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

I'd remind the member for Casey that only one side of this chamber voted against a tax cut for every taxpaying Australian last year. When we talk about this MPI in this debate today, I want to give you this quote again, because we heard it earlier in the day:

… it's time to be honest: the tax system is screwing over young Australians. … it favours well-off, established interests against those trying to get ahead. … In short: if you work hard to get ahead, you get hit hard; if you live off assets, you don't.

And you might think that that is a quote from the Treasurer. You might think that that is a quote from the Prime Minister. You might think that that is a quote from Minister Gallagher. But it's not. It's a quote from the person who moved this MPI—it's a quote from the member for Goldstein; it's a quote from the shadow treasurer.

I think that quote proves that conviction politics for the Liberal Party of Australia is not just dead; it is buried and cremated, because, when you think about that quote, it isn't just the first Cirque-du-Soleil-worthy backflip that the member for Goldstein has made to date, because he made another one, just the other day, and that was that he's opened the door up to a potential Liberal, National and One Nation marriage—a terrifying prospect, but potentially not as terrifying as what the Leader of the Opposition said just yesterday.

What the Leader of the Opposition said should have every everyday Australian shaking in their boots, because he said this: 'whatever it takes to unwind this budget'—'whatever it takes'. So if you're a young person yearning to get into your first home, the Leader of the Opposition doesn't want you to have an even playing field; in fact, he'll do whatever it takes to unwind the reforms of this budget. If you're a working Australian who's looking forward to getting a $250 tax offset, the Leader of the Opposition is gunning for you. If you are a taxpayer looking forward to another tax cut, the Leader of the Opposition still doesn't want you to have that.

When we talk about economics, we talk about it being a function of two things. It's a function of choices and of scarcity. And I think two things are really clear when it comes to those who sit opposite. The first is that they have made a choice, in their response to this budget so far, and that choice is not for everyday Australians. That choice is not for young people. That choice is not for everyday taxpayers. And, when it comes to scarcity, if you consider the result in the Farrer by-election and you also consider the member for Flynn's potential defection to One Nation, people from the LNP in this place are getting scarce!

The intergenerational vandalism of those sitting opposite puts a target on the back of thousands of people in my community and on the back of millions of Australians across our country, because, when it comes to housing, this is a budget that has a reform of tax systems to support 75,000 more Australians into the housing market. It's creating homes for Australians. And that investment is now over $47 billion. That's on top of Help to Buy. That's on top of five per cent. It's limiting negative gearing for residential property so it can only be used for new builds. The dream of homeownership can be back again, because we are making significant reform that will address intergenerational equality.

The budget bottom line is nearly $45 billion better compared to MYEFO. This is more than a trillion dollars better than what the coalition left us with.

On the cost of living, we know that the Labor government is investing in things that ease pressure for everyday Australians. So, when we talk about an aspirational budget, a budget that is based on resilience and on reform, the Labor government is focused on driving the opportunities for the next generation, not leaving them behind.

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