MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Ms TEESDALE (Bass) (16:16): At the start of this MPI, the Labor Party was compared to jellyfish. Perhaps it's the continuously regenerating immortal jellyfish that they compare us to. But I ask the party and I ask the chamber what is the expected lifespan of the National Party?
Do we think it might be like the immortal jellyfish, or might it be much shorter? This budget delivers for my local community in Bass. It is about supporting local businesses.
It helps working families with the cost of living, it strengthens our health care and it builds a stronger regional economy for northern Tasmania. Bass is a community built on hard work. From small-business owners to tradies, manufacturers, farmers, tourism operators, health workers, hospitality staff, we have it all in Bass.
Our region succeeds because our local people back themselves and they back each other, and we back them too. Of course, agriculture is absolutely the heart of the story. From dairy and cropping to fisheries and exports, our farmers and producers are central to our economy and our identity.
We also know the last decade has been challenging. Global inflation, supply chain disruptions, workforce shortages and rising international costs are putting real pressure on our households and our businesses alike, including our farmers. Our Labor budget responds to these pressures with practical measures that support growth, resilience and opportunity.
For our local businesses, one of the most important measures that they keep talking to me about is making the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent. That will help 9,253 small businesses in Bass alone, and that certainty really does matter. These businesses in Bass should be able to plan ahead with confidence, invest in new equipment, upgrade their technology, purchase their vehicles or tools and grow their operations.
We need to make sure these measures are permanent. They reduce compliance costs and improve cash flow. And we need to make sure that small businesses continue to invest and hire in our local economy.
When they invest, our whole region benefits. The budget's also about making sure people are earning more and keeping more of what they earn. We've got the working Australians tax offset—goodness me, there are a lot of words there!—and the $1,000 instant tax deduction.
Mr French: WATO. Ms TEESDALE: WATO, indeed. It's supporting families, local jobs and businesses.
Since coming to our office, our government has delivered record investment into agriculture, and it's built a strong foundation for this vital sector. I'm proud of the work done by my fierce Tasmanian colleague Minister Julie Collins. We've boosted biosecurity, we've expanded export opportunities and we've backed farmers to deal with a changing climate.
Earlier it was asked if we had been to a farm. I've sat on farms with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry drinking cups of tea, listening to farmers. On Flinders Island we walked down the very long driveway of a farm and looked for Killiecrankie diamonds.
It's an incredible place and an incredible part of the world. Our minister knows our community well. I know our community well.
In our budget, we know that we need to continue this work. We're investing in market access, international leadership, export support and strengthening the agencies that underpin that agricultural sector. We're also investing in fuel and fertiliser security because we know how critical that is to our farmers and our regional communities, particularly in Bass.
These investments are about resilience, productivity and securing the future of Australian agriculture. While we're getting on with delivering for farmers, those opposite continue getting on with running scare campaigns. It hurts me to hear it day in and day out in this chamber.
We need to be really clear about these facts. The changes to capital gains tax do not start until 1 July 2027, and they only apply to gains from that date. It is not on historic gains.
Importantly, those existing tax concessions for small businesses and farms remain in place. Our data shows that more than nine in 10 agricultural businesses will fall well under that turnover threshold, meaning that they will continue to benefit from ongoing concessions. When people continue to choose to spread fear, they're continue to ignore the facts.
They're ignoring the support in this budget and they're ignoring the reality for Australian farmers. On this side, we're delivering real support. The Nationals would rather run a scare campaign to save their own seats than support regional and rural Australia.
They're chasing headlines while we do the work. They spread fear while we're delivering the facts. Farmers deserve better than being treated as props in another National Party scare campaign.
They deserve directness, honesty and certainty. They deserve a government who is focused on their future, not political point scoring. This government will always back our farmers, our workers and our regional communities.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): The time for this discussion has concluded.