SENATOR ZED SESELJA:
Welcome, once again, and welcome of course, firstly to the Prime Minister and to the Small Business Minister, Bruce Billson. It’s great to be here at Celestino Café and we’ve been treated to fantastic delights today.
But just briefly in introducing the PM, in my experience getting out and around the businesses in Canberra, what I’m seeing is a renewed confidence as a result of the Budget handed down by the Coalition. It is a Budget that’s about injecting confidence into the economy and the small businesses that I’ve been hearing from, that we’ve been hearing from today, are telling us that they’re going to make new investments, that they are going to take on more staff and they are going to help to grow the economy. And so that is the confidence that we want to see here in Canberra and right around Australia.
So, I’m really, really pleased with this Budget, pleased that we can be here, here in Canberra with the Prime Minister and the Small Business Minister to talk about it – and with that I’d hand over to the PM.
PRIME MINISTER:
Zed – thanks. It’s great to be here, it’s great to be with you and with Bruce Billson, the Small Business Minister. It’s terrific to be here at Celestinos. It’s great to be here supporting the small businesses of our country, because small business is the engine room of our economy. Small business employs almost 50 per cent of our people. Small business owners mortgage their homes to invest, to employ, to serve their communities and when small business does well, everyone does well.
Now, right around our country I think there is a surge of confidence because small business have recognised that this is a Government which is on their side. A lot of governments have talked about helping small business, but this is the first time that anyone can remember when a Government has actually made special decisions focused on small business. Small business now have a lower tax rate if they’re incorporated; they have tax discounts if they’re unincorporated; and of course there’s the instant asset write off which will help hundreds of thousands of small businesses right around Australia, including a business like Celestino’s here because they want to upgrade this café. They want to upgrade their shop and that’s exactly what is now more possible and more likely because of the decisions that the Government has taken in this Budget.
We are about building a better Australia. We are about making your life easier. We are about getting the small business measures through the Parliament as quickly as possible. That is the absolute priority of this Government right now – to get our small business boost through the Parliament because that will benefit every single Australian. And we’re already seeing the benefit in the surge of confidence that we’ve seen since the Budget.
Again, I say it’s terrific to be with Bruce Billson. Bruce Billson has been indefatigable in his support for small business. He’s been relentless in his advocacy and he’s been constant in his attentiveness and it’s Bruce’s ideas and initiatives that he’s garnered from the small businesses right around Australia which are at the heart of this Budget.
So, Bruce, over to you.
SMALL BUSINESS MINISTER:
Thanks, PM. Thank you, Zed. And, Prime Minister, may I say again to you and Joe Hockey and to all of our team, to create the budget space, to produce the best small business budget this country has seen is a great credit to you and our capacity to get behind enterprising men and women that create jobs, economic vitality and opportunity in our economy.
To Paul and Giuseppe and the whole Celestino family – this is a family business, they’re putting their heart and their hopes into this business and we want to be their best ally. And that’s what the Budget was about. It was about getting behind and supporting and being an active, positive contributor to the enterprising men and women of our economy and our country that create opportunities, jobs and a brighter future for all of us.
Now, you can’t help but taste the excitement, the positivity, the optimism and the confidence in the air this morning. It wasn’t just the great taste of the coffee, it was of enterprising men and women feeling that the wind is in their sails because of this Budget. They want to know that we are on their side and it has demonstrated absolutely clearly that we are. Now, all we need is for Labor to get behind the package and make sure it is passed in a certain, soon and safe way so that people can start taking advantage of the opportunities we’ve opened up through this Budget to energise enterprise and let our people and our economy be its best by getting behind people who are having a go to be their best.
PRIME MINISTER:
Ok, do we have any questions?
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, on the issue of gay marriage – will the Coalition Party Room have a debate about it and will you allow a conscience vote?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, this is an important subject – very important subject. I take it seriously. I know my colleagues take it seriously. It is an issue where decent people can differ. There are different views inside the Parliament, inside parties, indeed inside families, as is well known in my own case. So, it is an issue where the different views, the range of views, need to be treated with respect. I appreciate that the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition announced late yesterday that they were going to bring a Private Member’s Bill before the Parliament. There are standard procedures for dealing with Private Member’s Bills. Those procedures will be followed to the letter as is right and proper. At some point, obviously, if the matter is coming again before the Parliament for vote, it's a matter that the Party Room will consider, as you'd expect. I'm sure at that time we'd have a very full and frank and candid and decent debate inside the Party Room. But I do have to say that my absolute priority, the Government's absolute priority right now and for the next few weeks will be helping small business. It will be getting our small business budget boost through the Parliament and I hope that the Labor Party is not distracted from the need to get these measures to strengthen our economy by helping small business through the Parliament as quickly as possible.
QUESTION:
So, you won’t allow your Party Room to debate it in the next couple of weeks? It’s likely to be pushed off till after the winter break then when it’s closer to getting to a vote?
PRIME MINISTER:
There's a total focus inside the Government on improving our economy by boosting small business. We know that there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of small businesses that want to get out there now and invest and employ and serve their communities by taking advantage of the $20,000 instant asset write off and that's our focus – getting this through the Parliament. And, as I say, I hope the Labor Party won't be distracted and will help the Government to get this through the Parliament as quickly as possible because that has got to be our main priority – strengthen the economy so that every Australian is better off.
QUESTION:
Does this potentially put back the chances of there being a greater consensus within the Parliament?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, as I said, there are different views in the Parliament, there are different views within parties, there are different views within families. I dare say that this debate will go on in the community for quite some time. It may well come before the Parliament again at some time and when it is starting to come close to a vote in the Parliament that's the time when our Party Room should discuss it.
QUESTION:
One more on same-sex marriage and then I will ask a question on small business, if you don't mind?
PRIME MINISTER:
Happy to hear it.
QUESTION:
Alan Jones – a friend of yours – has come out and said last night on Sky News that anyone who finds love should be able to celebrate it and some notions of marriage are archaic. Does this change your views on the matter at all?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, as you say, Alan is a friend of mine, I've known Alan for 30-odd years and Alan is a great Australian, quite a controversial Australian, but certainly a great Australian as well as being a friend of mine. And I deeply respect his views. I deeply respect his views and I'm confident that he would respect mine, he would respect my sister's, he would respect Bill Shorten's and Tanya Plibersek's and Warren Entsch's and that's what we need. We need to see mutual respect of all the different views on this debate because as I said, decent people can differ on this subject.
QUESTION:
On small business, you're out here promoting your instant asset write off and the good things you're doing for small business, whilst you're doing this the Treasurer has asked Treasury to cost removing GST on sanitary products. Are you concerned about the lack of consistency with the message on this issue?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, no, I'm not. Joe was asked a question on Q&A by some activists and he said that he had some sympathy with their position, but in the end what happens to the GST is wholly and solely a matter for the states and territories. Now, I'm very happy to entertain a request from the states and territories if they can find a united position and come to us on this. I've got to say that because the GST is a tax which is collected for the states to be spent by the states, if the states do decide that they want to narrow the tax base obviously there are some revenue implications for the states and so be it.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, Khaled Sharrouf's wife and children reportedly want to return to Australia. Will they be allowed to return? What would happen to them when they return and will a distinction be drawn between his wife and children in terms of how they're treated?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the point I make is that crime is crime is crime and criminals will face the full severity of Australian law, whether they're male or female, criminals will face the full severity of Australian law and it is a crime – a very serious crime – under Australian law for people to go abroad and fight or assist terrorist organisations. Let's not for a second forget the evil barbarism which the Daesh death cult is perpetrating across wide swathes of the Middle East right now. We've seen the beheadings, the crucifixions, the mass executions, the sexual slavery and people who are involved in that are doing evil things – evil things and criminal things – and if criminals come within the reach of our law, whether they're male or female, they will face the full severity of our law. That's what the Australian public expect. Crime will be punished.
QUESTION:
If there's an opportunity to use their experience for preventing others from following that path, though, isn't that something worth considering?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm absolutely delighted when a criminal comes out of jail, reformed and rehabilitated, for that criminal or former criminal to go and spread a message of obeying the law to others who might be tempted to disobey the law. But I'm afraid you don't get off scot-free just because you say, “I’ve seen the error of my ways”. If you commit serious crimes you should face serious punishment and as far as I'm concerned that will always be the case.
QUESTION:
And just specifically on his children, how would they be treated?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, these are not the first criminals to have had children. There are criminals who go to jail all the time and they have children and the children of these particular criminals will be dealt with in the same way that the children of criminals are normally dealt with.
QUESTION:
But how do you deal with them in terms of some of them appear to be radicalised, one of those children was holding the head of someone. Are you not concerned that potentially in the future…
SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS:
How do the journalists feel about small business? Yeah? Got any interest in small business? [inaudible] All these other issues are important issues but they’re sideline issues [applause] Small business will employ people, the economy will boom – let’s just get on with it.
PRIME MINISTER:
I think that's a very fair point that's been made over there. Now, I accept that you guys are doing your job and every day there's a whole range of issues that you want to ask the Prime Minister questions about. But government can't be distracted and I've got to say that the main game for us right now is economic security and then national security. The two go hand in hand because the stronger our economy is, the better it is for affording and sustaining the kind of national security measures that we need to take at a difficult and dangerous time like this.
Just on the subject of minors, if a minor commits a crime, again, there are standard provisions for dealing with that. But the point I want to stress is that criminals will be punished; whether they're young, whether they're old, whether they're male, whether they're female, whether they're criminals abroad or criminals at home. Criminals will be punished and to participate in the kind of barbarism that we have seen so often in the Middle East is just wrong. It's morally wrong and it's a crime under Australian law and it will be punished.
But the final point I want to make is to say thank you to the small businesses of Canberra, say thank you to the small businesses of Australia, for everything they do, everything you do. We don't sufficiently acknowledge the work of our business people. We rightly celebrate the doctors, the nurses, the social workers, the teachers, the scientists, the philanthropists, we do all those things as we should, but we could not live without people who are prepared to put their houses on the line, to invest, to employ, to serve the community in business and they deserve a pat on the back as well. And they haven't just had a pat on the back from this Government and this Budget, they've had a lot of material help and I'm very pleased and proud to lead a Government which for the first time has singled out the small businesses of Australia for special recognition – material recognition – not just moral recognition and long may it continue.
Thank you.
[ends]