Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on how the government is reducing taxes right across the economy? What are the risks for hardworking families of high-taxing alternatives?

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

I thank the member for Bowman for his question. I know that he is working hard for the more than 14,000 small and medium-sized businesses, the more than 25,000 retirees and the thousands of families across his electorate. They know that the Australian economy is strong and growing. Growth is up. Unemployment is down. Over the last financial year, more than 100,000 young people have got a job—the highest number on record.

All of this is put at risk by a Labor Party that will tax you from the cradle to the grave. In fact, they've got a new agency. 'Births, Deaths and Taxes'—That's their new agency! They have a $200 billion down payment—increased taxes on your income, increased taxes on your business, increased taxes on your electricity, increased taxes on your savings and a despicable increase in tax on your property with their changes to negative gearing and capital gains.

We've seen today from Master Builders Australia what the impact would be of Labor's policy—32,000 jobs lost, including for plumbers and carpenters. There would be an $11.8 billion hit to the Australian economy and 42,000 fewer dwellings would be built because of Labor's policy. So, as a result of Labor's new property tax, not only will rents go up, not only will jobs go down, but the value of the family home, the No. 1 asset, will be hit.

The Labor Party has flip-flopped on company tax. The Labor Party has flip-flopped on the retiree tax. It's only a matter of time before the Labor Party lacks the courage of their convictions to take this disastrous property tax to the Australian people.

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

If the member for McMahon could just pause for a second—the Leader of the House needs to refer to my statements on both days of this week. It is very disturbing. I can't hear the question. Can the member for McMahon begin again.

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

I thought I'd just had a Dorothy Dixer! Beware those who protest too much—that's what I say. This is what the Master Builders Australia CEO said: 'We didn't need to consider the grandfathering because we're looking at future investment, so the hits in terms of increased housing mean that future investment is less likely, and therefore we will see a downturn in the housing sector as a result of Labor's policy.'

We know that Labor's policy will hit those who have invested in the property sector—the teachers, the police officers, the emergency services workers, the nurses. And we know that the Labor Party's policy is a new Labor Party policy, because what did the then Treasurer of the Labor Party in Australia, the member for Lilley, say when Labor was last in government? What did the member for Lilley, Euromoney's man of the year, say about negative gearing? This is what the member for Lilley said when he was Treasurer: 'It would be economically disastrous to do anything on negative gearing'! 'Economically disastrous'! Now that the member for Lilley is the incoming president of the Labor Party, maybe he can change this disastrous Labor policy to increase property tax on hardworking Australian families.

Mr Rob Mitchell interjecting—

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

The member for McEwen will cease interjecting.