Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on how the government is working to keep our economy strong by creating jobs, lowering taxes and backing small business to help people get ahead, including in my electorate of Robertson? Is the Treasurer aware of any alternative policies?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Robertson for her question because she, like millions of Australians, knows that the coalition are proven economic managers and the Labor Party can't be trusted to run the economy. They can't be trusted to manage money. That's why they're coming after the money of the Australian people.

The national accounts numbers show that the Australian economy is growing strongly: 3.4 per cent through the year, the fastest rate since the height of the mining boom in 2012. We know that we have legislated tax relief for more than 10 million Australian income earners and more than three million small and medium-sized enterprises, and yesterday the parliament passed the extension of the instant asset write-off, which has benefited hundreds of thousands of businesses. And we're bringing the budget back to balance a year earlier than expected, in 2019-20.

The labour force figures for August continue this good economic news: 44,000 new jobs in the month, more than double the median market forecast, and three-quarters of those jobs were full time. These numbers confirm that over 100,000 young Australians have got a job in 2017-18. This is the best financial year result since records were first kept. Participation rates are up. Underemployment rates are down. In trend terms, the Australian economy has been creating more than 10,000 jobs a month for 22 months consecutively.

This shows that our economic plan is working, benefiting small businesses across all electorates—like, in Robertson, Bambi Enterprises, in West Gosford, which makes quilts, pillows and bedding; and Eastcoast beverages, in Kulnura, which employs over 30 people making fruit juices for supermarkets. This record of jobs growth is in contrast to what the Labor Party are offering the Australian people: higher taxes. They'll raid your savings. They'll put up energy prices. They'll blow the budget. That is what you'll get from a Labor Party if they get a chance in office. Only the coalition can be trusted to run the Australian economy.