Alex Antic (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I must say from the outset that I often look across the chamber and think to myself, 'It must be very difficult being in their shoes.' On one hand, they need to come to this place every day and find something to fill the time and give an indication to their supporters back home that they're working hard and contributing something. But, on the other hand, they are faced every day with a government that is continuing to implement its economic plan and is continuing to implement its responsible budget management strategy, which has, of course, returned the budget to balance for the first time in 11 years. So every sitting day we assemble in this place and we listen to that which emerges from across the chamber and, in all honesty, it simply sounds to me like white noise.

Now, white noise, in case you're not familiar with it, is the noise a television makes when it's not properly adjusted. It's a rattling and hissing noise which, in truth, is indicative of a television which is not tuned in properly. It is not tuned into the correct station and is, therefore, simply hissing and shaking in a fairly indiscriminate manner. And then it dawned on me: this is precisely what we see every day from the Labor Party in this chamber—fiction and white noise. We have white noise from the Australian Labor Party, a party which we expect to have failed to have properly read the electorate and which we now expect to have failed to understand the issues which are foremost in the minds of Australians. We saw that at the last election, when the Australian people were given a choice. They were given a choice between a government with a plan—a plan which we have said foresaw the challenges that Australia was going to face, which foresaw a period of global economic headwinds—and the Labor Party, who took a plan to rip the life out of the Australian economy by skimming $387 billion worth of taxes out of hardworking Australians' hands.

The Labor Party may well have changed leaders but, rest assured, they certainly haven't changed their policy. It's still the policy of the Labor Party to inflict $387 billion of higher taxes—taxes on housing, taxes on superannuation, taxes on income, taxes on retirees and taxes on family businesses. How does that help the economy? How does that help people? Perhaps someone inside the Labor Party should have asked that question before this matter of public importance came to the Senate this afternoon.

The people of Australia saw through Labor's charade and elected the Morrison government. The government is now diligently getting on with implementing its plan and overseeing an economy that is continuing to grow and continuing to provide Australians with opportunity. In one sense it's opportune that we get to talk about this because ours is a story that relies on facts, not fiction. So let's look at the real issues and some actual facts.

In relation to the economy, it's a fact that Australia has completed its 28th year of consecutive annual growth despite the challenges of the ongoing international trade tensions, the housing market downturn and the persistent effects of weather conditions on the rural sector. It's a fact that the Australian economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the June quarter and 1.4 per cent throughout the year. It's a fact that the labour market conditions continue to be good. Throughout the year, to August 2019, employment grew by 2.5 per cent and the participation rate increased to a record high of 66.2 per cent. It is a fact that this government has delivered more than 1.4 million jobs since 2013, which is in the order of 240,000 a year compared with just 155,000 under Labor. It's also a fact that this country now enjoys the lowest proportion of working-age people on welfare in 30 years. Finally, it's a fact that nominal GDP increased by 1.2 per cent in the June quarter. The government is tackling cost-of-living pressures for Australian households, taking action to ease the strain in areas like tax, energy, housing and childcare costs. Once again, these are facts.

The government has more than doubled the low and middle income tax offset, supporting consumption growth, easing cost-of-living pressures and helping to build a stronger economy. The government has implemented the majority of measures announced in the 'Reducing pressure on housing affordability' 2017-18 budget package. The government has also introduced the First Home Super Saver Scheme, which assists those trying to get into the property market to save for a deposit for a first home, inside their superannuation fund, by making voluntary contributions. Then we have the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, which will also enable eligible first home buyers to purchase a home with a deposit of as little as five per cent, allowing them to get into the market earlier and without incurring the additional costs of lenders mortgage insurance.

The scheme complements other measures the government has taken to reduce pressure on housing affordability in Australia and support local communities. In the past year, more than 110,000 Australians bought their first home—the highest since 2009. These are facts. The Morrison government is determined to assist all Australians to realise their hopes, their dreams and their aspirations when it comes to working hard and owning their own home.

The government has also accepted a significant number of the ACCC retail electricity pricing inquiry recommendations as part of a package of measures to put downward pressure on electricity prices. We're already seeing those results. The ABS has found that power prices fell 1.7 per cent nationally in the June quarter. The government's childcare package, which commenced on 2 July 2018, provides more support for families who need it the most.

These are but a select few of the achievements of the government, as I'm only afforded a short period of time—but I can assure you, Madam Acting Deputy President Brown, that I could go on and on. We should also consider some proper facts regarding wage growth. Wages as measured by the wage prices index rose by 2.3 per cent throughout the year to the June quarter of 2019. Wage growth will be supported by key drivers of wages such as the capacity in the labour market and labour productivity. Wage growth is expected to rise in through-the-year terms to 2¾ per cent to June 2020 and 3¼ per cent to June 2021. In the years to come, wage growth is projected— (Time expired)