PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Mr SMALL (Forrest—Opposition Whip) (17:37): Last week, as coalition members in this place have reflected on, Labor made it official. By doing their dirty and dishonest deal with the Greens, they passed a budget of broken promises, higher taxes, more migrants and fewer homes. It confirms in the government's own budget papers that they are the highest-taxing government, outside of a pandemic or war, in Australian history.

That doesn't come as a galloping shock to those Australians who are, once again, in the Prime Minister's crosshairs, because, as the member for Dawson said, when Labor run out of money, they come after yours. With government spending at a 40-year high, including the pandemic, Labor have run out of money. But they didn't do it completely alone, of course, because the Labor-Green coalition in this place is still alive and well, notwithstanding the fact that the Prime Minister stated on many occasions in recent times, 'I don't negotiate with the Greens.' In fact, in his own words, it's some 385 times he's had to say that, and yet it was waved through.

Even with the open admission that there was a widow tax in the budget, it was rammed through the Senate last week with the help of the Greens. It just seems like another porky on the pile. So perhaps, as the member for Cook in moving this motion has suggested, the Prime Minister and his 60-odd personal staff could engage in some truth-telling training or some memory exercises.

It would certainly be a better use of taxpayer money than the $20-odd million they spent on telling people to remove their roof racks, pump up their tyres and empty the back of their utes. In stark contrast, since the Albanese government came to power, taxpayers have on average lost about $2,000 annually due to bracket creep. The Liberal and National parties have promised an alternative plan.

We have promised that, every year, every taxpayer will automatically get a tax cut to reflect the erosion of their pay due to inflation. Of course, inflation is high and getting higher under this government. When the Treasurer said that he'd beaten inflation, it had a three in front of it.

Today, inflation has a four in front of it, as does the cash rate. 'Not to worry,' says the Treasurer, 'In a few weeks you'll get over it.' I hate to be the bearer of bad news to the Treasurer of Australia, but the people in my community won't simply 'get over it', because they are poorer today than the day this government came to power. Even the RBA governor has admitted that public spending is too high—beyond what anyone would consider to be appropriate—when they've considered the economic success of Australia over the last 30 or 40 years, which has been experienced because fiscal and monetary policy have worked together to manage our economic conditions.

Instead, we see toxic taxes being used as a tax grab for a government addicted to spending. My office receives correspondence endlessly from individuals and small businesses, both directly impacted by these toxic taxes. That's why we've promised our tax-back guarantee: because we want to see an Australia where Australians strive, they have reward for effort and they keep more of what they're earning.

That is when Australia is at its best. That is when the aspiration and ambition that's driven this country for decades is at its best. Today, though, we find ourselves with the highest number of public servants per capita in the developed world.

We've seen even more bureaucrats imposing more red tape on more industries, and that's causing record small-business insolvencies and certainly doing nothing to tackle the continued cost-of-living crisis. It doesn't sound like an Australia that's at its best to me. It's certainly not in my community.

That's why we want to see tax cuts for every Australian, every year, automatically—a handbrake on the growth of government over time, which allows Australians to keep more of what they earn and forces a government that's addicted to spending, like this one, to look Australians in the eye when they take more money off them. That's our tax-back guarantee, and it stands in stark contrast to what we're seeing from this government.