One of the real success stories of Australia's response to the pandemic is the fact that we now see more Australians in work than ever before. There are, in fact, nearly two million more Australians in work than when we came to government. There are 375,000 more Australians in work than at the start of the pandemic. We've seen youth unemployment come down below 10 per cent for the first time in a decade, we have seen female unemployment at its lowest level since 1974, and we have seen the headline unemployment rate get down to its equal lowest level in 48 years, at four per cent. This is not luck; this is the result of an economic plan that has been working: the JobKeeper program that helped save 700,000 jobs; the cash flow boost that helped support small businesses; and the work we did on our aviation industry—we didn't buy an airline like Virgin; we absolutely allowed the private sector to sort that out, and, as a result we now have two strong domestic airlines. But one of the real signs of a strong economy is the increasing number of people taking up a trade apprenticeship, and to see more than 220,000 people in a trade apprenticeship, right now—the highest since records began in 1973—is a sign of a strong and healthy economy. We put in place a 50 per cent wage subsidy, which was really important in giving employees the confidence to keep those workers on. Chippies, plumbers, sparkies—not like Steve Irons!—hairdressers, chefs: apprentices that have been kept on through the crisis and now more apprentices are being kept on. That is a sign of a growing economy, and last night we put $2.8 billion dollars in the budget for further investments in apprentices, which will see $5,000 payments to the apprentices themselves and $15,000 to the employers who take them on, helping to boost the commencement and the completion rates. We are really proud of what the Australian people have achieved throughout this crisis to see us avoid the economic abyss, to see the unemployment rate of four per cent and going even lower. That is a sign of the strong economic recovery that is leading the world.
]]>As a result of a stronger economy, we are seeing revenue upgrades which we are banking to the bottom line, with an improvement of more than $100 billion to the bottom line, three-quarters of which has been driven by a stronger labour market. Unlike those opposite, we haven't baked into the budget commodity price assumptions at unrealistically high levels. That's what Labor did. We have kept commodity price consumptions at a conservative level, so that we didn't put expenditure across those commodity prices. We've seen the deficit, as a share of the economy, more than halve over the forward estimates, and then more than halve again by the end of the medium term. This is a responsible budget; there are temporary and targeted measures to ease cost of living and there are measures to improve the productivity and the growth of the economy and create more jobs, but there is also a significant and material improvement to the budget bottom line—the product of an economic plan that is working, that is seeing unemployment come down and seeing more people in work paying tax and less people on welfare requiring payments. That is a sign of a strong economy.
]]>There's transport infrastructure, like Outback Way. And numerous other programs, like Tanami Road, have been designed to create jobs across the region. As the Deputy Prime Minister outlined, there's a $2 billion accelerator fund, with further investments in export market development grants, in our manufacturing initiative, in our modern recycling plan and in creating more apprentices across regional Australia. Then, of course, there's the $7.1 billion in four priority areas: across the Northern Territory at Middle Arm, in the Pilbara in Western Australia, in the Hunter in New South Wales and then unlocking the potential of the Burdekin in northern and Central Queensland. These are our policies to create the jobs of the future. They're in our budget. They're part of our vision for a stronger economy and a stronger Australia.
]]>In last night's budget we announced a $8.6 billion package of measures to ease the cost-of-living pressures on Australian families, recognising that cost-of-living pressure is the No. 1 topic around the kitchen tables of the country. Cutting the fuel exercise in half will see a family with two cars that fill up once a week up to $30 dollars a week better off and $700 better off over a six-month period. A $420 bonus to the LMITO, low- and middle-income tax offset, will support more than 10 million low- and middle-income earners, which means if you are on $60,000, $70,000 or $80,000, on 1 July and after that when you put in a tax return, you will see $1,500 in your bank account as a result of tax relief provided by this government. Also in the budget was a $250 payment to six million people on income support—veterans, pensioners, carers, people on the disability support pension and concession cardholders, including self-funded retirees. Six million Australians will get that $250 payment, for many in addition to the indexation arrangements, which are also providing cost-of-living relief. Also in this budget was a measure to reduce the cost of medicines to make them more accessible to 2.4 million Australians. So the measures we announced last night were responsible, they were targeted, they were temporary and they were designed to provide cost-of-living relief for Australians who need it most.
]]>When Labor came to government the unemployment rate was 4.2 per cent. When Labor left office the unemployment rate was 5.7 per cent. And I can confirm to the House that the unemployment rate today is at its equal lowest in 48 years, at four per cent, and that female unemployment is at its lowest level since 1974. And in the budget last night we printed a number for the unemployment rate to have a 3 in front of it for the first time in 50 years. That belongs to 26 million Australians. Unlike those opposite: when they were presiding over the recessions in the 1980s and the 1990s, the unemployment rate remained elevated for some 10 years. This time around, it's taken just over a year to get the unemployment rate back—
]]>Our tax cuts have provided people with more of their hard-earned money as a result of their efforts. It has recognised their aspiration; it has rewarded their aspiration. It has supported small businesses. It's backing them when they back themselves with these investment incentives. That is our track record: cutting taxes. That is our policy; that is what we believe in. The same can't be said for those opposite. Because this Leader of the Opposition, who has never delivered a budget and has never held a Treasury portfolio, has stood for higher taxes his whole career. He described our tax cuts for families as being for 'the top end of town'. He stood by the member for McMahon when the member for McMahon told the Australian people: 'If you don't like our $387 billion of higher taxes, don't vote for us.'
This Leader of the Opposition supported a retirees tax, a housing tax, higher taxes on super, higher taxes on income earners and a family business tax. Now we know that he has also supported an inheritance tax, and he's been supported by the Greens and he's been supported by the unions. But the Leader of the Opposition, in advocating for an inheritance tax, has even been supported by someone on his own side—a person that the Leader of the Opposition has described as 'a first-class economist'. Who could it have been who wrote a paper titled Bring back the inheritance tax? Who could it have been on the other side who said 'bring back the inheritance tax'? Who was it? It was the comrade from Fenner—the original Bolshevik—who, like the Leader of the Opposition, has advocated for higher taxes and who, like the Leader of the Opposition, has advocated for $387 billion of higher taxes on the Australian people. Only this side of the House will deliver lower taxes and more jobs
]]>But it's not just the Greens who are supporting his call for an inheritance tax; it's also his comrades in the union movement. Less than six months ago the ACTU put out their tax plan. There it is, in all its glory, on page 2, calling for an inheritance tax. Why is this important? Because the Leader of the Opposition has said—
]]>It's easy to forget what the state of the economy was early on in this pandemic in 2020. We saw 1.3 million Australians lose their jobs or see their working hours go to zero. Treasury thought the employment rate could potentially reach as high as 15 per cent. We responded with programs like JobKeeper, which helped save more than 700,000 jobs. Today we have an unemployment rate at a 13-year low of 4.2 per cent, on track, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia, for a 50-year low, with a three in front of it. There are 1.7 million more Australians in work today than when Labor was in office, including one million more women in work today than when Labor was last in office. So we will continue to invest in infrastructure and skills programs and to cut taxes to deliver this strong economy.
Our approach is in stark contrast to that of those opposite, because this Leader of the Opposition has never held a Treasury portfolio. This Leader of the Opposition, this leader of the Labor Party, has never delivered a budget. Indeed, his economic policies consist of a $6 billion cash-splash to pay people who have already had the jab. He wants to support the economic recovery with a national drivers licence as well, and he wants to remove the fuel excise—wait for it!—on electric vehicles. That is the state of the Leader of the Opposition economic roots. There is no excise on electric vehicles. The Leader of the Opposition talks a big game from opposition, but, in government, Labor deliver something very, very different.
]]>The Greens are a party who have a very clear policy objective but also a party that you can sit down and discuss policies with.
This is what the member for McMahon has said. These are the words of the member of McMahon:
In the event that the Greens held the balance of power, then of course we'd work in that arrangement.
The member for McMahon belled the cat. The Greens and the Labor Party are a coalition.
]]>At every turn we have sought to cut taxes—cutting taxes for small business to the lowest level in 50 years; providing record amounts of investment incentives through our tax system, which have been particularly effective through this pandemic; and cutting taxes for families. More than 11 million Australians have received more than $30 billion in tax cuts, and particular beneficiaries have been young people and particularly young women. Women aged 25 and under are paying 20 per cent less tax today than under the Labor Party—worth more than $2,000 a year.
Now, every step of the way as we've sought to cut taxes we've been opposed by a Greens-Labor coalition. That's because when it comes to tax policies the policies are very similar. The only difference is the colour of the letterhead. I went to the Greens website and I had a look at their tax policies, and they look like a Labor wish list. There's a housing tax—we've heard that before. There's a tax on family businesses and trusts—we've heard that before. There's a tax on the mining sector, a carbon tax, higher taxes on superannuation and higher taxes on income earners. Then, of course, most damningly of all, on the Greens website there is a 30-year project for the Leader of the Labor Party: death duties and inheritance tax.
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