Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens will also be supporting the Tax Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives for Innovation) Bill 2016 as it provides tax incentives for people who want to invest and companies that want to invest in innovative businesses in Australia. It is worth pointing out that the online revolution that is underway in this country and around many parts of the world at the moment is incredibly disruptive, but it does provide opportunities for people to be innovative and to use the internet to match supply and demand in a way that has never been available before for humanity.

We have an amendment that we will be proposing because we think there is a gap in the legislation. The gap that we would seek to fill is around social enterprises. It is important that people understand that there is a movement developing in Australia around social enterprises—that is, a company that has not only an economic mission but a social, cultural or environmental mission consistent with a public or community benefit. We think that those companies should also have the opportunity to attract further investment by the way and the means that the bill proposes for companies that have an economic aim. Ultimately, there are people forming companies in Australia and right around the world not with the aim of one day listing on the ASX or any public stock exchange but making the world a better place. It is very important that they receive the same level of encouragement as people who are engaging in innovation with a commercial end in mind.

It is worth pointing out that this legislation amends Australia's tax laws. It is very disappointing that the government has focused only on this and they are not using the very big levers that are available to public policy makers in this country to change our tax laws to address one of the fundamental issues facing Australians at the moment, and that is economic inequality in this country. At the moment in Australia, if you are a property speculator or an investor buying your fifth or your tenth or your 50th investment property, you get more direct financial assistance from the Commonwealth government than a young couple trying to buy their first home. It is a disgraceful situation that in Australia we would prioritise property speculators and property investors over and above the needs of a young Australian couple trying to buy their own home. We need to get on top of negative gearing; we need to get on top of the capital gains tax discount. 2While we welcome Labor's baby steps on those issues and their belated joining with the Greens to propose some addressing of the capital gains tax discount and some addressing of negative gearing, we say to the Labor Party, 'That is a good start, but you have a long way to go before you can truly lay claim to be addressing the massive economic inequality that is driving people apart in this country.'