House debates

Tuesday, 27 October 2020

Questions without Notice

Economy

2:50 pm

Photo of Nicolle FlintNicolle Flint (Boothby, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer remind the House how the extensive range of economic support, including tax cuts, in the Morrison government's economic recovery plan is helping families to get ahead and businesses to create jobs, especially in my electorate of Boothby? Is the Treasurer aware of any alternative policies?

2:51 pm

Photo of Josh FrydenbergJosh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | | Hansard source

I thank the member for Boothby for her question. I acknowledge her time at the chamber of commerce, as a journalist and for taking on GetUp and winning. Well done, Member of Boothby! The member for Boothby, like those on this side of the House, understands that the economic recovery across Australia is now underway, with 446,000 jobs having been created in the last four months. Sixty per cent of those jobs have gone to women and 40 per cent have gone to young people. We saw an increase in consumer sentiment this month—of 11.9 per cent. That was the single-largest increase in consumer sentiment in a budget month since the series first began in 1974. We've seen Australia's AAA credit rating recently reaffirmed, and I can inform the House that today consumer confidence increased for the eighth straight week. Consumer confidence is now back to the level it was at the start of the pandemic, in early March.

The reality is that the Morrison government has responded with an unprecedented level of economic support, and that economic support has helped save 700,000 jobs. We saw in the budget the next phase of our economic recovery plan. There's extra money for research and development, for skills, for training, for bringing forward infrastructure projects and for investing in new infrastructure projects. Importantly, we're also putting money back into the pockets of Australians, with tax cuts for more than 11½ million Australians. If you're earning $60,000, you will pay $2,160 less tax this year than before our program was rolled out. We've also seen an expanded instant asset write-off and a loss-carry-back measure. These are all designed to support jobs and economic activity.

I'm asked whether there are any alternative approaches. We know that only those on this side of the House stand for lower taxes. The member for Rankin and the member for McMahon took to the last election $387 billion of higher taxes, which are still on their books. Do you remember the member for McMahon saying, 'If you don't like our retirees tax, you don't have to vote for it.' The news for the member for McMahon is: Australians didn't vote for it! We also know that the member for Rankin let his guard down the other day at the Press Club and revealed the real truth when he said that the legislated tax cuts were a handout. Well, tax cuts are not a handout from government; tax cuts are the government handing back to the Australian people their money. We on this side of the House stand for lower taxes for all Australians.