Mr SUKKAR (Deakin—Assistant Minister to the Treasurer) (15:23): The member for McMahon talked about paying the price. Well, we are absolutely paying the price for six years of incompetence of which he was a part. There were six years of incompetence when the member for McMahon was the worst immigration minister this country has ever seen. Then those opposite were unceremoniously turfed from the Treasury benches with an $18 billion black hole. So we are paying the price for six years of Labor. What is worse is that those opposite have the audacity to come into this place, after trying to frustrate every attempt at turbocharging the economy or improving the budget, and complain. The member for McMahon and the Labor Party have been completely taken over by the hard left of their party. That is true of every single policy adopted by the Labor Party now. I see the member for Scullin smiling. I know he is very happy with his takeover of the party. That the member for McMahon opposes every single policy on improving jobs and investment in our economy is an absolute disgrace. In looking at how the economy is travelling, the government and I accept that there are always things that we as a government and parliament should do better. But we are the fastest growing economy in the G7. Let's not forget that. We had growth in the last quarter of 1.1 per cent, a very encouraging number. We have unemployment at 5.9 per cent. Everything we are doing is geared towards increasing investment and increasing opportunities for Australians, which ultimately will increase wages and increase the number of jobs in the economy. The member for McMahon sounded as though he was arguing against himself in his speech when arguing against the company tax cuts, because we have all seen various members of the government come to the dispatch box with the book written by the member for McMahon. I have not read it, and I would not buy it. But I have lots of good quotes from the book, I can assure you. As the member for McMahon has said: It's a Labor thing to have the ambition of reducing company tax, because it promotes investment, creates jobs and drives growth. So the member for McMahon was arguing against himself for 10 minutes. Dr Chalmers interjecting— Mr SUKKAR: I see the member for Rankin very loyally supporting the member for McMahon. He said: … Australia would go well out of a lower company rate than it is right now. The member from Rankin also said: You're right that Bill said that in the medium term it would be a good aspiration to have a lower company rate. So we had every member of the Labor economic team arguing for company tax cuts. But now the member for Scullin and the hard left of the Labor Party have completely taken over the economic narrative and they are now saying, 'No, we don't want to be internationally competitive.' We have also seen the Labor Party, hijacked by the CFMEU and others, arguing against the China-Australia free trade agreement. We all recall the Leader of the Opposition referring to it as— Mr Bowen: We voted for it. Mr SUKKAR: The member for McMahon says, 'We voted for it.' So why did the Leader of the Opposition refer to it as a dud deal? Why would the Leader of the Opposition vote for a dud deal? I will tell you why. It is because the CFMEU pulls the levers in this Labor Party, and the CFMEU said, 'No, we don't want the China Australia Free Trade Agreement,' but then in the end they buckled. That is why, Member for McMahon, you did it. It is shameful that somebody who thinks they are the heir to a proud legacy has now repudiated every single area of consensus that we have shared for about 30 years. For 30 years we have not had to argue in this parliament about lower tax rates, whether that be personal income tax cuts or corporate income tax cuts. We have never, ever had to argue about that. Now we are re-litigating the arguments that we were having with the communists 40 years ago, because they are back. They are back, they are large and they are in charge. But we will keep arguing for it because we represent the millions of Australians who fund our entire system. We represent the millions of Australians who get up first thing in the morning and who do not see their children when they get home late at night because they are paying ever higher taxes. There is no dollar that the member for McMahon can say no to spending. There is no spending reduction that he will support. It is an absolute disgrace. We know the model from the Labor Party now. The model is higher taxes— Mr Husic interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Coulton ): The member for Chifley is already under a warning from question time. Mr SUKKAR: We know that the Labor Party model now is higher deficits, higher debts and higher taxes for Australians. That is the model. We have progressed $24 billion in savings, most of which have been opposed by the Labor Party. We have also seen, shamefully, from the shadow Assistant Treasurer and others opposition to a multinational tax avoidance bill that has seen us collect $2 billion in additional revenue. Why would you vote against that, Labor Party? Why would you vote against that, member for McMahon? It is quite a day when the Greens show more economic sense than the Labor Party. It is an absolute disgrace that you would do that and that you would jeopardise our AAA credit rating. If the member for McMahon was still the Treasurer—but let's remember that you are not because you were unceremoniously dumped in the 2013 election—we would have lost the AAA credit rating at that point. And, now, the Labor Party have tried to frustrate every single attempt. We will keep going. We have been able to show the Labor Party ways in which we can repair the budget and improve the economy simultaneously—1.1 per cent economic growth in the last quarter. They are great numbers. We are the fastest-growing economy in the G7. I would expect that the Labor Party would applaud that. Mr Swan: We did that for six years, you clown. Mr SUKKAR: Well, Mr Deputy Speaker, I think being referred to as a clown by the former Treasurer is quite extraordinary. And we love seeing you there, Swannie. Mr Deputy Speaker, I will refer to those opposite by their titles. We would love to see the former Treasurer back on the front bench because we think you are the greatest electoral asset that we have. So come back to the front bench and keep the interjections going. The member for McMahon started his remarks by saying we are paying the price. We are paying the price for six years of Labor. We are paying the price having gone from $20 billion surpluses to $40 billion deficits that we inherited under this government. We are paying the price for the former Labor government sending us in a trajectory of $667 billion of debt, increased spending and a slowing economy. Now, we are the economy that is the envy of the world. Of course, we have more to do. One thing that this government will ensure is that low-cost energy, a competitive advantage of our economy that we have enjoyed for many generations, continues into the future. The member for McMahon could not explain whether the Labor Party's 50 per cent renewable energy target was a target, an aspiration, an option or a goal, but what we do know is that Labor's policies on energy will make our heavy industry and manufacturing uncompetitive. So when they talk about states like South Australia and Victoria—and I am a proud Victorian; Victoria is the heart of manufacturing in our country—one of the primary economic and competitive advantages that we have had in low-cost energy is something that they have tried to frustrate every step of the way. Ms Keay: What about renewable energy in Tasmania? The SPEAKER: The member for Braddon was under a warning from question time. She has continuously interrupted. She will leave under 94(a). The member for Braddon then left the chamber. Mr SUKKAR: We have made real progress on our budget. In the face of staunch opposition from those who created the problem, we have made absolute strides in improving our budget bottom line and in returning to budget surplus by 2021. We will ensure that that timetable is met. We will also ensure that our economy continues to be the envy of those in the G7.