Senator DUNIAM (Tasmania) (15:21): The one thing I noted from listening to this debate and observing question time today is that Labor's form, as to repeating falsehoods in the hope that people believe them, is well and truly on show again today. The notion that keeping taxes higher or indeed jacking them up higher is going to result in higher wages for workers just doesn't stack up either. I don't know where this idea is coming from. In terms of the falsehoods being peddled, we heard it last week with the ABC being sold off by the government, we heard it at the election with Medicare being sold off and we're hearing it now with keeping tax cuts and reserving them for the big end of town. It's just nonsense. It makes no sense and it doesn't stack up to any level of scrutiny. Last week we did have the good news in being able to hand some tax relief to hardworking Australians right across the country—something that the opposition opposed. Labor didn't want to see the fruits of people's labour being enjoyed by them—money back in their pocket; money for them to spend as they see fit. That is something that we on this side of the chamber believe is the right way to go when it comes to handling people's money—allowing them to spend it rather than the government taking it off them and spending it on big government programs. And this week we hold out hope that the Senate will pass the much-needed tax relief for business in this country, to put our country's businesses on a globally competitive footing so that they can compete with the countries that Senator Macdonald mentioned in his contribution a little earlier on and so that those businesses don't make decisions to move offshore or to reduce their employment workforces here. That's what we need to be doing. That's what this is about. But it's clear that the opposition, instead of being focused on the people we represent in this place and the communities that elect us to this place, are more focused on the political games down here. They're more focused on the Canberra bubble than on, say, the electors of Braddon in my home state, who would be big beneficiaries of the enterprise tax plan if it's realised to its full extent. The proof of this, as Senator Cormann mentioned today, is the captain's call made by the Leader of the Opposition with regard to what they would do if they won the next election after these tax cuts passed the parliament—that is, they would bring tax levels back up for businesses with a turnover of at least $10 million and perhaps even businesses with a turnover of $2 million. It's astounding. Instead of maintaining this competitive tax environment, they're going to jack taxes back up for businesses with a turnover of around $2 million. There wouldn't be many small family grocery stores and businesses like that that would be missing out in being caught up in this tax rate. Speaking of Braddon, I did a bit of research and was able to look into the businesses in the electorate of Braddon, which, of course, will be going to a by-election on 28 July—and I wish Brett Whiteley, that great former member and candidate, all the best. Senator Dean Smith: A very good person. Senator DUNIAM: He is very, very good, absolutely. But, in terms of the businesses that would be impacted by Mr Shorten and his captain's call to jack up taxes on small to medium businesses in Australia, there are 24 businesses in the electorate of Braddon alone that would get caught up in his plan to jack up taxes. One of them, Stubbs Constructions, a mid-sized business with 63 employees on the north-west coast of Tasmania, is something those opposite would class as a nasty big business at the big end of town. It has 63 local employees in Braddon. The managing director of that business has confirmed that, if the tax cuts were to go through and he and his business were beneficiaries of the tax plan, he would invest more. He'd employ more people; he has made that commitment. On that point, there are 164 businesses statewide that would be penalised by Bill Shorten's captain's call to jack up taxes and penalise those people who take a risk and actually generate economic activity. We all know why he's doing this, of course. We've seen the would-be Leader of the Opposition, Mr Albanese, snapping at the heels of the current Leader of the Opposition He has decried the antibusiness and antijobs rhetoric and policies that Mr Shorten's pushing. That's why we have a captain's call; he's desperate. He's trying to lock in his position. He'll do whatever it takes to get a headline or get a vote, even if it is at the cost of jobs in places like Braddon and Longman. I've just talked about 63 jobs. I hope that whoever speaks next from the opposition—be it Senator Keneally—will guarantee those 63 jobs and implore the Leader of the Opposition to back down on this terrible policy he has announced today. (Time expired)