QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: TAKE NOTE OF ANSWERS

Senator SHELDON (New South Wales—Chief Government Whip in the Senate) (15:08): Again, we see the uniparties—the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation—all voting against tax decreases. That's what they do for people that are struggling. When tax decreases get put to this Senate, they vote against it on every occasion.

We saw with the questions again today that they started talking about what's happening with small business. Critically importantly, why don't they start supporting some of the measures that we've made here? They should be supporting the fact that we've made new tax measures to support businesses and tax reform packages totalling over $3.8 billion in relief.

We've made the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent for small business. That makes a real difference. I represented small business in my previous life, and I'm representing small business now being in this place.

Those sorts of changes make a real difference when you're running a small business. So why don't they get in behind us when we say, 'That measure is on the right track'? The two-year loss carry-back for companies with turnover of up to $1 billion is supporting cash flows through disruption and incentivising sensible risk-taking.

That's part of the $3.8 billion in relief. Loss refundability to help startups grow in their first two years, expanding tax incentives for venture capital to help unlock more investment in young and expanding businesses—these are all changes that make a real difference. These changes that we've announced through the CGT are all changes that make a real difference.

Those on the opposite side are all about the status quo. They're all about keeping things the way they are. We all know—the rest of the Australian community knows—that things have to change.

These changes not only benefit, across the board, all earners of income but also spread the tax liability across the economy appropriately, whilst reinvesting in small business. The measures we've put in place make sure that small business can develop and expand. These changes make a real difference.

And of course we've seen, throughout the CGT argument and the tax questions, that those opposite look at issues like housing. Again, they want the status quo. They want things to remain the same, because they haven't got an idea in their head to turn it around and make a change that is better for Australians, to make sure our housing stock is available—they vote against every piece of legislation to increase our housing stock—and to make it more practical for people to buy a house into the future.

They should be looking at everybody under the age of 40 and at every person who's struggling to buy a house and say to them, 'You deserve the status quo, because what we're doing is nothing.' That's what you're saying to them. That's what you're proposing to them. That's what you're putting to them.

And that's what you're voting on when you come to this place. The uni party—the Libs, the Nats and One Nation—all get together and vote as a bloc yet again. They've done it year after year.

They did it for a decade when they were in opposition, and they've done it since we've been in government, because at every opportunity—whether to give cost-of-living relief, to change the tax burden to make sure it's evenly spread out, to make sure people have an opportunity to develop the opportunities into the future or in relation to some of the great announcements we've made about small business or to make sure there is housing stock for people purchasing in the future—they vote against it, because they just like the status quo.