Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I move opposition amendment (1) on sheet 8437:

(1) Schedule 2, item 3, page 8 (line 14), omit "1 July 2017", substitute "8 February 2018".

This amendment changes the start date for the small business capital gains tax concession measure in schedule 2. Labor flagged our position on this issue during debate on this bill in the other place. Stakeholders have informed Labor that the additional conditions for eligibility for the concessions are detailed in a way that makes the changes more akin to a policy change rather than an integrity change and captures taxpayers who engage in good faith, according to the intent of the concessions. These changes only came to light when the detailed amendments were released in the exposure draft bill on 8 February 2018. Accordingly, Labor's amendment would change the implementation date from 1 July 2017, as per the budget announcement, to 8 February 2018. That is the date of the exposure draft release.

The reality is that this bill could have probably been dealt with and passed an hour ago. We know exactly what's happening here. This is a government with no agenda. This is a government that really have got no legislative agenda of any substance before the Senate. They are in a situation where they are too busy continuing to knife each other, attacking each other, moving from one Prime Minister to another to actually deal with the issues of importance to the Australian people. That's why we had these filibusters take place, where backbench senators stand up and try to talk out 20 minutes on a bill that could have been dealt with in a short period of time. I understand there's no controversy, that we've got agreement on the amendments—there's agreement on this amendment. We should actually get on with the business of this Senate. The problem is that if we do get through the business of the Senate, we will probably run out of legislation. This rabble of a government—their own Prime Minister describes them as 'muppets'—can't get their act together. We had Senator Stoker stand up and tell us about how great things are under a Liberal government. We had Senator Seselja just stand up and tell us how great things are going under this coalition government—they are going swimmingly, aren't they? Things are going swimmingly, going so well under the coalition. What an absolute joke, what an absolute rabble of a government you lot are.

We get told about how they want to deal with the integrity of the tax system. Integrity was so important back in the 2014-15 budget that they actually cut $120 million out of ASIC. That's how much they cared about integrity—$120 million out of ASIC. The Hon. Steven Ciobo, the then Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, said this:

… there is scope for the financial services industry … to self-regulate more.

That's where they were. That's how much they cared about integrity. They wanted the financial services sector to self-regulate more. What a joke. What an absolute joke. Maybe that explains what their real position is. Maybe that explains why current Prime Minister Morrison actually voted against the royal commission into the banks on 26 occasions. Maybe he wanted the banks to have more self-regulation. Maybe he thought the banks could look after regulation better than the government. Well, under the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government that we've got now, they probably could. But look at what they've left.

On 26 occasions this Prime Minister voted against the royal commission into the banks. And people were saying, 'This is a problem. This will mean that ASIC will not be able to carry out its responsibilities as the corporate regulator.' Maybe that's what they wanted, and that's why Prime Minister Morrison voted against the banking inquiry on 26 occasions.

I see Senator Williams has just come into the chamber. At least Senator Williams was consistent: he called for a royal commission into the banking sector. Unfortunately, he could not convince his counterparts in the National Party or Liberal Party to actually implement the royal commission into the banking industry. So, I just don't buy these lectures that we're getting from Senator Stoker and other senators about the great job this government is doing. They are an absolute rabble of a government. They are pathetic. They are a terrible government. They are just—