Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Curtin very much for bringing this important topic to the House today. It's an important topic because taxation is very important to both the social fabric of our country and also the economy. When it comes to this particular matter of public importance, there are two key parts to it—and I want to talk about both of them today. Firstly, I want to talk about tax reform, and I want to look at the difference between our position as a Labor government and the position of those opposite. Secondly, I want to talk about intergenerational unfairness. When you talk about intergenerational unfairness with young people in my local electorate on Brisbane's south side, it is incredibly clear that they bring up a few core things, over and over and over again.

The first thing they bring up is housing. Housing is at the heart of the concerns that young people have when it comes to being able to not only put a roof over their head but also set up for their future, set their family up and make sure that they get a flying start to life. The second is the cost of living and making sure that when they think about their hip pockets, when they think about paying the rent, they have enough money to get by—and not just to get by but also to be able, once again, to set up for the future. The final thing is the environment, because the environment is so crucial not only in terms of making sure that people have a good environment to live in going forward and looking towards their future but also in terms of mental health. We know that young people are facing significant mental health challenges when it comes to the climate crisis. It is not just about warming. It is not just about the environment. It is about the mental health of our young people.

I think that when we talk about the opposition's position on each of these things, it becomes very clear. On housing, we know what they don't support. They don't support five per cent deposits for first home buyers—a policy which is designed only to allow it to be easier for young people, for people who are purchasing their first home, to get into the housing market. We know what they don't support. They don't support reforms to housing that, again, will make housing more accessible and more affordable—and we saw them team up with the Greens to vote down and to block housing policy, again and again. When it comes to the cost of living, we know what they don't support. They don't support free TAFE—a policy that is only in place to make sure that young people, people going to get skills and build a trade, can access something to build their future on. And we know that they don't support 20 per cent off student debt either. When it comes to intergenerational fairness, we know that the opposition have again and again voted against every single measure designed to create a better life for the future.

In terms of tax reform, can I tell you that those opposite, the Liberal and National parties, talked a lot in this place about a talkfest that happened a couple of weeks ago. I don't often agree with the opposition, but I agree that there was a talkfest a couple of weeks ago. But it wasn't in Canberra—it was in Brisbane. In Brisbane, the LNP conference was held, and my goodness it was a talkfest! Did they talk about intergenerational unfairness? Did they talk about tax reform? They didn't. I'll tell you what they talked about. They talked about removing welcomes to country, they talked about lifting the ban on gay conversion therapy and they talked about abandoning net zero. That talkfest really demonstrates what the opposition have in mind when it comes to their priorities. They're about ripping down our pathway to net zero and about ripping down our pathway to making sure that future generations are protected when it comes to the environment.

In contrast, what were Labor doing? We were holding an economic roundtable, an economic roundtable that was designed to address these very points: intergenerational equity, a fair go for working people, and including intergenerational equity terms on top of the three—not one, not two, but three—tax cuts for every Australian. Labor is taking this seriously, and the opposition is only against intergenerational fairness.

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