Small businesses are where big Australian dreams begin, where families put everything on the line to turn hard work into opportunity. As the shadow minister for women, I know that, for many women, starting a business is about so much more than making money; it's about independence, freedom and having control over their future, for a mum juggling work and children, a woman trying to rebuild her life after family violence while untangling her finances and trying to restructure a family business or someone trying to secure her retirement after years of caring for others. Women are already starting from behind—less savings, greater barriers to owning a home and, for women approaching retirement, an average of $86,000 less in superannuation than men. Starting a business doesn't automatically put women on equal footing. The Gender Index Australia in 2026 found that women lead 42 per cent of sole-trader businesses but just 15 per cent of incorporated companies and seven per cent of large companies. The last thing they need is another tax standing in their way, yet that's exactly what the Albanese government is proposing.

From July 2028, around 350,000 small businesses operating through discretionary trusts face a new 30 per cent minimum tax. A family trust isn't complicated. The business earns some money, it goes into the trust and, each year, the family can decide how that income is shared. Treasury says around 350,000 small businesses operate through trusts, and, by its own figures, around 210,000 could face extra tax or be forced to restructure. Treasury admits the damage won't be evenly spread. Some sectors, like construction and property, could be hit harder, and Master Builders and the Property Council are already raising the alarm. Imagine working your whole life to build a family business, only for Labor to hand you three rotten choices: pay a new 30 per cent tax; restructure into a company and potentially cop a hefty stamp duty bill; or lock your family into fixed shares for life, with no-one else allowed in.

And here's where Labor really twists the knife. If the trust pays income into a company, Labor can tax the same dollar twice—up to 60c in every dollar, on the government's own figures. Experts warn it could reach as high as 77c. Did Labor remember to tell Australians about this before the election? No. Labor promised more than 50 times not to raise taxes, then gave hardworking Australians just 23 days in July and 15 days in September to have their say. The government's own Office of Impact Analysis says 30 days is the minimum and small businesses need longer. Treasury received 595 submissions. How many has it published? None.

That's why the coalition is drawing a line. We will split the trust tax from the other measures, seek a 12-month delay and repeal it in government. The coalition opposes both bills—but not the sensible measures the coalition previously called for. These include protecting trusts established through wills and income for vulnerable children from Labor's separate 30 per cent minimum tax on capital gains. Those measures also clarify that what counts as a new home for negative gearing and provide temporary relief from superannuation tax penalties as payday super begins. We support the superannuation measure and won't oppose the other changes, even if they don't finish the job. We're moving to split them off so the small-business tax on trusts gets voted on by itself.

Labor still hasn't fixed the capital gains tax problems arising from divorce or death or from including granny flats in its definition of new homes for negative gearing. If Labor is serious about backing small businesses, it should work with us to stop taxing ambition and give hardworking Australians a fighting chance in the cost-of-doing-business crisis it has created.

You have to hand it to this treasurer. Every time you think he's reached peak absurdity, he finds another level. Take Labor's so-called solution to the backlash. Family trusts that exist on 1 July 2028 get one chance, in 2028-29, to nominate who receives their income and how much. Then those shares are locked in for life. Only death or relationship breakdown allows them to change. Break the rules and that year's income is taxed at the top marginal rate plus the Medicare levy. After that, the 30 per cent minimum tax applies permanently. Seriously! If a trustee gets sick before 30 June, they might get special consideration, but, if a family member has another baby? Bad luck! Want to remarry? Too late! What planet is the Treasurer living on? Children are born, people fall in love, marriages end, women escape violent relationships, mothers start over—life happens.

And then there's stamp duty. The government's own analysis cites estimates of $36,590 to $55,000 in stamp duty on a $1 million business transfer. The Commonwealth waives income tax on restructuring into a company, but not one state has offered stamp duty relief. Imagine how many jobs, apprenticeships and opportunities that money could have created.

And Labor's promise to protect farmers? Well, read the fine print. Primary production income is exempt, but contract shearing, mustering, harvesting and crop dusting aren't covered, and neither is income from farm accommodation, wedding venues or rent from powerlines. Where one trust owns a farm and another business operates the farm, rent paid to the landholding trust can be caught by the tax.

Labor isn't just taxing small businesses; it's making them pay through the nose to figure out the paperwork. Treasury estimates that it will cost small businesses $141½ million a year over a decade, plus another $939 million in one-off costs. That's not the tax. That's the cost of working out the tax. Master Builders warns a family building business earning $400,000 in taxable income could face a tax bill up to 70 per cent higher. Add another $82,000 to $175,000 in restructuring costs. Who ultimately pays? First home buyers, single mums struggling to keep a roof over their children's heads and older women already facing housing insecurity. Builders pass these costs on through higher home prices. For cafes and tradies, it's more money for accountants and lawyers and less for workers, apprenticeships and for the growth of the business.

And we need granny flats. We're for them. Backyard granny flats are a vital housing solution for multiple generational families where they're helping young adults save or keeping ageing parents close. But under Labor's negative gearing rules, a newly built secondary dwelling doesn't count as a new home unless it has its own title. While this technically hurts all families, it creates a much bigger crisis for older women. As the fastest growing demographic facing homelessness in Australia, a backyard build is often their only practical path to long-term safety. In established suburbs where older women want to age in place near community ties, granny flats are the most realistic way to add supply. The Housing Industry Association asked the Senate to fix this definition on 5 June, but did Labor listen? No. We're desperately short of housing, older women are at risk of homelessness and Labor is standing in the way of homes families could actually build. Even Australian charities are in the firing line. The Greens want Labor's charity exemption removed, which lawyer Mark Fowler warns could cost $1.3 billion in donations over five years. Will Labor stand up for Australian charities or cave into the Greens?

The government says more than 95 per cent of taxpayers don't receive trust income. But what about the 350,000 small businesses that do operate through trusts? Labor says this tax helps fund tax cuts for 13 million workers. But why should hardworking family businesses have to foot the bill? The coalition wants a small business act that gives businesses the right to be heard before regulators make decisions affecting them, not Labor's approach of acting first and leaving small businesses to pay the price. The Treasurer still has a chance to listen to small businesses and get this right. If he won't, he should have the humility to check his work.

Women are already fighting an uphill battle to build financial independence. The last thing they need is a government making that climb even steeper. Australian families are working harder, risking more and struggling just to stay afloat. They need a government that backs small businesses, not one that keeps knocking them down. Labor doesn't have to get this wrong. We're offering to help get it right.