Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

This is indeed a great day! It is a great day on so many levels. This is a day on which every Australian taxpayer will get a tax cut—all 13.6 million of them. The difference between this side and that side is that we want people to earn more and we want workers, all taxpayers, to keep more of what they earn. They want people to work for longer, for less.

I've got a bit of advice for the backbenchers there, including the member for Menzies—and it's not too late for him to have a rethink before he stands next. When a frontbencher gives you an amendment in their name and says, 'You move it on my behalf,' that doesn't show courage. That shows gutlessness. That shows cowardice. That shows them hiding behind their own backbench. It's unbelievable. I've been here since 1996. I've never seen this before. 'I move the amendment circulated in the name of Mr Taylor' is what it says. He's the shadow Treasurer. He's here. I say to the member for Menzies, 'Don't do it.' He's right there. If it's so good, put your name to it, Shadow Treasurer. Give a speech in favour of it. The second reading amendment you moved said this:

… the Coalition is committed to going to the next election with a tax reform package that is in keeping with the stage 3 tax cuts …

A government member: That's rollback!

Rollback is back! I'll give the shadow Treasurer the big tip: if you vote against the legislation, the Morrison tax cuts stay. By voting for this legislation, you are voting against the position that you took to the last election. You're voting against the position that you took to the election before. You're voting against the position that we said in 2019 was a triumph of hope over experience, saying that you knew what the economy would look like in 2024. That was why we expressed our concern at that time. The equivalent would be for this Treasurer to introduce legislation saying what the system would look like in 2029. That's the equivalent of what they are doing.

For people who are voting for this legislation, they're pretty hostile to it. It shows their real position. They always will take every opportunity to oppose things for Middle Australia, to oppose things for people who need a hand up. Their idea of aspiration is people who go to a few of those schools, who get the leg up in life, who live a life of privilege. Our idea is to use government to create opportunity, because we understand that every Australian has aspiration, which is why our tax cuts change every single level of tax—

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