Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Labor Party will not be supporting this amendment either for a similar reason, which is around the commencement of the review. It is difficult for a review to be conducted into the operation of an act where substantial parts do not start for another year and other parts will either have just come into effect or only have been in effect a number of months. Having said that, I think it is incumbent upon all of us to continue to look at and assess how our tax laws are operating and at any distortions or changes in behaviour that may be occurring because of legislative reform. That is part of our day-to-day responsibility, and we will continue to make sure that superannuation tax concessions are fair and sustainable for the long term.

In relation to the issues about housing affordability: I do not disagree with Senator Whish-Wilson. There are significant issues affecting people's ability to afford housing, particularly for younger people and people on low-to-moderate incomes. I think that is an issue that the Senate has looked at through various committee reports and that we took policies on to the election—negative gearing and capital-gains-tax exemptions. Again, I do not disagree with the concerns that Senator Whish-Wilson has raised, but I would question whether or not an amendment to this act is the right place to pursue those concerns.

Certainly the Labor Party will continue to work with other senators who have an interest in addressing housing affordability and the current tax arrangements. We have made our position on that very clear, but I do not think an amendment to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Fair and Sustainable Superannuation) Bill 2016 is the right place to pursue that particular issue.