Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Bushby for that question. The budget delivered by the Treasurer last night is our next instalment of our plan for stronger growth to deliver more and better-paid jobs. We are doing this by enshrining our Ten Year Enterprise Tax Plan right at the heart of the budget, delivering a more competitive business tax rate for all businesses across Australia. We are doing it through record investment in productivity-enhancing infrastructure—well over $70 billion worth of infrastructure investment, driving stronger growth and delivering more and better-paid jobs. Of course we are doing it by focusing on more export trade deals and by focusing on energy security, delivering affordable and reliable energy to businesses across Australia.

The budget the Treasurer delivered last night continues to chart a responsible course to a balanced budget within four years. Our budget surplus projected for 2021, consistent with the timetable we set out in our half-yearly budget update in 2015-16, just before Christmas in 2015, is a return to surplus in 2020-21 and now at $7.4 billion. Our responsible fiscal management and our responsible economic management have meant that we are in a position to protect Australia's AAA credit rating, with Moody's already coming out confirming that the policy settings of this government in our budget are consistent with those of a AAA rated economy.

This budget provides incentives for businesses across Australia to employ more Australians. We had a previous question sneering at our business tax cuts and sneering at the additional investment that we want to attract into the Australian economy so that businesses across Australia can have the opportunity to be more successful and more profitable so that they can hire more Australians and pay better wages. (Time expired)