividends, fully grossed up, of about $34,000, of which $9,000 is the franking credit. Now, he—

Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What else is he on?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Oh, the Labor Party hate—

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

The member for Shortland is warned!

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Labor Party hate Australians that save! They hate Australians that work hard and save.

Mr Conroy interjecting—

Sneering! Sneering—

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

The Prime Minister will pause! The Prime Minister is going to tell whatever he thinks to the member for Shortland as the member for Shortland leaves under 94(a). I can't make it any clearer. He's interjected repeatedly. He's warned and he even acknowledges being warned and then interjects within 10 seconds. He is unhelpable.

The member for Shortland then left the chamber.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One thing all of those self-funded retirees I was with this morning, with Senator Seselja, said—one thing they all knew and all agreed on—was that all of those Labor members that are going after their savings will have much more in superannuation and much better pensions than any of them will have. But let me return to Stuart. He has $34,000 coming in for his dividends. His fund does not pay tax—it's in the retirement stage—and $9,000 of that is franking credits. The Labor Party wants to take that off him. But if he had $34,000 in rent or in interest he would keep the lot. How crazy is that? What is this? It's penalising older Australians for investing in Australian companies. (Time expired)