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

I have received a letter from the honourable member for Goldstein proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

The need for a tax back guarantee.

I call upon those honourable members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) | Link to this | Hansard source

What do you call someone who raids your wallet, then gives it back and says that you should say thank you for the privilege? The answer is the Albanese government, because what we've seen in the last budget is a government that has broken a series of promises to the Australian community about the taxes that they 'would not introduce'. They got over an election. They got over the need for a democratic test to be held to account, and they've turned around and betrayed the Australian community. When they've done that, they've turned around and said to the Australian people, 'You should thank us for giving us for giving back some of your income tax,' completely deceiving and ignoring the fact that they are actively inflating out any income tax that is offered.

We saw this at the last election, where they offered tax cuts. They were legislated but had been annihilated within six months from the Treasurer's active inflation agenda. We're seeing exactly the same thing in the bills before the parliament right now. They like to boast that they're somehow cutting income taxes. They come into this chamber and say the Australian people and all the members in the chamber should vote with them. But the real truth is they're going to be wiped out by inflation.

We on this side of the House understand the silent thief that is inflation—how it corrodes living standards, how it destroys the effort and the savings of the middle class and how those who work hard to get ahead and save their money are attacked by it. That's one of the critical reasons that this government's economic policy approach is wrong. We've seen in the national accounts today that inflation is part of a persistent problem corroding living standards. While the government likes to boast about what they're achieving in terms of nominal wages, the truth is that real wages are going backwards under this government. There's only one way to fix it, and that is to turn around and stop inflation and to put the handbrake on governments using income tax as a silent method to raise more revenue and take advantage of inflation.

We call it bracket creep. Call it whatever you want. It is inflation that simply corrodes real wages and justifies taking more income tax from the Australian people. That's why the Leader of the Opposition, in his budget reply speech correctly said we will introduce a tax back guarantee. The tax back guarantee turns around to Australians and says, 'If you vote for us, every year, if inflation increases, we will make sure that money is returned to your hip pocket.'

We won't turn around and use the silent thief of inflation to take away your income. That's what the Albanese government is doing. They like to crow. They like to claim. They like to smug the idea that they can take away more of Australia's income while saying they're going to hand it back to the Australian people through modest tax cuts. The truth is they're just acting in a silent-thief-like manner towards Australia's income. Our tax back guarantee is focused on making sure that every year we give a pathway for Australians who experience inflation to get more of their income back and we don't use the income tax system as a silent thief to take away. We'll do it by making sure that every year, as inflation data comes out, it will be returned in your annual tax return. It will be a conscious choice.

This matters because we know, based on the reputation of the Albanese government, they say one thing before an election and they do something different after. Every single year, the tax back guarantee will be put to the test. When we're in government and when Labor's in government, and they will have to choose whether they continue to support returning the money of Australian people back to the Australian people. Now what do you think is going to happen? Do you think that every year Labor is going to turn around and support returning more money to the hip pockets of Australian people taken by inflation? We know the history on this, which is that, when the Labor government runs out of money, they come after yours.

I think it was the member for Wannon or the member for Gippsland who just said they can't stop their spending addiction. They have an economic model, and it's based on stoking the inflation. It's based on then taxing the inflation. And then it's about spending the inflation. Wash, rinse, repeat. No matter what happens, they always find a way to inflate the economy and corrode living standards so long as it means more of the hardworking income of Australians is taxed out of existence and back into the hands of the government to fill their spending addiction.

We don't believe in that vision for the future. We don't believe in a vision for Australia where people apply their hard work and effort, where hard work is put in to build out the betterment of a business, a community or of course the foundations of a country just to be taxed away by a Labor government. We believe in an Australia where money belongs in your hip pocket if you've earned it. We believe in an Australia where hard work pays off, where people have control of their own lives and where they're respected. We believe in an Australia where people will work hard and they will be able to keep their money and, if inflation comes along as a silent thief, we will return that money to the Australian people. We want to empower families. We want their freedom to choose. We want them to be able to decide how to grow the opportunity for themselves and their families and their communities and we want particularly to back small business, because the inflation crisis is not just one for small, for families and households; it's one for small business.

I know it falls on deaf ears on the other side of this chamber. I know so many Labor members simply cannot comprehend what it is like to back yourself, to invest in your future, to employ Australians and to be able to dare big dreams. It's why the Prime Minister during question time couldn't answer whether he wanted more Australians to be successful next year than were this year. We back Australians to get ahead. We believe that, when Australian families are doing well, the nation is doing well. We don't believe that, when Canberra is doing well, Australian people are doing well. It's the other way around. Particularly for the self-starters of this country, particularly those who backed themselves in small business—we have your back every step of the way.

The one thing we will stress is you need hope right now. We need hope. We know, after the latest budget, that all the government is seeking to do is suffocate and punch down on people in small business in the most disgraceful way. The Labor government's legacy already is record small-business insolvencies. Think about that—a record number of livelihoods, a record number of Australians who've backed themselves to get ahead, a record number of those who are employing people in communities who have had record insolvencies under this government. It is not something to be proud of, but they are suffering under the punitive measures of inflation and the cost-of-small-business crisis, which is leading them to an environment where they are looking desperately gasping for air to get ahead. I was recently in the Goldstein electorate in a local cafe down in Black Rock, and that was the message. And anywhere any of the members on this side of the chamber go, they hear the same stories—small businesses desperate to get ahead. They're often paying their staff before themselves, paying their suppliers before themselves and wondering whether it's worth going on.

We know Labor doesn't care about small businesses, and we know that they don't care if they collapse. They just want to triumphant of big capital, big unions and big business, and they can just sit on top of a big government and pull the levers and dictate the terms. But we don't believe in an Australia like that. We believe in one where people work hard and keep their money. If they back themselves, if they create a small business, if they seek out growth and opportunity and if they work hard, they should be able to get ahead, and their money is their money. We don't want it any more than is necessary to secure the nation and to ensure that we give the next generation of Australians their best chance.

That is not the approach of the current government, and you see this in their approach in taxation. They spend to inflate the economy. They then tax it. They then spend it again and continue to repeat the cycle. And the consequence now—and it's plain to see—is that Australians are having their incomes eaten away and their real wages eaten away by bracket creep. We need to make sure that a tax-back guarantee is legislated that empowers Australians to keep their money. A tax-back guarantee exists so that, when the government over taxes, it goes back into the hip pockets of Australians so they can be control of their destinies, their futures, their families and their communities and build the strength and opportunity that this great country can deliver. And it's only with the tax-back guarantee under a Taylor government that we will build the strength of Australia.

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker Claydon, I wish to make a personal explanation.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the honourable member claim to have been misrepresented? Go straight to the matter of misrepresentation.

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Social Services sought to misrepresent the coalition's commitment to restrict welfare to Australian citizens only, during question time.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Is it to you personally? It's got to be your personal—can you just repeat that?

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Social Services sought to misrepresent the coalition's commitment to restrict—

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

No. It's got to be you.

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

She sought to misrepresent my position on our commitment to restrict welfare to Australian citizens only.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

No. This is a policy matter that you're debating—

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

She misrepresented me during question time.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I don't believe this is a misrepresentation of you as a person.

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

It was absolutely a misrepresentation. She misrepresented my position.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

You did not read something about your position. You just read to me 'misrepresenting the opposition'.

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

It was my position. She misrepresented me.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Go straight to that point please.

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister sought to misrepresent my commitment to restrict welfare to Australian citizens only. Under my plan, access to 17 welfare benefits, as well as—

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Don't go into the argument. You've claimed to be misrepresented on that point. I've heard that now.

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

I haven't actually had a chance to explain it, Deputy Speaker Claydon.

Opposition members interjecting—

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Would you all like to have a say about this? You're not actually helping your leader at the moment.

Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) | Link to this | Hansard source

A bit of respect.

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

A bit of respect would be good.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Are you suggesting I'm not respecting your position?

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

I was talking to the member opposite.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Let's get back to your personal explanation and do away with all the commentary from everybody else. That would be very helpful.

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

If I may state the position and why it was a misrepresentation, it was a misrepresentation because, under the coalition's plan, my plan, access to 17 welfare benefits as well as future eligibility for the NDIS will be limited to Australian citizens from 1 July 2018 but existing recipients are grandfathered. We're not going to take away any welfare entitlements for someone who is already here. This is about sending a message to future migrants. Don't come to Australia if you want to be on welfare.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The point is made now; you've absolutely made the point. That personal explanation was on indulgence. We are now going back to the business before the House, the matter of public importance.

Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians deserve a fair and responsible tax system. They don't want slogans dressed up as guarantees.

The shadow treasurer talked about history. Well, let's go back in history to other slogans that this sounds very similar to. Remember 'back in black'? Remember that? I wonder if they've got their mugs already on order. If those opposite want to talk about tax, then Australians deserve to hear the full story. They talked about history. Let's go back in history. It was the opposition that wanted to roll back our tax cuts for every single Australian, particularly those on lower and middle incomes. They voted against tax cuts for all of those Australians. Not only did they want Australians to pay more tax, but they wanted to take away the tax breaks that we had already given them. Those opposite want Australians to forget that when they were in government wages were deliberately kept low. Suddenly they're pretending they're the friends of workers, when they deliberately kept wages low. Productivity stagnated and living standards went backwards under them, and working people fell further and further behind.

Today the shadow treasurer tried to blame the government for the massive productivity fail in 2022, when they were in government. That was hilarious. Thank goodness the Treasurer is on the money. Do not mess with Dr Jim Chalmers! They want all Australians to forget that they left office with a trillion dollars of debt, ingrained deficits, inflation with a six in front of it and real wages going backwards. And now, after all that, they want Australians to trust them again on tax. Let me tell you the coalition likes to talk about taxpayers. But we on this side—Labor—talk about workers and people getting up early, finishing late, juggling bills, raising children, caring for family members and just doing their best to get ahead.

As a former nurse and a trade unionist, I have spent my life standing alongside those workers—aged-care workers finishing a night shift, childcare educators helping parents get to work, disability support workers or retail workers, cleaners, truck drivers, tradies. These are the people who keep our communities running and who ask for nothing more than a fair go.

The difference between this side of the House and those opposite is simple. When we see cost-of-living pressures, we act. When we see wages falling behind, we fight for workers' wage rises—unlike those opposite. When we see families under pressure, we provide responsible relief that helps people right now while supporting our economy for the future. They voted against every single cost-of-living measure that we introduced, and they have the gall to stand here now and say, 'Aww, we care about workers.' Well, Australians see right through it. Here they go again.

Our budget, the recent budget, supports everyday Australians, and they're going to vote against it. We will deliver targeted cost-of-living relief, invest in essential services and continue the economic progress that Australians have worked so hard to achieve. And nowhere is that clearer than in our record for Australian workers.

Yesterday the Fair Work Commission handed down the 2026 annual wage review decision, which increased modern award wages by 4.75 per cent and the national minimum wage by six per cent from 1 July this year. That means the national minimum wage will increase to above $1,000 per week for the very first time. That represents a real wage increase, supporting workers with the cost of living. With this decision, the national minimum wage will have increased by more than $12,000 per year since Labor came to government. The Albanese Labor government is proud to have backed these pay rises. We'll always advocate for economically substantial wage increases. This is a win for working Australians.

In Cooper, my electorate, I hear from workers who are feeling the pressure of rising costs. For many of them, I have no doubt that yesterday's decision means a little more breathing room at the kitchen table and a little less anxiety when bills arrive.

We are delivering permanent, sustainable tax relief. We are providing a new round of tax cuts through the $250 working Australians tax offset and a $1,000 instant tax deduction. With our previous tax reforms, we're cutting income taxes five times in five different ways, putting nearly $3,000 a year back into the pockets of a worker on average earnings by 2028.

On top of tax relief, we're helping workers and families manage everyday costs by cutting tax on fuel by more than half, reducing the heavy vehicle road user charge to zero and giving the ACCC stronger powers to crack down on price gouging, scams and unfair trading practices. We are doubling maximum penalties to $100 million and providing almost $68 million to strengthen enforcement. Unlike those opposite, we match our words with action. The coalition spent the last parliament opposing sensible and responsible cost-of-living relief while taking higher taxes to the last election. Workers know this. They won't forget this. If you want to talk about history, talk about that.

If those opposite want to talk about tax, then let's talk about who the tax system is working for because, for too long, Australians who work for a living have watched the system reward wealth more generously than work. The vast majority of Australians get up every day, go to work, earn a wage and pay tax. They work hard, they pay their taxes and they expect a fair go, and that's exactly who the budget delivers for. We're taking the next step towards a fairer, more sustainable system. The reality is that the current system makes it easier to buy your 10th home than your first, and that is not fair for young Australians. It's not fair for renters. It's not sustainable for the future of our country, and those opposite do not care.

House prices have increased by around 400 per cent over the past two decades. They've gone from around four times incomes to eight times incomes, and home ownership among young Australians has fallen dramatically. I regularly hear from young people who have studied hard, worked hard and saved hard but still wonder if they will ever own a home. They're asking for a fair go, and the Albanese Labor government has listened. That's why we are reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax to help more Australians buy a new home. We're encouraging investment in new housing supply and helping fund tax cuts for workers to make the system fairer and more sustainable. It's all about backing the Australian ambition of owning your own home.

If investors want to continue accessing negative gearing concessions, they can. In the future, those concessions would be directed towards new homes that add to housing supply. Right now, around 83 per cent of investor loans are going into existing properties, not encouraging the building of new homes. Those opposite say they care about supply. Well, this is supply. Vote for our bill. It is about directing investment towards building homes rather than simply bidding up the price of existing ones. Limiting negative gearing to new builds means these concessions will continue to be available to people who legitimately want to build wealth, but only where they are helping to build the homes that Australia needs.

We're reforming capital gains tax. We are replacing the current 50 per cent discount with inflation adjusted indexation, and we're introducing a minimum tax on realised gains because only real gains should be taxed. That's fair. The treatment of existing investments will not be affected by the changes to negative gearing, and the reforms to capital gains tax will only apply to future gains. It is careful and responsible reform, and it is necessary. We are listening to young Australians locked out of the housing market. The dream of homeownership is disappearing for a generation. Those of us on this side of the house will not stand by and let that happen. They will.

These reforms are expected to help around 75,000 additional Australians buy a home over the next decade. They sit alongside our bold and ambitious housing agenda, where 250,000 people have been helped into their own homes already. This is what responsible governments do. When those opposite come into this chamber demanding a so-called 'tax-back guarantee', Australians are entitled to ask: 'Is that all they've got? Who will this benefit?' They are quite right to be suspicious, because their track record on workers' welfare is rotten. Workers and Australians know that. The answer is simple. The beneficiaries of our policies are clear—workers and first home buyers—with more homes; higher wages; stronger Medicare; free TAFE; and a tax system that rewards effort, aspiration and productive investment.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

There is a need for a tax back guarantee. This is so very important. What we've seen in recent times is people's real wages falling and people's standard of living declining. It is so sad when Mr and Mrs Average, ordinary everyday Australians, simply can't afford the bills. They're grappling with the prospect of heating their homes or eating; they have to make that choice. They've got families and they've got bills to meet as far as children are concerned—school fees, sporting, dancing and those sorts of activities. They're saying to their kids, 'Well, we just simply can't get you to the sorts of things that you enjoy this weekend because we can't afford it'.

The state of homelessness in this country is very sad. It's real and it has to be addressed. The budget, handed down a few weeks ago, has 35,000 fewer homes being built over the next decade. That is not a budget that is going to bring hope and aspiration to those seeking to put a roof over their head. In fact, it's quite the opposite. The budget brought a sledgehammer down on aspiration, particularly for the over-65s with their private health insurance rebate. Changes in that regard are going to force older Australians to use public hospitals when they are at a stage of their life when they're needing more health care, not less. That's going to mean a cost shift to state public hospitals.

In the budget we also saw so many things that are not going to help regional Australia, such as a lack of infrastructure spend, such as the Inland Rail only going to Parkes and such as the $191.6 million cut to feral pest programs. We've already got a rabbit infestation in Western Australia. We've got foxes running out of control in country areas. Carp are 80 per cent of the biomass of the Murray-Darling system. And this government has slashed feral pest programs.

The Leader of the Opposition, in his budget-in-reply speech, on 14 May, set out a clear direction, a vision for this nation, with a tax back guarantee. What he said on that night was that from 2028-29 we—that's the coalition—in government will index the bottom two income tax thresholds to inflation. What he said was that this will fully protect 85 per cent of income earners, with relief of around $250 in year 1 for a typical worker and growing to more than $1,000 a year in year 4. In year 1, you'll get $250, comparable to the tax relief that this government is promising, growing to $1,000 a year in year 4. From 2031-32, the coalition will index the top two tax thresholds as well. That will fully protect all income earners from inflation.

Inflation is rampant at the moment. You spike inflation with lower productivity. With the results that we saw in the gross domestic product today, business confidence is low, and this budget had nothing in there for those hardworking, low-earning, risk-taking small businesses that provide most of the employment in this country.

What we're proposing is generational tax reform. What we're proposing is fair, is simple and is something that those opposite don't ever do: it's trustworthy; it's honest. It will back Australians to work hard, to take those risks that I mentioned before, for small businesses, which are hurting so much at the moment. It will force government to respect people's money, because I don't think at the moment, with the budget that was just handed down, there is respect for people's money—$77 billion of more taxes in the budget. It is just going to hurt Middle Australia in particular. It is going to hurt those people who want to invest, those people who want to aspire to something better and those people who simply want to put a roof over their heads and make ends meet.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The shadow Treasurer has come into this place with his insane and irresponsible tax policy, and it comes with a massive price tag. It would be about $273 billion over the next nine years—big figure. It's no wonder that those opposite racked up a trillion dollars of Liberal debt over a decade when they were in government. What's even more amateur, and demonstrative of the ineptitude of those opposite, is that they haven't explained how on earth they would pay for it. Where will those cuts be to realise required offsets? The shadow Treasurer has been silent on this. It's absolutely crickets on that. But we know what the Leader of the Opposition is up to. He wants to rip benefits off taxpaying permanent residents, and that is shameful.

This MPI gives those on this side, the Albanese Labor government, the opportunity to elaborate on how we are responsibly reducing taxes for working Australians and giving more Australians a chance to realise the dream of homeownership, earn more but, importantly, keep more of what they earn. Those opposite should get on board and back tax cuts for working Australians.

This Labor government is rolling out tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer this year and next year and delivering new and permanent income tax cuts for every Australian worker through the $250 working Australians tax offset along with the $1,000 instant tax deduction. In just weeks from now—from 1 July, which happens to be Territory Day—130,000 Territory taxpayers will receive another tax cut on top of the tax relief this government has already delivered.

We're helping more people into homeownership as well. We're reforming the tax system to support 75,000 more homeowners into the housing market and investing an extra $2 billion—with a 'b'—for enabling infrastructure to support up to 65,000 more homes and taking our Homes for Australia plan to over $47 billion. We are also helping to secure social housing for more than 4,000 eligible young people at risk of homelessness, with $59.4 million for the states and territories. I again call on the NT government to engage with the HAFF and in particular stage 3. Territorians are taking up in big numbers the five per cent deposit scheme. Already, 1,350 in Darwin and Palmerston have got on board that five per cent deposit scheme. We have recently increased that to include properties of up to $750,00 in the greater Darwin area.

But our government is doing more. Better services like urgent care clinics are providing free health services when they're urgently needed by Territorians. Palmerston has been one of the best performing urgent care clinics in the country. We've recently opened in Darwin, and I want to acknowledge the health minister—who's in the chamber with us—for his support of Territorians. We've seen a massive uplift in the bulk-billing available to Territorians right across the Territory.

We are making health care more affordable and more accessible, including making Medicare urgent care clinics a permanent feature of Australia's health system. We're also making medicines cheaper and making major record investments in our public hospitals. We also had the Deputy Prime Minister up in Darwin recently for the opening of the Darwin urgent care clinic. That's been really supported as well. We've already seen many hundreds of people, in just the first week alone of the Darwin urgent care clinic's opening, receive care for free when they need it. That's taking pressure off Royal Darwin Hospital, which is fantastic as well. At the same time, we're building a stronger budget with lower deficits and less debt, which is helping to take the pressure off inflation and build our fiscal buffers during this period of global uncertainty.

I wouldn't expect those opposite to consider any of that, because they are quite incapable of understanding their own history, so here's a quick history lesson. The then prime minister, Malcolm Fraser, introduced income tax indexation in the 1976 budget reforms as a major economic reform to address bracket creep, and I'll continue this later on.

Simon Kennedy (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) | Link to this | Hansard source

That was a really quick history lesson from the member for Solomon, but I thank him nonetheless! I've heard Labor member after Labor member say they're cutting income taxes, and I don't know whether it's that they're deliberately misleading or they just don't understand how their sneaky bracket creep tax works. Every single year, as inflation goes up, the people watching this at home will pay more and more in income tax because the tax brackets aren't inflated by what that inflation goes up by. Thirty years ago, the top marginal tax rate was $180,000. Had we inflated that tax rate up till today with inflation every day, the top tax rate would be $257,000. Instead, it's down at $190,000. So those opposite are doing a tax increase on every Australian worker every single year. They're increasing your taxes. This is what the coalition has said that we will do about it: we will give every Australian worker a tax decrease every year for the rest of their lives.

They come in here and say, 'We love workers.' Well, why are we increasing their taxes every single year with a sneaky bracket creep tax? Why can't we be honest about that? Even this one-off tax cut will be eaten up in just six months of Labor's sneaky bracket creep tax. This is what this government is doing. They're giving you a little with one hand but taking far more with the other.

Members have heard me talk about the real struggles going on in the seat of Cook. If they're happening in the seat of Cook, they're happening right over the rest of Australia. I've met with the St Vincent de Paul team. They're telling me about people sharing housing and about kids sleeping on floors with no mattress and them giving them blankets. I've spoken about a single mother who I've met who's lost her house and her housing deposit, in absolute tears, because they don't have enough money to actually service their mortgage, let alone pay for school fees or buy food. These are real people I am meeting every day in my electorate. These are the people we want to give a tax cut to every year for the rest of their lives.

They say they're reducing taxes, but what's happening in this actual budget? Taxes are increasing by $80 billion. This is the highest-taxing budget ever in the history of the country. We are taking more money from hardworking Australians and hardworking businesses than we have ever done in the history of this country.

On how bracket creep is working, just to give a couple more figures, today income tax is about 12 per cent of GDP, of everything the economy produces. Through Labor's sneaky bracket creep tax, over the next decade it'll climb from 12 per cent to 15 per cent. We're going to take a greater share of income tax than has ever been taken in the history of this country. Australians are on track to pay more in income tax than they ever have before in the entire history of the country. So how can members say out of one side of their mouth that they want to protect workers and they want to give them more money when we're going to have income tax higher than it ever has been in the history of the entire country? Out of all the parliaments we've had in 200 years of this country, we're going to have this government drag us into the highest tax on income. That's what workers earn—income. If we really care about workers, if we genuinely cared about workers, you would join the coalition in indexing the tax brackets, ending bracket creep and giving more money back into workers' pockets.

Right now, we're all getting stories. Every member in this parliament is getting stories from people who can't afford things. I recently had to send a constituent to Wesley Mission to pay their electricity bill—a pensioner who risked having their electricity cut off. But instead we're gaslit and told it's a tax cut. Well, it's not a tax cut. It's $80 billion of theft—theft from Australians, theft from Australian businesses—and Australians will be poorer for it—so much poorer. I'd ask the Labor government to join us in what we need to do. Actually, let's really cut taxes. If you really care about it, join us and index tax brackets. Let's give more workers more of what they deserve.

Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

It's pretty rich hearing from the member for Cook talking about workers and honesty. Having listened to the good history lesson that we heard from the member for Solomon, I think it's important to have a little bit of a history lesson for the member for Cook on the matter of working people, because he is part of a party that decided that a deliberate design feature of their policy would be to keep wages low. He is part of a coalition that includes a party that decided, in my home state of Queensland, to dismantle the workplace health and safety laws of our state. He is part of a party that thought that same job, same pay wasn't worth their vote. So, when we talk about working people in this nation, you've got to have a good, hard look at yourself, mate.

Do you know what Australians really want? Australians want a tax cut.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Cook! I won't ask again.

Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Do you know what Australians really want? Australians want affordable health care. Do you know what Australians really want? Australians want a place to call their own. They want a place to call home. We hear all of this bluster, puffery and pantomime from those sitting opposite.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

If you can't stop your interjections, you should leave.

Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

It is deliberately designed to obfuscate the truth, and the truth is this: this is an opposition who voted against tax cuts last time. This Thursday, we will find out whether they will vote against tax cuts again. The truth is that this is an opposition who, when it comes to health care, tried to dismantle bulk-billing by introducing a co-payment. The truth is that this is an opposition who, when it comes to housing, not only did not have a housing minister for the majority of the time it was in government but failed to muster up a single social home in two terms. When we talk about this MPI, there is certainly a guarantee, and the guarantee is this: that, if the coalition were in government, Australians would be worse off.

I think it's worth taking a look back at tax and housing and what's happened through the history of this country. In 1999, we saw the coalition impose a 50 per cent discount on taxable capital gains. What did this result in? It resulted in a reduction in investment in the share market, it resulted in insatiable investment in property and it distorted the housing market in a way that has seen people who want to get into their first home locked out. When you couple that with 40 years of not building enough supply and with not having a housing minister, what you find is a recipe for the death of the great Australian dream. Not content with contributing to this problem, they now seek to block its solution. When a nurse—like the member for Bullwinkel, who is sitting right next to me—going to work and working shift work to look after our families, a teacher going to educate the next generation of young Australians or a chippy building the homes that we need to make sure we can get more people into housing is taxed at a higher rate than people holding assets, that is a problem, and it's a problem that this government believes we should do something about.

Deputy Speaker, do you know what is so disingenuous and dastardly about this MPI in particular? It is that the member for Goldstein knows that this taxation system is broken when it comes to housing, because he said:

… it's time to be honest: the tax system is screwing over young Australians.

Young people who want that great Australian dream of a house to live in, a door to open, a place to call their own and to plan their family in—young people, in my electorate, cannot live in the opposition's rhetoric. Young people, who are facing cost-of-living pressures, cannot pay their bills with the opposition's bombast. And the only people who share their aspirations of homeownership—

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

You'll get a turn in a minute, Member for Durack.

Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

are sitting on this side of the chamber right now.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Now the member for Durack has the call.

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the call. I do rise to speak on the MPI moved by the shadow treasurer today. This certainly is a matter of public importance to all Australians.

Since the Albanese government came to power, four long years ago, Australia's economy has gone backwards. And let me tell you: everyday Australians have been the ones feeling the brunt of this. Living standards have fallen, energy prices are rising, inflation is out of control and interest rates continue to rise—all of this because of Labor Party policies. The simple fact is: Labor does not care for Australians. They can try and spin it as much as they like, and promise the world to all of us—all Australians. But the fact is that they simply do not care.

Labor's inflation is like that thief in the night, stealing from Australians. It's impossible for them to escape it, whether it's at the supermarket, or in their mortgage, or in their tax bill through bracket creep. And does the government want to do anything about it? Well, no—no, the government does not, because, when Labor runs out of money, we know—the choir sings—they come after yours.

On this side of the House, we want Australians to keep more of what they earn—a very simple proposition. This will be done through our tax back guarantee. Income tax thresholds will be indexed to inflation, ensuring Australians are not taxed more just because of price rises. Now this is proper generational and right tax reform: automatic tax cuts, that get bigger every year, to help with the cost of living. So what are we talking about? For a typical worker it's a tax cut of $250 in the first year, $500 in the second, $750 in the third and $1,000 in the fourth, protecting all taxpayers by 2031-32.

The Albanese government's tax cuts? Well, they'll be wiped out by Christmas, because of their active inflation agenda.

The coalition has always been the party of lower taxes, less red tape and, quite frankly, just better economic management. We have a clear plan to fund this tax back guarantee: ending Labor's corporate welfare, ending Labor's climate and housing bureaucracy and limiting future access to welfare and the NDIS to Australian citizens.

Prime Minister, you cannot ignore what Australians are saying. Your budget—well, it's a shambles. And young Australians? They hate it. You don't understand them. They are ambitious. And they will punish you. Don't just go about putting up TikTok posts, talking them down and telling them what to think and what to feel—that's not going to save you from the wrath of young entrepreneurs, investors and workers, because they know their own mind and they know what they're seeing over there. They know exactly what they're seeing.

But it's not just young people. Senior Australians hate it as well. Maybe that's because, for their private health cover, the tax rebate will be decreased, and they know the only reason Labor is doing that is because Labor has made an assessment: 'Oh, you know what? Those people over 65—they're not going to be around long. But, by the way, they don't vote for us anyway.' It is very, very cynical. And guess what? Older Australians, senior Australians, have seen right through the Labor government.

We know that small business owners are fearing for their future. Regional Western Australians feel attacked—just think about our farmers. And no-one is buying the spin that you are putting out there. So it is all a shambles. People can see it for what it is: a shameless tax grab, with no return for everyday Australians.

Labor, through their broken-promise taxes on housing, small business and savings, will raise a whopping $80 billion more in taxes. Just think of that: $80 billion more, from Australians. Why does Labor need so much tax? Why do they need to tax Australians so much? It's because they can't control their spending and they think they can win votes by spending in certain places. It is incredibly cynical. And the Prime Minister, he wants to keep himself in the Lodge. We know that's just shameless. If the Prime Minister is serious about making life better for Australians, he should instead be focusing on repealing his toxic taxes, repealing his changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, and ending his death tax. The Prime Minister should be backing small business by making the $50,000 instant asset write-off permanent for any small business with a turnover of less than $10 million.

The coalition will back us everyday Australians every day. We know what Labor does.

Gabriel Ng (Menzies, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

We welcome this MPI from the member for Goldstein and from those opposite to talk about tax, because we're the party of lower taxes. We took lower taxes to the last election. Those opposite opposed them and those opposite are going to oppose our tax cuts again this time. We're cutting income taxes five times. In the last term, our stage 3 tax cuts provided tax cuts for all Australians and, importantly, they preserved our progressive tax system against those opposite, who sought to flatten the tax system so that those on lower incomes and those on higher incomes were taxed at the same rate. Our stage 3 tax cuts particularly benefited low- and middle-income earners, those who need relief from cost-of-living pressures the most.

We're also providing a tax cut at the end of this financial year in just a few weeks—again, a tax cut that was opposed by those opposite—and we'll provide a tax cut at the end of the next financial year. Thanks to this budget, we'll also have the $1,000 instant tax deduction. For those workers in our electorate, they won't have to collect piles of receipts in order to claim that deduction. We know that there's too much life admin for everybody, particularly for busy working families who've got kids to look after, who have to pay the bills, and who've got to run their kids around to school sport in between their busy jobs. They don't have time to collect all this paperwork, and so this instant tax deduction is especially going to benefit those hardworking taxpayers and hardworking families in the low- and middle-income bracket. It'll save people time. It'll also save public administration. It will provide real cost-of-living relief for people who need it most.

We'll have the $250 working Australians tax offset, a permanent targeted tax cut that will benefit 13 million workers, and systemic change that will address bracket creep and will mean that the total amount of our tax cuts for the average worker will benefit them $2,800 in a year. That is going to make a real difference for households that we know are having a hard time, that we know are struggling with cost-of-living pressures thanks to things like international inflation pressures, the war in the Middle East—which those opposite often like to deny is having effects at the bowser and having flow-on effects throughout the supply chain. This will mean that those families will have real cost-of-living relief. Those households will have real cost-of-living relief.

We want a system where work is not taxed at a higher rate than wealth, where a nurse or a teacher or someone working in retail or hospitality—the hardworking people in our electorates—are not paying a higher rate of tax than somebody who's receiving income that's achieved through passive means in things like shares and property investment. This is part of the big reforming budget. We have structural issues within our economy. We have an ageing population, we have a shrinking workforce, and we want to make sure that those hardworking Australians can continue to get ahead. An increasing proportion of that tax burden is falling on working Australians. That's not a trajectory that we want to allow to continue, just like we don't want to continue on the trajectory of decreasing home ownership rates. That's something that this budget addresses as well.

We want all Australians to be rewarded for their hard work and their aspiration, with the opportunity to buy a home of their own. We want them to be able to have a level playing field when they go to an auction with property investors. We're already seeing stories of first home buyers being able to go to auctions and now not being outbid by property investors. First home owners can go and get a key for the first home that they're going to own and be able to put down roots. They're going to be able to work on their home, to put down roots in the community, to plan for the future and plan for their families and to send their kids to local schools without thinking that they might have to move to another suburb if their landlord decides, 'No, I'm going to sell up' or 'I'm going to put a family member in the house.'

It's really important that all Australians have the ability to aspire to homeownership, because it's an essential part of the social contract: that governments can promise people hope for the future and a secure future. Homeownership is an essential part of that. We've seen that there's growing wealth disparity in Australia. Again, the ability for people to own their own home is a really important part of addressing that. When 50 per cent capital gains tax discount was introduced in 1999, it distorted the housing market, and this budget fixes that.

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition supports the decision by the Fair Work Commission to increase the minimum wage by 4.75 per cent. We want people to take home more pay. We want to see them rewarded for their work. And for those opposite to suggest otherwise is a gross distortion of the truth. That is nothing new from them in this House.

But we need to look at the reality behind those numbers. The commission noted that while last year gave us a wage increase, inflation has opened up that gap again. Let me be clear: the wage gap is a result of Labor failing to control inflation. Under this government, wages have gone backwards by three per cent since they took office. Labor's budget forecasts show that wages will continue to fall. We want all wages to rise. But living standards improve only if we lower inflation and increase the size of the economy. There is no comfort in a wage increase if inflation just eats it away before the money hits the bank account. The best way to improve living standards is to get inflation down, lift productivity and support businesses so they can employ more people.

If you run a small business you know how hard it is. You want to hire, but you just cannot afford it. We saw the labour force data last week. Almost 700,000 Australians are unemployed. It is critical that Labor drops its taxes on businesses and tackles inflation. When businesses struggle with costs and taxes they create fewer jobs. They offer fewer opportunities for people looking for work. Wage increases mean nothing to Australian families if you don't have a job in the first place.

This government has pushed an agenda that means households go backwards. Labor is taking money from Australians through inflation. They take it at the supermarket, they take it on your mortgage and they take it silently every year through bracket creep. They did not pass laws to do this. Australians do not notice it until they look in their bank accounts. The inflation tax must end. This is why we announced our tax-back guarantee. We are forced to live within our means. So should the government. The tax-back guarantee is an automatic tax cut. It gets bigger every year, to help with the cost of living. It protects wages by indexing income tax thresholds to inflation. This means you do not get taxed more simply because prices have gone up and government cannot control its spending. We believe that when you earn money, risk your money and save your money you get to keep it. From the year 2028 a coalition government will index the bottom two thresholds to inflation. This will protect around 85 per cent of income earners. It will deliver relief of around $250 in year 1, growing to more than $1,000 in year 4. From the year 2031 we will index the top two thresholds as well. This will protect all taxpayers. Because of inflation, the tax cuts from Labor will be wiped out by Christmas. Ours will not. We will stop this cycle at the source.

Any government that wants to tax people more should have the courage and the conviction to take that to an election. Instead, Labor use inflation to do the work for them. They let prices rise, they push wages into higher brackets and they take the cash. It is simply not fair. Families sit around the kitchen table trying to make the math work, but the maths ain't mathing. The maths ain't mathing, especially when the government starts taking a bigger slice of an ever-shrinking pie. But we have a plan to fix this. I want to give people hope. I want to reward effort. We want an economy that works for you and works to restore our way of life.

Renee Coffey (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I note that the member for Durack said that she's been speaking to young people in her community. I'm just not sure who they are, because the young people in my community are saying something very different. They are saying that they are doing everything that we ask of them—that they are saving and they are making careful choices about their future. For so many of them, they aspire to have a place of their own, somewhere to raise a family, put down roots and build a life. But that hope is becoming harder to realise. Rents are absorbing more of their income. House prices have moved further out of reach. All the while, young people are just working harder and harder and unable to get a foothold. When the system gives greater advantage to someone buying their 10th home than it does to someone buying their first, we need to be prepared to ask whether it is still delivering a fair go.

It would be easier to do nothing. Labor is choosing a fairer path, one that backs work, supports new homes and gives younger Australians a better opportunity to build secure lives in the communities they call home. For young people across Griffith, and across the country, the Australian dream cannot be blocked by a system that undermines them. It will always be harder, but we are choosing to direct investment towards building new homes.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The time for this discussion has concluded.