House debates

Wednesday, 3 April 2019

Adjournment

Budget

7:49 pm

Photo of Terri ButlerTerri Butler (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Young Australians and Youth Affairs) Share this | | Hansard source

I might take this opportunity to express my best wishes to all of those people who work at the parliament who are retiring at the end of this term. I know of course, Mr Speaker, you will have done so in private, as well. I'm sure you've also expressed your public regard for those people who are leaving us at the end of this term.

I rise to speak about last night's federal budget. I regret to tell you that it is yet another federal budget from the coalition government that fails to fund Cross River Rail. This project has been a project of national significance now for many, many years. It is crying out for federal funding. It is an absolute shame that the government has failed to provide a federal contribution to Cross River Rail. We need this project in the south-east corner to help bust traffic congestion, to help improve public transport and to help people get to work. The federal government should have funded Cross River Rail. If Labor wins the election, we will fund Cross River Rail.

I also want to make some remarks about other traffic congestion issues in my electorate of Griffith, on the south side of Brisbane. Everyone on the south side knows the importance of removing the Cavendish Road level crossing at Coorparoo, but the government has failed to provide any funding to remove it. It is not just me who knows this is an important project. The LNP-led council recognised the importance of it in the 2014 city plan and, as you are probably aware, the South East Queensland Council of Mayors identified it as a priority in 2016, and as recently as this year, the Council of Mayors, in their 2019 mass people movement study, again identified this as a really important project for our area.

The government should be putting federal money into removing the level crossing at Cavendish Road in Coorparoo. It is not good enough that people in Coorparoo, in Camp Hill, in Carina and in Carina Heights, and all the suburbs around that area—not just in my electorate, but beyond into Bonner and into Bowman—have to put up with this major traffic snarl when they are just trying to get the kids to school or trying to get into the city to go to work of a morning. This issue must be fixed. I have been talking about this issue for the entire time I have been elected. I want this government to make a contribution to the removal of the Coorparoo Cavendish Road level crossing. If they won't, then they should be looking at what they can do to partner with other levels of government to get a contribution for this, because my locals are sick and tired of this Coorparoo level crossing. It is one of the highest volume level crossings in the state of Queensland—it is in the top two—in terms of traffic that goes through the level crossing. It causes major congestion, particularly in the morning peak. This government needs to put its money where its mouth is. You talk about congestion-busting infrastructure. Well, where is the money for the removal of the level crossing at Coorparoo?

I also want to raise with the House some concerns I have about some other policy issues. Unfortunately, last night's federal budget baked in the Liberal-National government's cuts to public school funding. It is a $14 billion funding cut that the Liberal-National government has imposed on public schools. It will take a Labor government to fix school funding. In my electorate alone, the cuts mean $16.43 million for public schools in Griffith over three years. We will restore that funding if we are elected at the next election. A future Shorten Labor government, if elected, will make sure, through the Fair Go For Schools program, that those funding cuts—$16.43 million for public schools in Griffith over three years—are restored. Our local schools deserve the best possible funding outcome, because they deserve needs based funding. The kids who go to those schools deserve to get a world-class education. No matter what school you go to on the south side, you deserve to get an excellent education, and Labor will make sure that we restore the funding that's been cut from education by the Liberals and Nationals.

We'll also restore penalty rates. We have repeatedly sought to get this House to vote to restore the penalty rates that have been cut, but the sad fact is the coalition government supports the cuts to penalty rates. There are 13,214 retail and hospitality workers in Griffith who have had their Sunday penalty rates cut under the LNP. By employment, retail is the fifth-biggest industry in my electorate—6,568 workers—and hospitality is the fourth biggest, at 6,646. Those working Australians rely on their penalty rates to put food on the table and to pay the rent. They can't trust the Liberals to restore them. Labor will restore the penalty rates.

7:54 pm

Photo of Trevor EvansTrevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

For the first time in 12 years, after more than a decade of deficits, the budget is returning to surplus. We're back in the black. Our country is, once again, living within its means. This budget surplus has come about only because our government has remained committed to our economic plan to restore the nation's finances and fix the problems Labor left behind. Importantly, we're returning to surplus and reducing debt not through higher taxes but through good budget management and by sustaining growth. Returning the budget to surplus is an important economic milestone. Of course, it goes to confidence and business sentiment and it sustains our AAA credit rating, amongst other tangible benefits, yet a surplus is not just an end in and of itself. At the end of the day, a strong budget and a strong economy is what our communities and our constituents need to deliver on their needs and aspirations.

One reason it's important to put the nation's finances on a more sustainable footing is to reduce the burden on future generations. Yesterday marked the beginning of the end of the intergenerational theft that Labor's debt has imposed on our future generations. A budget surplus enables us to guarantee the essential services that Australians need and rely on. And a budget surplus means more invested in infrastructure, in our healthcare system, in training, in education and in our environment and less wasted on paying interest.

This budget strongly backs small and medium-sized businesses by lowering their taxes, allowing them to reinvest in their businesses, employ more workers and grow. The small businesses in Brisbane, which I support and love so dearly, rely on good economic policy because they are delivering the opportunities and the prosperity we all want to see for the future. Put simply, stronger small businesses mean more local jobs and better paid jobs. There are now over 36,000 small and medium businesses in Brisbane. I am so proud that there are 3,000 more small businesses in Brisbane than when I was elected three years ago. It's no coincidence that, at the same time as all of that growth in our small-business sector, Brisbane's unemployment rate is now estimated to be as low as 4.2 per cent, down from almost six per cent when our government took office. That's why I'm so proud that this budget continues our strong support for small business. It brings forward their 25 per cent tax rate and increases their access to finance with a new $2 billion fund, and it increases and extends the instant asset write-off, which I know is being used successfully by so many of our local small businesses around Brisbane to grow and to take their businesses to the next level.

The budget is also providing additional income tax relief to over 88,000 hardworking Brisbane residents. The budget delivers immediate tax relief of up to $1,080 for low- and middle-income earners and up to $2,160 for a dual-income couple. Over 33,000 locals around Brisbane will receive the full tax offset of $1,080 in their next tax return in about 13 weeks time. This tax relief is a dividend from strong economic management, and it will help ease the cost-of-living pressures faced by Brisbane households.

There's a stark contrast developing here on tax policy, because the alternative is $200 billion of tax increases from the Labor Party. A Shorten Labor government means new and higher taxes on retirees, housing, income, investments, trusts, family businesses and energy. In Brisbane, over 7,000 local residents would be hit by Labor's proposed retiree tax. More than 11,000 Brisbane residents invest in a rental house or flat using negative gearing, which Labor would abolish. On top of that, every house owner will have the value of their biggest investment hit, and every renter in Brisbane is predicted to see their rents rise by up to 22 per cent.

Our government has restored the nation's finances, strengthened our economy and guaranteed essential services without increasing taxes. There is record funding for schools, hospitals, aged care, medical research and the environment without an increase in taxes. There are more life-saving medicines on the PBS, as well as record funding for youth mental health, record funding to fight the scourge of ice, record funding for the Great Barrier Reef and more funding to reduce emissions.

7:59 pm

Photo of Shayne NeumannShayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | | Hansard source

After six years of cuts and chaos, the Liberal-National Party government continues to neglect Australian's migrant and multicultural communities, and the budget has delivered a con job to those people hoping to contribute to our society and call Australia home. There's nothing in the budget to improve visa processing times, and the Liberals and Nationals still want to privatise Australia's visa processing system, putting at risk 3,000 Australian jobs, putting at risk our national security and putting at risk the privacy of people. Longer visa processing times mean that people are waiting longer to be reunited with family members. People are putting their lives on hold until they can finally settle in Australia. Processing times for partner visas are now at a record 28 months, and there are nearly 200,000 people on bridging visas waiting to have their applications processed. In addition to that, an incredible 81,000 asylum seekers have arrived by plane since 1 July 2014 under the Liberals and Nationals, including the time when the current Prime Minister was immigration minister. This is not good enough.

House adjourned at 20:00