Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability) Share this | Hansard source

This budget represents the forced liquidation of Australia's economic future. It's a shonky ledger of broken promises, skyrocketing debt, lower living standards and fewer homes for Australians. At the very centre are toxic taxes, a fast-track formula to economic stagnation and a sneaky raid on anyone trying to get ahead. Pushing Australia towards the highest capital gains taxes in the world is a brutal assault on aspiration. It is a direct tax on saving, a tax on investing and an act of intergenerational theft. By spending more and taxing more, this Labor government is pushing up inflation, increasing interest rates—higher for longer—and leaving the next generation with a compounding liability. This government wants to tax Australians from the cradle to the grave, sneaking in a death tax on family assets. Labor call this trust reform, but the public has absolutely zero trust in this government.

Now, with the public backlash, the PM is panicking. Instead of admitting that these taxes are toxic, Labor is doubling down, acting like a backyard butcher, hacking out messy little carve-outs. They hope that the public won't notice that their economic butchery is slaughtering our economy. It's time for the Albanese Labor government to drag this broken agenda back to the economic chopping block.

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