Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann

The Turnbull Government is sticking to our plan to build a stronger economy to benefit all Australians.

Under the Government’s economic plan record jobs are being created, investment is rising and the budget is strengthening.  This means that we can guarantee the essential services Australians rely on.

The Government’s plan will encourage and reward working Australians with lower, fairer and simpler taxes, starting with low and middle income earners.

The Government’s income tax relief will benefit over 1.1 million working Australians in Western Australia. It will provide important relief to 10 million Australians next year alone, with 4.4 million Australians receiving the maximum relief of $530 per year.

It will back businesses to invest and create more jobs, building on our legislated tax cuts for small and medium enterprise, supporting businesses to compete globally, delivering infrastructure that industry and workers rely on, and targeting incentives to promote research, development and new technology.

Our plan for a stronger economy will support more jobs for Western Australian families and their children, and set Western Australia up for the future. Already in WA there are 20,200 more people in work since the Coalition was elected.

Our rolling $75 billion transport infrastructure plan will connect our nation, reduce congestion, help get goods to market and keep our roads safe. The Commonwealth is working with Western Australia to provide $9.8 billion for vital infrastructure projects, including $2.8 billion for new major projects, such as:

• $1.1 billion for the METRONET rail project, taking the Commonwealth’s total commitment to more than $2.3 billion. This project will support around 17,000 direct and indirect jobs;
• $944 million for a Perth Congestion Package, including $581 million for the Tonkin Highway to alleviate congestion on commuter and freight networks. This will create more than 7,000 jobs;
• $560 million for the Bunbury Outer Ring Road;
• $220 million for the Great Northern Highway Bindoon Bypass, as part of the Roads of Strategic Importance initiative; and

The Budget guarantees the essential services that Western Australians rely on including record funding for hospitals and schools, a comprehensive approach to aged care for older Australians to live healthier, more independent and safer lives, and guaranteed funding for disability services.

Under the fully funded hospitals agreement, public hospitals in Western Australia will receive over $14.3 billion over the five years to 2024-25, delivering an additional $3.42 billion in funding compared to the previous five years. This is a funding increase of 32 per cent. In 2016-17 in Western Australia there were 3.4 million more bulk billed GP attendances compared to 2012-13.

The Government’s support for students and families means that in Western Australia we will deliver a record levels of support including $25.3 billion in funding for our schools over the next ten years and a new, simplified Childcare Subsidy on 2 July 2018, with over 70,000 Western Australian families to benefit.

Australians with a disability will be supported through a fully funded National Disability Insurance Scheme. Once fully implemented in 2020, 40,677 participants in Western Australia will benefit from the certainty and flexibility of support it provides.

The Government will also provide $188.9 million to support Western Australia in recognition of their lower share of GST.

The Budget also keeps Australians safe by investing more in security at airports and strengthening our intelligence and security services so they can respond to new and challenging threats.  We will also protect our unique environment with smarter biosecurity systems and continue to safeguard our borders.

It ensures the Government lives within its means with a forecast return to modest budget balance in 2019-20, increasing to a projected surplus of $11 billion in 2020-21; no longer borrowing to pay for essential services; and the lowest average real growth in payments of any Government in the last 50 years.

Our plan for a stronger economy benefits all Australians. After record jobs growth, the proportion of working age Australians now dependent on welfare has fallen to 15.1 per cent - the lowest level in over twenty-five years. Improved compliance and better targeting is helping to get welfare spending under control and we will continue to make sure that everyone, including multinationals pay their fair share of tax.

Our record of responsible budget management means that under our plan, Australians can invest in their future with confidence.