Matt Gregg (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. What is the progress of the government's reforms to give first home buyers a fair go, to make the tax system fairer, and to help people keep to earn more and keep more of what they earn, and what has been standing in the way?

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

I thank the member for Deakin, and I can tell the member for Deakin that our legislation has just passed the Senate. This is legislation that will make Australia stronger. It will make Australia fairer. It will, indeed, make Australia stronger because it is fairer. Most Australians have nothing to sell but their time, nothing to give but their hard work. They go to work each and every day to earn an income, to put food on the table for their families. They deserve a tax cut and we are giving them one. They deserve the opportunity to buy their own home, and we're making sure they have it. Our reforms are delivering both, and that is what delivering real change looks like—fixing a broken system to give first home buyers a fair crack.

During this debate about housing that has taken place all year, the truth is—and no-one in this debate is arguing the housing system is working—that those opposite say, even though they acknowledge it's not working, 'Don't do anything about it.' Well, that is not the Labor way. Governments are here to make a difference, not to just occupy the space, and we are making a difference. We're fixing a broken system to give first home buyers a fair crack. But we're not just doing that—we are making sure that people can earn more and keep more of what they earn, earning more through the increases in the minimum wage.

The further tax cuts that are part of this legislation that those opposite in the three right-wing parties voted against in the Senate—and they'll have an opportunity to change their mind in the coming period before it returns to the House—will give a $250 tax cut for every working Australian and a $1,000 instant tax deduction. Every single Labor member will be proud to vote for this legislation—tax cuts for every working Australian, not just some; backing aspiration for all, not just some; an economy that works for all Australians, not just some. That's the difference between this side of the House and the three right-wing parties. They are anti-aspiration, anti-worker, anti-tax-cuts and anti-first-home-buyers. They are defined only by what they are against. What we're defined by is what we're in favour of—a stronger and fairer economy that works for all Australians.