Senator CRANE —My question is to the Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Hill. Would the minister inform the Senate how the government's proposed changes to business taxation will help small business grow and create more jobs? Is the minister aware of any alternative proposals? What would be the impact of these if they were implemented?

Senator HILL (Environment and Heritage) —The Howard government is keenly aware of the potential of small business to drive economic growth and create jobs. Unlike the opposition, we actually listen to the concerns of small business about issues such as changes to the unfair dismissal laws and youth wage rates. Small business is already benefiting from the hard decisions we took to bring the budget back into balance. Our actions have helped bring down interest rates and inflation to their lowest levels in the last 30 years.

But we want to do more for small business. The small business initiatives which have been proposed by the government in the taxation area offer benefits to more than 95 per cent of Australian businesses and about 99 per cent of Australian primary producers. The benefits to small business include substantial cuts in company tax rates in two stages to just 30 per cent, reductions in capital gains tax which will encourage investment and saving, encouragement of venture capital industries, and a new simplified tax system to reduce paperwork and compliance burdens. It is all about giving small business the ability to grow and employ more people. As my colleague Senator Newman said yesterday, the best welfare policy is to create jobs for the unemployed. Small business is so important as an engine driver for job creation. I want to put particular emphasis on the fact that these measures will be a major benefit for primary producers and small businesses in rural and regional Australia.

Senator Crane has also asked whether I am aware of any alternative policies. Unfortunately, no alternative policies are being put up by the ALP—the alternative government in this country. In fact Senator Sherry has told us that no policies can be determined until the backroom boys of the ACTU have made decisions on such matters at next year's Labor conference. For rural and regional Australia, that must be an enormous disappointment. Not only will the Labor Party not determine policies for the benefit of rural and regional Australia until after next year's conference; it also has a non-performing shadow minister for regional affairs.

It is worth remembering that in practically all areas in which this government brought into this Senate changes for the benefit of rural Australia Labor voted against them. Labor voted against the Natural Heritage Trust, which is now repairing environmental damage in the bush. Labor voted against the cuts to diesel fuel taxes, which will now deliver major benefits to rural Australia in terms of lower transport costs. The next betrayal of the bush by the Labor Party will come if they play cheap politics over the new business tax reforms. There is another chance coming up through those reforms for Labor to finally turn the corner and say that they will do something for the benefit of rural and regional Australia and support the government in its initiatives to bring benefits to the bush.