House debates

Thursday, 24 May 2018

Questions without Notice

Climate Change

2:01 pm

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

My question is to the Prime Minister. A decade ago, the Nationals began a campaign to end the Prime Minister's support for the climate change policy he staked his leadership on. Now it's reported that the Nationals have lost faith in the Prime Minister's ability to deliver his signature big business tax handout, the centrepiece of his economic plans. Will the Prime Minister tell the entire parliament, including the Nationals, that he won't give up on his core belief and signature tax policy to give $80 billion to big business?

Photo of Malcolm TurnbullMalcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

I assume the honourable member is referring to the government's enterprise tax plan, which involves reducing company tax to 25 per cent. That, of course, was described by the member for McMahon as a Labor thing and a great objective. It was. Of course, it was described by the Leader of the Opposition himself. Cutting company tax, he said, would increase investment, increase productivity and result in more jobs and better paid jobs. Every Labor leader before him has supported reducing company tax because they know it delivers more jobs and greater investment. That's what we have been seeing. We have had, in the last calendar year, the largest jobs growth in our history and, since the coalition was elected under the leadership of the member for Warringah in September 2013, 1,013,600 jobs were created—over a million jobs. The Labor Party say that the government's economic plan is not delivering. It's delivering record jobs growth. I remember when Labor leaders, going right back to Neville Wran—great leaders in the Labor Party—used to stand up and say it was all about jobs, jobs, jobs. Not anymore.

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

It's all about Nats, Nats, Nats!

Photo of Malcolm TurnbullMalcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

Listen to him. What a clown, seriously! What an embarrassing clown! Here we are, with record jobs growth and all he wants to do is catcall. He has got as much chance of getting away with his job-destroying, anti-business, anti-investment policies as he has in getting away with doctoring transcripts.