Ms BANKS (Chisholm) (16:30): I rise today to talk about the critical importance of the tax plan—the company tax cuts to all large and small businesses across Australia. Firstly, I must say that those on the other side really are clutching at straws. They simply do not recognise and understand that the company tax cuts benefit all businesses and, therefore, all Australians. To be fair to those on the other side, very few of them, including the Leader of the Opposition, have actually worked in business. Most are trade union professionals or political hacks who really have not worked in business. They have never had a real job. They have never really employed people themselves. They have never been enterprising and developed businesses. Dr Aly: Are you kidding me? That is an absolute insult! The SPEAKER: The member for Cowan will cease interjecting. The Deputy Speaker has issued a general warning. Dr Aly interjecting — The SPEAKER: Well, I know. I do not think the member for Cowan knows—the television I watch when I am not in the chamber. Ms BANKS: To be fair to those on the other side, very few of them, including the Leader of the Opposition, have actually worked in business. Most are trade union professionals or political hacks who really have not worked in business. They have not had a real job. They have not really employed people themselves. They have not been enterprising and developed businesses which underpin the growth of Australia. The simply do not understand why the tax plan is good for all business and all Australians. Moreover, they really do not respect the intelligence of Australian people in their pure misrepresentations and falsehoods that these company tax cuts are a handout for big business. For businesses large or small—and to put it in simple terms for the benefit of those on the other side—I say this: during my entire working life before I came to this place, I worked in both small and large businesses. I worked largely in manufacturing business that make products which we buy from our supermarket shelves every day. These businesses employ and continue to employ thousands of Australians around the country—be that in retail shops, in the factories, in the head offices or out in the field in sales. Moreover, across Chisholm are thousands and thousands of people who get up every day to work in small businesses—be that to open their shops, cook food in their restaurants and cafes or sell consumer products to their customers. Those on the other side do not seem to understand that businesses employ thousands and thousands of Australians. The vast majority of Australians work in the private sector—unlike those on the other side—for companies large or small, or their own business. Every day, Australians all over the country get up in the morning to go to work—be that working on the production line, travelling in a car as a sales rep, sometimes very large distances because of the sheer size of this great land, working in administrative areas or as middle managers, junior managers and senior managers, or to work in their small businesses. They all understand that when companies sit down to map out their plan and consider whether they are going to continue to operate in this country, open a new factory or create new products, if it is cheaper to operate somewhere, what do they do? Mr Taylor: They go somewhere else. Ms BANKS: They go somewhere else. And what happens here? Factories and workplaces in Australia will shut down and businesses will take their work somewhere else. And guess what that means? No jobs for Australians. Anyone who has ever worked in business, or who works in business, understands this. Whether they work on the production line or in the office, they all feel the pain when businesses take their business elsewhere. The Turnbull government's tax plan is a measured and constructive plan designed to drive jobs, growth and investment throughout Australia. Cutting the company tax rate to 25 per cent by 2026-27 and easing the tax burden on small businesses are central parts of the plan to keep the factories here, the offices here and the sales here. And that means to keep the jobs here. Fundamentally, these Turnbull government reforms will drive employment and wage growth, which will support ordinary Australians and Australian households. Australian workers will benefit from greater business investment and be able to become more productive. Former Prime Ministers and Treasurers in this place, across both sides of politics, have advocated a cut in company tax because they know that a competitive tax system is necessary to drive economic growth, lift wages and create new jobs. It is about time that those on the other side stopped their antibusiness sentiment, stopped their politicking approach and agreed to the implementation of a plan that will benefit all Australians, create jobs for Australians and create a future for generations of Australians to come.