STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator SCARR (Queensland) (13:30): I was absolutely thrilled to join the Leader of the Opposition, Angus Taylor, and the Leader of the National Party, Senator Matt Canavan—my friend and colleague from Queensland—on one of their presentations with respect to the coalition's plan to fix the economy and protect our way of life. I've only got two minutes, so I want to just touch on two points in relation to the plan.

The first element is to stop Labor's assault on aspiration. One of the good things about this plan is that it sets out the problem, the Liberal and National parties' values and the solution. The problem is Labor's assault on aspiration.

It's an assault on people who are starting businesses, generating wealth and creating opportunities. Many young entrepreneurs are going to be sent overseas because of Labor's capital gains tax. We won't get the benefit of their new enterprises.

The coalition's values are that it stands with Australians who work hard, take risks, save and invest in their future. Our solution is to scrap Labor's tax changes, which are going to force 200,000 small businesses which operate through discretionary trusts to restructure. The second element is the tax-back guarantee.

The problem is the cost of living going through the roof. Inflation is going through the roof, which means Australians are struggling to make ends meet. Our values are that, when your wages increase, the tax threshold should also shift so you're not penalised by the hidden tax of inflation.

The coalition's solution is to axe Labor's inflation tax by introducing the tax-back guarantee. From 2028 to 2029, we will index the bottom two income tax thresholds to inflation. Ultimately, that's going to lead to an improvement of $1,000 of extra money in the pocket for people at the lower end of the tax thresholds.