Senator FARRELL (South Australia—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (17:45): by leave—I move: That the Senate take note of the statement. Thank you, Senator Cormann, for confirming that we won't be dealing with this legislation before Easter. Senator Cormann said he wanted jobs and higher wages. There's one certain way that you won't get that result of jobs and higher wages, and that's by supporting the government's legislation to give big business in this country a $65 billion tax cut. If the minister's theory had worked, we would have seen it when Ronald Reagan gave those tax cuts in the 1980s. America would have created jobs and increased wages, but, of course, that's exactly what didn't happen in the United States. It didn't happen in the United States and it's not going to happen if this parliament passes that legislation. What the government is doing this week is, on the one hand, giving big business a $65 billion tax cut and, on the other hand, proposing a tax rise for ordinary working Australians. That simply doesn't compute. That's not the way this country is meant to work. It simply increases the level of inequity that we have in this country. This weekend is, of course, Easter. It's an opportunity for us to reflect on sacrifice and an opportunity for us to reflect on social justice. The minister has referred to the crossbenchers who decided to jump on board with the $65 billion tax rise. It's surprising, I think, that the government didn't bring the bill forward to allow us to test the numbers, but I'd say to all of those crossbenchers who are considering supporting this legislation, and Senator Cormann mentioned them—Senator Bernardi, Senator Anning, the Pauline Hanson group, Senator Martin and Senator Leyonhjelm: 'Here's an opportunity to reflect on your decision to support this legislation, because that decision is the wrong decision. That's not the way we create equality in this country.' What did we find out today from that secret survey conducted by the Business Council of Australia? Senator Cameron: No jobs. Senator FARRELL: Senator Cameron says, 'No jobs', but, more importantly, there are no wage rises. Senator Cormann has referred to the number of jobs that have been created in this country. Yes, there have been jobs created in this country. There have been jobs created in this country because the world economy is on the rise. But what hasn't happened in this country over that period of time is workers' wages going up. If this government gives big business a $65 billion tax cut, we already know from the BCA that they're not going to pass that on to ordinary working Australians in the form of wage rises. Sure, some of them will get an increase—the CEOs will get an increase, I'm sure, and the executives of those companies will get an increase—but it won't trickle down to ordinary, hardworking Australians. It won't trickle down to those people who really need a wage rise in the current environment. We also know that a hell of a lot of the money from this tax cut will go to companies overseas and shareholders overseas, who, let's be frank about it, don't need any more money. As we reflect on sacrifice and social justice principles this coming Easter, I'd say to those people who are going to determine whether this government gets this legislation: think very carefully about whether the course of action that the government is proposing is the best course of action for this country. I don't know what's going to happen in the next election—we're very close to an election, we're probably 12 months out at the most from the next election—and the Labor Party's position is very clear. Bill Shorten has said, 'We will reverse these high-income tax breaks. We will reverse them.' So whatever you decide to do with this government, this is going to be reversed by virtue of an incoming Bill Shorten Labor government. I also say to those people: we have inequality in this country and we don't improve inequality by voting for a $65 billion tax cut. Think long and hard about your decision and come back after Easter, let the government present its legislation, and reject this $65 billion tax cut.