Page 2093 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 5 June 2019
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That is why I have moved the amendment that outlines the rationale for the government’s tax reforms, a debate we have had in this place every year for the last eight years and we will continue to have into the future. It is a good debate to have. It is a debate about priorities and whether you believe in public services or not, whether you have a miserable-ist view of the role of government in society and your objective in public life is to make government smaller, do less and help fewer people.
If that is your objective, and that is why you run for office, you should be in the Liberal Party. That is clearly what they are here to do. That will be their agenda. That is what it is. It is a wonderful part of our democracy that that alternative view is put, but it is not one that we subscribe to on this side of the chamber. We believe in people. We believe in public services—good quality public services—that are properly and sustainably funded for the long term.
They are the difficult choices that governments have to make every year in putting together a budget. We go out to the community and ask for input into the budget process. We get requests to spend somewhere between $12 billion and $18 billion each year. We have a $6 billion budget. Clearly, we cannot meet every single spending request that comes through the budget process. It is a difficult process each year. But when we look on the revenue side, when we look to where we sit comparative to other jurisdictions and the Australian average, we sit spot on the Australian average for taxation from local and state governments, according to the ABS. That is a fact, Madam Assistant Speaker. It might not suit the Leader of the Opposition’s argument, but it remains a fact.
When we talk about housing affordability and land supply, undoubtedly we have seen a massive boom in recent times in the construction of new dwellings—all-time record levels of building approvals in recent times. The supply side is lifting in response to the increased demand we are seeing from the rapid influx of new residents into our city. We would not be having these supply side challenges if Mr Coe was correct and no-one wanted to live in Canberra. If that was the case, if everyone was fleeing over the border and everyone was abandoning this city, our problem would not be that we do not have enough dwellings to meet demand.
Through this budget and through the various initiatives that are contained within, we have focused very strongly on delivering more public housing. We are the only state or territory in this nation growing our public housing stock. Think about that for a moment. Every other state and territory has gone backwards on that measure; we are the only one growing. And we are continuing to invest for the future, with the single largest investment in renewal of the territory’s public housing in the history of self-government. That is a priority for this government, and it demonstrates our commitment to support those most in need.
I note that there is an important conversation about how governments at all levels can support the most vulnerable in our community. That is why I have called for an increase in the Newstart allowance. That is why I opposed penalty rate cuts for the most vulnerable workers. That is why I support the outcome of the Fair Work Commission’s determination on increasing the minimum wage in this nation. That is important.
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