Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Housing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At this time last night, the Treasurer delivered one of the most uninspiring speeches I have heard in this place. I wondered why. I think maybe it was because the realisation was that he was delivering the crystallisation of a broken promise. Of course, the Prime Minister was sitting there smiling happily, and he would, because he was seeing his successor fail on the national stage. The person most satisfied with last night's speech, of course, was the Minister for Health and Ageing, who's now been outed as the Prime Minister's hand-picked successor.

The problem is this: before the last election, this Labor government ruled out changing capital gains tax and negative gearing, and we're supposed to believe that, in some fanciful way, things have changed so substantially in less than 12 months that they have now decided to break that promise. The Treasurer was on morning television again this morning, this time ruling out taxing the family home and ruling out inheritance taxes. Seriously, who would trust him now!

This budget has crystallised Labor lies, higher taxes, lower living standards and fewer homes. There was a level of delusion in that speech last night that knew no bounds. You see, the Treasurer thinks he is Paul Keating. There were repeated and self-indulgent comparisons to Labor of yesteryear, but the Treasurer and the Prime Minister are not a patch on the Labor greats that they seek to emulate. The true historical comparison of this Labor budget is that it cements this Labor government's place as the highest-taxing government Australia has ever had.

The big play in this budget was housing. Labor's budget papers confirm exactly what the coalition have been saying—that higher taxes will mean fewer homes. Page 158 of the budget papers reveals that Labor's new housing taxes will lead to 35,000 fewer homes. Labor promised more homes; instead, all we got was more taxes. The objective of all of this is to add 75,000 additional first home buyers. It's an admirable goal, although none of us can trust the forecasts that this government puts forward. That's 7,500 additional first home buyers per year, but let's give that some context. Under the current system, without any change, we would expect that there would be about 1.2 million first home buyers purchasing a home in a business-as-usual scenario. So what we're seeing is a very small upside with a very high risk. This government and this Treasurer are prepared to tip over a well-settled tax system on speculation of a six per cent return.

As much as anything in these budget speeches it's about what is not said, and the one thing that the Treasurer did not mention last night was migration—not once. Now, why wouldn't he mention migration? I'll tell you why. It's because migration has caused part of their housing crisis. You cannot fix this housing crisis while ignoring population pressure. The budget confirms that net overseas migration is still forecast at 295,000 in 2025-26 and 245,000 in 2026-27. This is adding to the already 1.4 million people that Labor has added over its time in office.

The other word that got a big run last night was 'war'—the conflict in the Middle East. Do you know what, Speaker? The budgetary difficulties that this government finds itself in are a result of four years of poor economic management, not four months of a conflict in the Middle East. This Treasurer should be ashamed of what he has done to the Australian people. It is only a coalition government that will protect Australians' way of life and restore their standard of living.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Over the last quarter of a century, beginning with the September 11 twin towers attacks in New York, the world has gone from one crisis to another. Major conflicts in so many parts of the world, the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2009, the 2013 to 2017 ISIS years, the COVID pandemic between 2020 and 2023, the war in Ukraine and now the attack on Iran have all caused disruption and uncertainty throughout the world. Living costs have risen everywhere, and there is a growing global humanitarian crisis that impacts every country, including Australia. Governments and political leaders are now frequently toppled, whilst political divisions grow wider. Meanwhile, the superwealthy accumulate even more of the world's money.

It is in that context that the Albanese government's 2026-27 budget was framed and why it is a responsible budget for the times. No government could have managed the Australian economy better than what the Albanese government has done over the past four years. Whilst the critics scramble to find flaws in the budget, they fail to articulate credible alternatives.

Importantly, the 2026-27 budget is not just a temporary fix to the economic stresses and financial pressures people face today but provides long-term enduring reforms for the Australian economy. All this has been achieved whilst the Albanese government delivers substantive long-term cost-of-living support and social justice reforms to communities throughout Australia, including but not limited to the $10.7 billion long-term fuel security investment, 137 bulk-billing Medicare Urgent care clinics to take the pressure off hospitals while saving out-of-pocket gap payments for patients and the 20 per cent cut to student HECS debts. It also includes making free TAFE permanent; introducing tax cuts for all working Australians; cutting the price of medicines; investing $47 billion into housing; securing Australian fuel supplies and increasing fuel reserves right now, whilst cutting fuel excise by over 50 per cent for three months; increasing defence spending; providing another $25 billion for public hospitals and $5.9 billion to list new medicines on the PBS.

In my home state of South Australia, public hospitals will receive a total of $15.2 billion over five years, which is an additional $2 billion in funding. There have now been over 15,000 visits to the Para Hills Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Makin since its opening on 1 October 2024. There are also now 16 Medicare bulk-billing practices in the Makin electorate, an increase of 10 since Labor's bulk-billing changes. That all equates to people receiving better health care with fewer out-of-pocket costs.

Of course, some hard decisions had to be taken in the budget, and I accept that some people will be disappointed with some proposed changes. In particular, tightening the NDIS eligibility rules and benefits will impact NDIS recipients. However, the scheme is simply unsustainable under its current trajectory. Similarly, the reduction in the private health insurance rebate for those over 65 years of age to around 24 per cent, which brings it in line with the rebate for everyone else, will mean people over 65 years of age will pay on average $240 a year more for private health cover.

The other notable tax changes are negative gearing, capital gains tax and discretionary trusts. The proposal is that, from 1 July 2027, negative gearing for residential property investments will be limited to new builds and the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount for individuals, trusts and partnerships will be replaced with cost indexation and a 30 per cent minimum tax rate on capital gains. These changes are prospective. Properties held before the announcement will be exempt from the negative gearing changes. Additionally, investors who buy new builds will be able to choose either the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount or indexation and the minimum tax when they sell their property. These changes commence on 1 July 2027.

For discretionary trusts, which have enabled a lower tax rate through income splitting, the government is introducing a 30 per cent minimum tax from 1 July 2028.

These changes are fair, reasonable and consistent with the Albanese government's strive to deliver intergenerational equity. And I expect to say a lot more about the budget in speeches in the coming days.

House adjourned at 19:59

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms Lawrence ) took the chair at 09:30.