Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The latest data shows around 40,000 nurses, 38,000 teachers and almost 10,000 police officers have negatively geared properties. Why is the Prime Minister—

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, members on my right! I can't hear the question. If people persist, they won't be here to hear the answer either. The member for Mallee will begin her question again.

Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The latest data shows around 40,000 nurses, 38,000 teachers and almost 10,000 police officers have negatively geared properties. Why is the Prime Minister now pulling up the ladder on our nurses, teachers and police when he's been happy to climb it himself?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bendigo is warned.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question, the premise of which, of course, is completely wrong. There are two facts. The first fact is that every one of those police, teachers or fire brigade people, whoever they are, can keep their existing arrangements in place. That's the first. The second is that they can go and buy more and negatively gear it and choose either to have indexation or a 50 per cent discount on capital gains as long as they're new homes. What is the difference between the two? People go out there and invest in investment properties in order to increase their assets and their wealth during their lifetime. Good on them. That contributes to an increase in their wealth and their assets. But, when they invest in a new home rather than an existing home, they are also increasing the assets and the wealth of the country. That is why we are doing it—so that they help not only themselves but the nation and the country, not by having investments hidden behind trusts, not by having investments through the Cayman Islands, but by investing here in properties here.

We encourage that and we celebrate that, just like we also celebrate those police officers and nurses being able to own their own home. At the moment, if you are a young nurse or a young police officer, you are going along to an auction before last Tuesday night and competing with an investor who has the bank of taxpayers assisting them in it. So it's not an even system. What we're about is recognising that and doing something about it, as the shadow treasurer said repeatedly we should.