Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to inform the Chamber and my community on the northern Gold Coast that the Turnbull government has delivered in this budget for those living on the Gold Coast. This is a budget that takes care of our senior citizens and retirees. It's a budget that supports and helps families. This is a budget that provides essential services that northern Gold Coasters need and, indeed, rely upon. Importantly, this is a budget that is backing working Australians. We're backing the honest and hardworking men and women in my electorate of the northern Gold Coast by providing responsible tax relief, starting in just 7½ weeks, from 1 July this year, focusing on middle- and low-income earners. We are lifting tax brackets over time to ensure wages don't get eaten up by higher taxes. We're making sure that those who work hard, over time, don't lose out. This is a seven-year personal tax plan. This is your seven-year tax plan. We're awarding Australians, you, who earn a promotion or strive for a better-paying job, by reducing the amount of tax you pay so you can take more home. In my electorate, 73,000 taxpayers in the northern Gold Coast will benefit from the low- to middle-income tax relief starting from 1 July this year. Seven out of every 10 working Gold Coasters are getting tax relief.

I can't emphasise enough how important this is for my community. A high school teacher on $75,000 in the northern Gold Coast will have an extra $530 in their pocket from this year's budget onwards. That is an extra $3,740 in their pocket over the seven years of their personal income tax reduction plan. A workshop manager in Fadden on $88,000 will have $575 extra in their pocket and over $4,000 returned to them in tax relief as part of their personal tax reduction plan. A shop assistant on $45,000 in the northern Gold Coast will have an extra $440 in their pocket and an extra $3,380 over the life of their seven-year personal reduction plan. A hairdresser earning $50,000 in the northern Gold Coast will have an extra $530 in their pocket and $3,740 over the next seven years as part of their seven-year personal tax reduction plan. Someone working in fast food on $42,000 will have an extra $530 in their pocket and $3,020 over the life of their seven-year personal tax reduction plan. An accountant on $87,000 will have an extra $530 in their pocket and $3,740 over the next seven years as part of their personal tax reduction plan. Eight out of 10 of the northern Gold Coasters will have reduced tax. This is a red-letter day. This is good stuff.

But it's not just about tax relief; there's so much more for my electorate and for the hardworking mums and dads on the Gold Coast. We know how important child care is. On the northern Gold Coast, as of 2 July our new child care system will be in place and 8,739 local families in my electorate will benefit from those reforms. Almost 10 per cent of the families on the northern Gold Coast will benefit because of what the government's doing. The National Energy Guarantee will ensure Australians and businesses can have affordable and reliable energy. People in my community—everyone—will receive relief.

The budget is also evidence of how we're building a stronger economy. Some 21,000 local businesses in the northern Gold Coast with turnovers of up to $50 million if they're incorporated and up to $5 million if unincorporated, will receive some support. The budget extends the popular instant asset write-off for small businesses for a further 12 months, so they can instantly write-off assets up to $20,000. Thousands of the local businesses in my community will benefit. There's a billion dollars for the M1 on the table that, of course, is waiting for Labor state government to stump up their half so we can complete the most important interconnector in our country—that between the Gold Coast and Brisbane. This road was started by then Premier Borbidge over 20 years ago. We can end it now with a billion dollars on the table. There's $140 billion over the next four years for the film industry to take the location offset to some $77 million per annum, which will see thousands and thousands of Gold Coasters employed and over 6,000 businesses benefit.

It is an extraordinary budget for the Gold Coast—one of the best budgets I've seen in a decade. I'm looking forward to supporting it strongly on the floor of the House, as I support you in my electorate strongly in what you do every day.