Jo Briskey (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Earlier this month, the Treasurer delivered the most ambitious budget that we have seen in decades. It's a budget that balances responsible economic management with an eye to futureproofing our economy, an economy that works for everyday Australians, not the other way around. As a nation, we find ourselves, once again, in the midst of a global crisis. They, unfortunately, are becoming more frequent. For older Australians, global shocks and once-in-a-generation events were just that: once in a generation. They didn't occur every few years, and global economies were given the time to recover. The world we live in has changed. It is less stable, more divided and increasingly unpredictable.

When I speak to young people in my community, they show a readiness to meet the world as it is and carry it forward, but what they do not accept is the economic burden that has been placed on them at the expense of their future. They do not accept house prices that are eight times their annual income. They do not accept being locked out of the housing market while others own upwards of 10 properties. And they do not accept that the status quo is working.

For almost all of us in this chamber, the Australian dream of owning your own home did become a reality. We saved over a few years to buy our first home that was, on average, about three times our annual salary. For me and my husband, it was in 2009 when Ravi and I saved up a little and, with a little help from my in-laws, purchased our first home. It was a small unit that would provide us with a safety net and the stability that we needed and wanted to start a family. I look back fondly at that moment in time, that sense of hope mixed with dread but also the celebration of achieving such a huge life milestone—a milestone that so many young Australians jokingly now dismiss as just not being possible for them. But the reality is that it is no joke. Young people dismiss it not just because of house prices but because, for some in my community who have saved up enough for a deposit and jumped through all the hoops, they go to the auction and put an offer on, only to be outpriced by property investors who have tax breaks on their side.

This Labor government has refused to accept the status quo. That is why we are making the tough calls, setting out an ambitious plan to level the playing field for younger generations. Going forward, we are limiting negative gearing for residential property so it can be used only for new builds. Our negative gearing changes put homeowners first and will help more Australians get a foothold in the housing market. This is why this budget is a truly aspirational budget, because what is more aspirational than owning your own home? We aspire for the people in my community—the single parents who want stability, the young couples seeking to start a family, the students looking to the future—who stop me in the street and raise the issue of housing. This reform is about making it easier for them to buy their first home.

Despite the misinformation from those opposite, Australians who currently negatively gear or own an investment property will see no change in their arrangements. This Labor government is, and has always been, pro investment. That is why, going forward, new investors can still negatively gear their properties, just on new builds. If you're a younger person who can afford to invest in housing, you can still do it on new properties. If you look to the edges of our cities and our regional areas, the opportunities for investment are there. We are pro-investment because we not only want Australians to be able to invest and build their own wealth but also, at the same time, want to see them invest in the wealth of our nation.

Along with changes to negative gearing, we're also changing the tax treatment of capital gains so that it operates as originally intended, helping to ensure investment flows where it is most productive. Returning it to indexation will mean that, in the future, only real capital gains are subject to tax, supporting investment in assets like medium-density housing. An important thing to note is that these reforms will grandfather gains made before 1 July next year. The 30 per cent minimum tax rate on capital gain profits is about making sure everyone pays their fair share.

This budget aims to level the playing field and also continues to build on our housing agenda, which is ambitious, as it has to be, because our housing crisis is 40 years in the making. That is why this budget also seeks to increase our housing supply, with an additional $2 billion investment into the infrastructure needed to build 65,000 new homes. This is on top of the other housing supply measures that we have already delivered since coming into government, like those through the Housing Australia Future Fund. The HAFF has helped to deliver over 1,000 new social and affordable homes in my community alone, changing people's lives forever.

Australians were given a glimpse into the opposition's plans for this country. Australians were given more cheap rhetoric from those opposite. They were told that migrant communities are their enemy and that, under the coalition, the housing status quo will be entrenched. That is in stark contrast to Labor's plans for the future. Our plan is to build Australia's future, and, in order to do that, that plan must be centred around fairness. Medicare is a symbol of fairness and is integral to the prosperity of our nation, which is why this year's budget once again had strengthening Medicare front and centre. As cost-of-living pressures continue to put stress on local households, we are committed to providing real cost-of-living relief across the board. We promised to make health care more affordable, and we are delivering on that promise. The Treasurer outlined in his budget night address that the Albanese Labor government is making a record investment into health care, making free Medicare urgent care clinics a permanent fixture of our healthcare network while continuing to invest in cheaper medicines and more bulk-billing.

Australian families remember all too well what those opposite did to Medicare. They remember that bulk-billing was gutted. They remember cuts to our public hospitals. They remember the cost of medicines increasing while their wages stagnated. Those opposite put a price tag on every Australian's health. Their dream is not for a stronger Medicare but for a relaxation of it, something more akin to an American-style healthcare system, where the health care that you get is what you can afford, leaving many working people behind. When those opposite talk of decreased spending and budget savings, what they're actually saying is they'll cut Medicare. And it won't be just Medicare; it'll be Services Australia, fee-free TAFE, our three-day early learning guarantee—cutting the essential services and cost-of-living relief that working people rely on. How do we know this? Because they've voted against every single cost-of-living measure our government has brought forward to this place.

Thankfully, for many in my electorate, this Labor government takes a different view. Things are tough right now. We know this and we are determined to continue to ease cost-of-living pressures. That is why, from 1 July this year, every Australian taxpayer will receive a tax cut, and we're introducing an instant tax deduction of $1,000—no receipts needed. And there will be another tax cut next year too, together with taking an extra $250 off working people's tax bill permanently. Those opposite have dismissed these tax measures. They are more interested in saying no to genuinely trying to help Australian families, and, when they say no, they are saying it to families in my community who are saving thousands thanks to this government making PBS medicines cheaper; they are saying it to students, who now pay lower repayments on their student debt; and they are saying it to women, who are benefiting from the largest investment in women's health care in decades.

The conversations I'm having in my community about this budget are positive. They aren't focused on the misinformation or the scare tactics of those opposite. My community isn't buying this racist nonsense that immigrants are making their lives harder or causing costs to rise. What those opposite can't comprehend is that my community is the vibrant place it is because of immigration. It is the beneficiary of migration—Italian, Greek, Vietnamese, Somali and many more who have planted their roots in Maribyrnong, bringing with them the cultures and skills that have come to define our part of Melbourne. Our community benefits from those skills in health, early education, aged care and jobs that keep our communities quietly moving, like cleaning, delivery drivers and many more.

My community sees through the coalition's message of hatred and division because they know it's just more cheap politics from a party simply trying to fight to compete with One Nation. They also know that our economy is under a lot of pressure from global shocks, not because of grandparents, parents or friends who have migrated to Australia, seeking to build a better life and contribute to our nation's future. It is the same old tired playbook, and my community is fed up with it.

This budget is about creating opportunities. It is pro-aspiration for people seeking to enter the housing market and invest in their future, especially for young people. It is pro-worker for those families feeling the pinch and in need of tax relief. It is pro-investment for individuals and businesses looking to build their futures with shares and portfolios. This Albanese Labor government is not shying away from the difficult reforms that are necessary to build our nation's future. We are proud of what we have delivered, but we know there is more work to do. Good governments listen to their constituents, they do not alienate parts of their communities, and they do not pit them against each other.

Instead, they seek to unite. They seek to deliver the reforms and services that the moment demands. The status quo may be what those opposite wish to entrench, but, if they actually spoke to young, working-class Australians, they would know that their white-hot rage is directed squarely at the status quo. It's just not working. The status quo is stacked against them; that is why this government has changed course, why we are delivering generational tax reforms and why we are determined to level the playing field.

Levelling the playing field is just what we're going to do, on top of delivering real cost-of-living relief for Aussie families. When the Prime Minister says that he wants a country where no-one is held back and no-one is left behind, this budget is an example of those words in practice. It is pro-aspiration; it is pro-investment for all Australians, not just a select few.

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