Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Women) | Hansard source

Oh, I'm going to have to divert from what I was thinking of saying! Senator Brown, it's not Senator Colbeck that thinks the Albanese Labor government has a spending problem; it's actually a fact. The RBA governor has said directly that this government is spending too much. It is a fact. There is a sense of delusion on the other side of the chamber as to what is actually happening in the real world on the streets of Australia. But what happened in here today is a really bad moment for our country because today Australia has entered its quasi-socialist era based on the deal between the Greens and the Australian Labor Party. What I find extraordinary is that you enter this deal—in suggesting that you're protecting disabled Australians, you cut a deal with them today on negative gearing and CGT without the knowledge that you're going to get anything from them. You've traded away the rights of disabled Australians for a tax bill that is actually going to harm young Australians and harm other people. There are actually no outcomes for what you have done. It's quite extraordinary.

Today in your speeches, you talked about Australians being punched down. Guess who was punched down today—a young person saving for a home via shares. They were punched down today. A small-business owner was punched down today by your deal. Someone with an SMSF who wanted to buy residential property was punched down today by your deal. Guess what. If you're a young person saving through shares, if you're a small business owner or if you're someone that's got your own self-managed super fund because you've decided you don't want industry super to have it, you're a bad guy according to the Albanese Labor government and the Australian Greens. You are bad and you must be taxed. However, if you're the CFMEU you get a free ride. If you're a CFMEU participant in corrupt and criminal conduct, you get a free ride, because the Greens will never support an inquiry into their friends from the CFMEU who rorted Victorian taxpayers of $15 billion. We'll pretend that's not happening. We won't talk about the Victorian taxpayer being punched down or what impacts that's had on Australian construction or on Australian small businesses in the construction sector. 'We won't talk about them being punched down. We'll look the other way and pretend it's not happening because that's our mates that are doing that.'

You're also protecting Labor's sacred cows of industry super, the CFMEU and global institutional investors. Guess what. While a mum and dad investor or a young person who's investing in shares to own their own home or somebody that's starting up a small business can't get tax concessions, industry super can and so can a global institutional investor who can come here and build dwellings for Australians to rent forever. They can get a tax concession, but Australians can't do that. It is insane. It is absolute madness. You facilitated that today. You allowed that to happen. You've said Australians can't have the concessions while you are handing out that cash to institutions. You should be ashamed of yourselves, absolutely ashamed. I actually can't believe it. Senator Hodgins-May called it a 'toxic tax agenda'. They were her words. Who facilitated that? How did their toxic tax agenda get a free pass from the Australian Greens? That's how.

Senator Hodgins-May talked about political courage. Where was the political courage to say: 'No, fix the terrible NDIS legislation. Make the amendments. Do it now. Show us what you're going to do. Let the proof be in the pudding'? No, we don't know what's going to happen with that. Disabled Australians don't know, but we do know what's going to happen with the taxes. That's a done deal. It's extraordinary.

Senator Hodgins-May also said we should be prepared to stand up to industries with power and people with influence and money and call them out. How about the CFMEU—influence, power, money, corruption and criminal conduct? Maybe it's time to call them out and say enough is enough. Australians are saying there's enough of that. How about that for a change?