Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. Labor's three-day taxpayer funded talkfest delivered nothing for families—no cut to power bills, no relief at the checkout, no plan to arrest our slide in living standards—but it did open the door to more taxes on Australians' savings, on their superannuation accounts, on small businesses and even on spare rooms in the family home. Why is it that when Labor runs out of money, they come after Australians' hard-earned income and their retirement savings?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I know it is a foreign concept to those opposite that you would actually bring people together, sit down in a room and talk about some of the challenges facing our country, in particular in relation to the economic roundtable around the productivity challenge. As we know, the worst decade of that was seen under the former government when they did nothing about these issues. They didn't do anything about climate, and they're still arguing about it. They didn't do anything about housing, and they're still arguing about it. They're trying to get rid of our build to rent this afternoon. This government takes a different approach, which is to bring people around the table and talk to them about some of those challenges.

Senator McKenzie said that the government hadn't done anything to help families with the cost of living. Well, what is arguing for a pay rise? What is making sure that the superannuation guarantee rose to 12 per cent? What's the extension of PPL? What's all of the investment in housing, the 30 per cent off home batteries, the energy bill relief that we're putting in, the tripling of bulk-billing, the $20,000 instant asset write-off, the HECS debt reduction and the new Medicare urgent care clinics? All of those are measures. But, while we are implementing all of those, guess what? We'd like to bring people together on some of the other issues facing the economy, including productivity, and see if there's an agreed way to work together to address some of them. You weren't there because you don't want to be part of the discussion. You call it a three-day talkfest. We actually got through and found areas of consensus to do further work on. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKenzie, first supplementary?

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Business groups have warned that higher taxes will drive down investment and productivity, making living standards worse, not better, for Australian families. Do you agree that increasing taxes will only drive down Australian families' living standards even further?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The gall of these people over there, honestly, to give us a lecture about tax when they went to the last election saying they were going to increase taxes for everybody. You were going to increase taxes in relation to EV vehicles, you didn't support the HECS debt reductions and you were going to raise income tax. I mean, seriously, all of a sudden the opposition, which sought to be in government with their major policy being to increase taxes, is now so concerned about what we might do.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My point of order is on relevance. My question went to fall in living standards and the impact that their increased taxes will have on that.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister is being relevant to your question.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In relation to some of those other areas at the roundtable, we discussed trade; better regulation; approvals and speeding up approvals; building more homes more quickly; making AI a national priority; looking at how we attract investment; building a skilled and adaptable workforce and modernising government services, which I am pleased to do; and, at the same time, ensuring that we are addressing those areas of need for all Australians.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKenzie, second supplementary?

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, why do you continue to refuse to rule out tax increases for hardworking Australian families? You continue and continue with your talking points, and yet you refuse to rule out the spare bedroom tax and tax changes for hardworking families, as have all the ministers who've stood up today to coalition questions. Will you rule out increasing taxes?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said yesterday, we were clear about our tax policies that we took to the election, and we are implementing them. I'll address tax more generally. We won't be taking your policies of higher personal income taxes, the abolition of the production tax credits, the abolition of the EV concession or the abolition of build to rent. You also wanted higher student debts, bigger mortgages for people, higher power bills, more expensive training and higher childcare fees. That was your policy, which was all about increasing taxes and increasing cost on millions of Australians. You put it out there, people had a look at it, and you know what they said? They said, 'We don't like that. We don't like your plan,' which was to increase taxes. We have our tax plan. We went to the election with it. That's the tax plan that we will implement.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask that further questions be placed on notice.