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

I thank the member for Bonner for his question and acknowledge his experience as a restauranteur and as a small-business person, something that those opposite have little experience of.

The Australian economy is recovering from the most significant economic shock since the Great Depression, and it's recovering with the support of $251 billion of direct financial support from the Morrison government: the JobKeeper program, the JobSeeker program, the cash flow boost, the $750 payments to millions of pensioners—to carers, to veterans and to others on income support. That has helped see 94 per cent of the 1.3 million Australians who either lost their jobs or saw their working hours reduced to zero come back to work. That has seen household spending, household consumption, go up. That has seen dwelling investment go up. That has seen business investment go up. And that has seen farm GDP grow. The net result is that in the December quarter we saw 3.1 per cent growth. This is the first time since records began, back in 1959, that Australia has enjoyed two consecutive quarters of economic growth of more than three per cent. And we've also seen business and consumer confidence come back to its pre-pandemic levels.

I recently had the opportunity to join the member for Bonner in his electorate, at Gumdale, where we went to Wallum Nurseries and we met with Peter, who said that, before JobKeeper came in, his business was on the edge. He said JobKeeper has seen him keep the 30 staff. As a result of programs from this side of the House, he is now taking on new apprentices. He's come off JobKeeper. This is another success story from across Queensland.

I'm asked: are there any threats? The greatest threat comes from those opposite with their plans for higher taxes—$387 billion of higher taxes.

Opposition Member:

An opposition member interjecting—

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

He says it's boring to talk about $387 billion, but that's not what the Australian people thought at the last election, because when the member for McMahon said, 'If you don't like our policies, don't vote for us,' they took him literally. Labor's higher taxes on superannuation, on income, on small business and on retirees would have been destructive to the Australian economy. Just the other week, he was given an opportunity to support our legislated stage 3 income tax cuts, and he refused to do so, saying, 'We'll have to wait and see.' It's because those on the other side of the House don't believe in lower taxes. We on this side of the House absolutely do.