David Pocock (ACT, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 and the related Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 and to foreshadow the amendments that I will be moving. I'd like to start by thanking my crossbench colleagues, the witnesses who fronted the committee under a very tight timeline and the many peak bodies, advisers and residents across the ACT who have engaged with my office on these reforms.

Parts of this bill are very welcome and long overdue. Winding back overly generous property tax concessions is something that I have campaigned for across two elections now. The crossbench and housing advocates have argued for years that we need to treat housing more as a human right, as something that we want and need to be accessible and affordable in communities across this great country, not as an investment class, as an asset or as a wealth creation tool. On that, the government have my support and I welcome their move to do this. But supporting the goal is not the same as accepting a bill that is rushed, incomplete and, in important places, gets the detail wrong.

Here is the clearest proof of that. In the last few days before this committee had even reported, the government has backed down on two of the biggest problems with this bill. On Thursday, it introduced a new 50 per cent capital gains discount for innovative businesses, including founders and employee share scheme holders. Canberra is the startup capital of the country. We have more startups per capita than any other jurisdiction, and we cannot afford to be driving innovation offshore, particularly in a country that seems to favour multinational corporations when it comes to our government procurement system. I hear from so many startups who say: 'I don't want another grant. I just want to be able to sell to the government, and I don't understand why I need to sell to the UK government or the US government or the Canadians before the Australian government will buy my product or service.' That goes for Defence too. We see them rushing to the primes, offloading billions of dollars to primes when we have innovative Australian companies that, in many instances, are world leading and selling to other militaries across the world.

The government also announced it would scrap the minimum tax on testamentary trusts, and it conceded ground on the sweeping ministerial powers buried in this legislation. I welcome those changes. They are moves in the right direction, but think about what they tell us. The government is rewriting major parts of this bill on the run, days before the committee even reports after a two-day inquiry. These were not minor details. They went to the heart of how startups, employees and families would be taxed. If the process had been done properly, we would not be finding this out from a press conference 48 hours before the Senate report lands.

Take the inquiry timeframe. The Institute of Public Accountants told the committee that two days to deliberate was grossly inadequate, given how long these changes will last. The Business Council told the Senate the timeframe was inadequate on any reasonable measure, and, while I disagree with them on many of the things that they've said about parts of this bill, I agree with them on that. When the accountants and the business community both tell you to slow down and then the government itself has to scramble to fix the bill, that should tell us something as a Senate.

I welcome bold reform. Clearly, Australians have had enough with the status quo. It's not working for so many people across this country. But I urge that it be done right, with genuine consultation, exposure draft legislation and an adequate Senate Committee inquiry. My first amendment I'll be putting forward is a simple one. It splits the bill. It leaves the WATO, the changes to negative gearing, the instant asset write-off for small business and the standard deduction for work related expenses and sends the hardest part, the CGT changes, back to the Senate committee for proper scrutiny.

Our tax system should ask more of those with the most and ease the load on those doing it tough. That is exactly why the details here matter. A reform aimed at the wealthy, at those seeking to minimise their tax obligations, should not accidentally fall on the wrong people. That's the risk with how this has been designed. The people most exposed to these changes are not the property speculators this reform is meant to target. They are the early employees of a small startup who took shares instead of a proper wage, the founders who have poured years into a business that might still fail and the researchers trying to build something here in Australia rather than overseas.

On Friday, I was at the ANU talking with a incredible startup that's spinning out of the ANU with genuinely world leading tech, and they talked about the challenge of raising capital here in Australia. They were potentially looking to Europe to be able to develop their idea. We have to retain more of that talent here in Australia and grow those startups here in this country.

When their work eventually pays off, it can show up as a single large gain in one year and be taxed as though they were wealthy all along, when, most of that time, they were anything but. I welcome that the government has recognised this and moved to protect founders and employee shareholders. This is the right instinct, but the way it has been done leaves a real problem. The carve-out depends on a definition of innovative business that nobody can yet pin down. Companies will qualify based on whether they are genuinely innovative, judged on things like growth potential and scalability.

Here is the fair question: who decides, and how do they decide that? A rule this vague does not give people confidence; it gives them a guessing game. It advantages those who can afford expensive advice to argue their way inside the lines, and I don't think that is fair. The people this carve-out is meant to help should not be left wondering whether it covers them. There's a real problem of uncertainty here. We've heard consistently that uncertainty is already holding back the kind of investment that creates jobs and builds things here in Australia. A carve-out with an undefined boundary does not fix that. In some ways, it makes it worse, because people can't plan around a rule that hasn't been written. So good ventures stall, and the jobs that would have come with them do not arrive. I've heard significant concern from startups here in the ACT.

My amendments seek certainty, not just intent. I'll move to make sure that the protections for genuine employee equity and early-stage founders is clearly defined in the legislation and built on existing frameworks, like the early-stage innovation company rules. There were a number of startups through the inquiry process that urged the government to rather focus there and ensure that that framework is working and not leave it to a vague test and future instrument. I'll also move a series of further amendments drawn straight from the evidence provided to the Senate.

The government has said that it will pull back some of the broad ministerial powers in this bill. That is a good thing, but 'where no longer needed' is not good enough. The definition of a new residential dwelling and the core settings that decide who is taxed and how belong in primary legislation, where parliament can see them, can scrutinise them and then can vote on them. Every property peak has asked for this certainty, and my amendment puts it beyond doubt. I'll also move an amendment to protect grandfathered concessions that the government has announced where ownership passes through death or divorce so that families are not penalised by events outside of their control, if those are the rules that we're going by.

On testamentary trusts, I welcome the government's announcement that the minimum tax will be scrapped, but I note that this change is to come in separate legislation later in the year. It is a promise not yet law. My amendment would put the exemption beyond doubt now, in this legislation. Bringing in income averaging, again, built up over many years, as not being taxed as if it all landed in a single year, pushing someone into higher tax bracket than they ever really earned, is another amendment that I'll be moving. I'll be moving an amendment to put a low-income threshold so a young rentvestor, student or part-time worker does not end up paying a higher effective rate than someone far wealthier. A 30 per cent minimum tax makes no sense for someone whose actual income sits well below that. Pensioners are rightly protected under this bill. Low-income workers should also not be left behind.

On housing, I'm calling for the things that matter most to the Australians watching this debate, ensuring the benefits to the budget from these reforms are reinvested back into new social and affordable homes. ACOSS reminded us that this country already spends more on property investor tax breaks than on social housing, homelessness services and rent assistance combined. We have a chance to change that, and we should take that chance as a Senate.

Finally, on small business, it is an important move to make the instant asset write-off permanent. I think this should have been done well before now, but I certainly welcome it. I'll be moving to increase the thresholds for small businesses qualifying for the small business CGT exemption to all four types of exemption. The government has said that it will do this for one, which really doesn't make sense and I think adds complexity. As COSBOA rightly points out, these thresholds haven't moved in almost two decades. So this is the opportunity to actually update them for 2026 and into the future.

The amendments I put forward are not opposing reform; I support reform. They are about finishing the job properly, backing the people who build things with rules they can actually rely on, giving certainty to the people who invest and making sure the revenue we raise reaches the Australians who need a home. I urge the Senate to support these amendments and again thank the crossbench for pushing many of the things that have been in this bill, from changes to CGT and negative gearing on property to things like making the instant asset write-off permanent. I note we've actually had some votes on that in the past, and the major parties have not been willing to support them. So I think this is a really important step forward.

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 and the related Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026. Today's debate is just the next part of a long tale of disgrace and dishonesty that the Labor government has perpetrated on the Australian people. That this Senate should be reduced to a rubber stamp on a lie told to the Australian public by the Labor Party—that makes a mockery of our commitment to transparency as a place to protect Australians from government overreach. So shame on those senators who are complicit in this betrayal.

To every Greens voter who voted for a Greens senator believing the Greens would keep their commitment to honesty and integrity in politics: well, they lied to you. It's a disgrace, because the Senate has not been given adequate time to scrutinise what the government has described as being 'the most significant tax reform package in more than a quarter of a century'.

This parliament has been asked to consider legislation that will affect millions of Australians; kill investment; smash housing markets; wipe out small businesses, startups and family savings; and make Australians carry billions of dollars in additional tax. Yet Labor and the Greens have treated parliamentary scrutiny as an inconvenience rather than an obligation, rather than the job that we are all here to do. Despite the scale and significance of these reforms, Labor allowed only a matter of days for proper examination, and that scrutiny is fundamentally important because we know that Labor barely know what they're doing.

There have been more excuses about these changes than we've had days to hear from the public. First, these changes were supposed to be about intergenerational equity, but they dropped that when it was pointed out that their changes actually keep benefits for the last generation and shut the door to the next. Then it was about creating houses and making housing cheaper. But that lasted only hours because their own budget papers said that the changes would mean fewer houses and higher rents. Then they changed their minds again and said that the changes were about making sure that income from employment was taxed the same as income derived from an investment. They dropped that idea when it was pointed out that most investments are made using wages that have already been taxed. But the last one really took the cake—it really took the cake—when the Prime Minister said that, actually, this budget was all about 'combating populism in politics'. Oh, give me a break! I think that's when we knew that staffers inside the PMO and the Treasurer's office needed to come up with any excuse that couldn't be fact checked.

Let's be very clear. Labor's own bureaucrats don't know what it is that they're doing. First, the Treasury secretary got her figures wrong in a public defence of the changes, just got her figures wrong. Whoops! Then, during the excuse of a public inquiry, Treasury bureaucrats couldn't tell senators how much revenue would be raised from the capital gains tax changes and how much revenue would be raised from the negative gearing changes. They know, but they couldn't tell you. Officials confirmed that the measures had been costed separately, but Labor chose not to publish them separately. Why is that? If Labor can't explain the numbers behind their own tax increases, why should the Senate be expected to just wave them through?

Worse still, less than 24 hours before the committee was due to report, the Prime Minister and the Treasurer announced significant carve-outs and amendments to the legislation. Let that sink in. Labor announced substantial changes to its own tax package after the committee hearings had concluded, after witnesses had given evidence and with no opportunity for the Senate, for Treasury officials or for affected stakeholders to properly test those changes—extraordinary. The amendments were released after officials had avoided questioning on them and after the committee had finished taking evidence. Their own senators were sent out, blindly, to back in a package while their prime minister and their treasurer abandoned them to defend it.

For Labor, this has never been about anything other than the politics. It is a disgraceful saga that's masquerading as a tax policy. This is not transparency. This is not consultation. It demonstrates a remarkable contempt for the Senate and also for the Australian public. It reveals exactly what Labor thinks of Australians. It thinks that Australians are too stupid to notice that they're being robbed, and they are being robbed. If Labor genuinely believed that these reforms were sound it would have subjected them to proper consultation, proper modelling and proper scrutiny. Instead it's rushed them through parliament and is now asking senators to vote first and ask questions later.

The process is not the only problem here; the policy itself is so deeply flawed. At its heart, this debate is not simply about tax. It is about trust. It's about whether Australians can believe a single word that this prime minister says ever again. These bills represent one of the greatest breaches of faith with the Australian people that we've seen since Paul Keating's 'l-a-w law' broken promises in 1993. Before the election, the Prime Minister repeatedly promised Australians that Labor would not increase taxes on housing, would not increase taxes on investments and would not increase taxes on family savings. That's what Labor promised. Those promises were made over and over again. 'For the 50th time'—the Prime Minister said.

A government was elected on a platform of no new taxes, and now that same government is introducing billions of dollars of new taxes on housing, on investments, on entrepreneurship and on family savings. That is a tax on every Australian's aspiration, on every Australian's ambition and on every Australian's future, and Labor are inflicting it on you. No Australian voted for this, because they weren't given the chance. Let's be very clear: Australians have experienced the largest fall in living standards in decades, in a generation, under this Labor government. Labor's response to that has been to manage our economic decline by making struggling Australians pay for it. Labor can't manage money. They've never been able to manage money, and when Labor can't manage money they come after yours.

Labor's budget locks in $50 billion of higher taxes. I know that Labor think this is funny. They're actually laughing. Labor are laughing at the fraud that they have imposed on the Australian public. They are laughing at you because they have managed to pull the wool over your eyes. They lied to you before the election; they're lying to you now. The Prime Minister said that these changes are all about intergenerational equity, but that could not be further from the truth. Instead Labor is pulling the ladder up behind them and making it harder for young Australians to get ahead, first, through more than a trillion dollars of debt that they will spend decades paying off, and, second, through higher taxes on the very investments that people rely on to build wealth and to get ahead. Why is building wealth such a dirty word for Labor? It's the politics of envy writ large.

Young Australians are already facing higher housing costs, higher rents and lower living standards than the generations that came before them. Many have now accepted that the pathway to homeownership is no longer as straightforward as it once was. So they save, they invest, they buy shares and they put money into ETFs and other assets to build that deposit and to bring forward their own dream of building a home. But now, instead of backing that ambition, Labor are taxing it. Remarkably, the budget's own papers acknowledge that these tax changes will result in around 35,000 fewer homes. That's not more homes but fewer homes. Because of these tax changes, there will 35,000 fewer homes at a time when Australia needs more housing supply, not less housing supply, and at a time when Labor is already projected to miss its own housing targets by hundreds of thousands of homes.

You cannot solve a housing price crisis by reducing the supply of housing, but that's what Labor have intentionally done. When you tax something, you get less of it. It's basic economics. Less investment means fewer homes. Fewer homes mean higher rents. Higher rents mean young Australians will pay the price. Again, the government's own budget papers concede this point. Research from independent economists suggests that rents could rise by up to $160 a week in Sydney and by around $130 a week in Melbourne.

Young Australians are already struggling with cost-of-living-crisis pressures that Labor have inflicted upon them, and they will now face higher rents while simultaneously being told that somehow this is being done in the name of fairness. There's nothing fair about paying more rent because the government has driven investors out of the market, there's nothing fair about making it harder to save for a home and there's certainly nothing fair about reducing housing supply during a housing crisis. They're consciously, intentionally, reducing housing supply.

The government claims these measures will help first home buyers, but the evidence presented to the committee doesn't support that claim. What we know is that young Australians are increasingly investing in shares, ETFs and other assets to build that deposit. They're taking responsibility for their future, they're saving and they're investing, and now Labor wants a bigger slice of that action. A generation already paying record rents is now being asked to pay higher taxes on the investments that they rely on to save for that home. That is not intergenerational fairness; it is intergenerational fraud.

The same story applies to small businesses. Small businesses aren't a lobby group. They're not a business association. They're not a spreadsheet. They're families, they're livelihoods and they're years of sacrifice and risk and hard work and sleepless nights. Businesses have already warned that Australia ranks so poorly on tax competitiveness and that business investment is already at a 30-year low. Now they're saying that they're already delaying investment decisions because of the uncertainty that's been created by these changes.

What was Labor's response when the criticism became impossible to ignore? It was last-minute changes announced after the Senate inquiry had finished. But the so-called small-business carve-out is a con. Most small businesses will get nothing from it while still being caught up in Labor's broad tax grab. It simply created another layer of complexity and another layer of uncertainty. Even worse, Labor now wants Canberra bureaucrats to decide which businesses are sufficiently innovative to qualify for that special treatment. That's really making them a partner in your small business.

The coalition believes that Australians who work hard, save, invest and take risks should be rewarded, not punished. These bills reflect a fundamentally different philosophy, and the result is so predictable: less investment, less housing, less entrepreneurship and less opportunity. They increase complexity, they impose substantial compliance costs and they weaken confidence in Australia's tax system. It's been rushed, inadequately scrutinised and developed without the transparency expected of major tax reform.

The coalition supports genuine tax reform, lower taxes, simpler taxes, fairer taxes and measures that encourage Australians to work, to save, to invest and to build. That's why we support the working Australians tax offset. That's why we support the $1,000 standard deduction. But we cannot support the schedules that increase taxes, that reduce housing supply, that discourage investment and that break explicit promises made to the Australian people before the election. The coalition will continue to fight these toxic taxes. We will continue to stand up for renters, for first home buyers, for small businesses, for investors and for self-starters, and, for those reasons, the coalition opposes schedules one and two of these bills and urges the Senate to reject them.

Every senator who votes for these bills will be voting for higher taxes, not lower taxes. If you vote for these bills, you are voting for higher taxes. Be very clear on that. Fewer homes—you're voting for fewer homes. You're voting for higher rents, and you're voting for fewer opportunities for young Australians. Shame on you for doing that. You will be voting to make it harder for the next generation to do what previous generations took for granted—buy a home, build a business, save and build a better life. You're voting against that. The coalition will not be part of that. We will never be part of that. We will oppose these toxic taxes, and we will continue fighting for an Australia where hard work, saving, investment and risk-taking are rewarded and not punished because Australians did not vote for these taxes. They didn't get the chance to vote for these taxes because they were lied to. They were told that these taxes were not going to go ahead, and you have backflipped on that. You have backflipped on that.

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hume, resume your seat. Minister?

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Regional Development) | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd ask that Senator Hume withdraw that remark.

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations) | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw. Labor has told a profound mistruth to the Australian public over and over and over again, and they can never be trusted ever again. Whatever they say before the next election, you can take it with a grain of salt. 'My word is my bond,' the Prime Minister said. My word is my bond. Well, his word is worthless. The coalition will have nothing to do with this, and neither should the Senate.

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

What a breathless performance we've just witnessed there. The exhaustion that must be felt by the end of it—

It's so, so rich to have a representative from a party that opposed every good intention of this government to bring a tax cut come in here and go on with that load of baloney. That is a total misrepresentation about what is really going on in the set of bills and the amendments that are before this parliament this evening, I find it really hard to hear a contribution like that and not want to laugh at how incorrect, how misconceived, how determined to mislead the Australian people that sort of a contribution is. It was full of alarm, full of fear, full of hyperbole and full of exaggerated drama.

Let's just cut to the chase and get some real facts on the table, because ordinary working Australians are over the outrage factory. They've had enough. They're exhausted by the constant whingeing and whining of the Liberal-National-One-Nation union out there about how terrible our country is. I believe in Australia. I believe in Australian workers. I believe in Australian small business. I believe in Australian big business. I believe in innovation. I believe in superannuation, which that party over there would never ever have allowed even to become a thing in this country. They will stand up here and they will pretend over and over and over again that they're actually good money managers, but we know the truth. They are absolutely not. Labor believes in all Australians and the contribution every single one of you makes to our nation. We want you to earn more and keep more of what you earn, and that's why we're bringing in tax cuts.

If we can go to that last contribution, there were like two lines that were truthful in what we heard, and that was that the Liberal-National Party will support—now, get the bit that they're supporting—the real bit that's really going to happen which is the working Australian tax offset. We're calling it the WATO. It's a new thing, up to $250 a year off for every single worker. It's a tax cut. You'd never know that if you were listening to that last hyperbolic rant of mistruths. If you're a working Australian, the legislation we're talking about is going to give you up to $250 a year off. That is for every worker. That's 13 million Australians who get the benefit of that. It's not just a few; it's 13 million. It's a pretty solid representation of those who are working.

Plus, for those who have reasonably simple financial affairs, the whole concept of keeping things, deductibility, having an accountant to do your tax return for you et cetera—there are many Australians who don't engage in that at all. They just show up at work, give a good day's effort, get a fair and decent wage under the conditions that Labor is making sure are there for them, and then pay their tax. They do that year in, year out without a big whinge, without a big demand for special consideration, without a big push that costs millions of dollars in the media to get special consideration. They don't have that luxury. They just show up, work and pay their fair share of taxes, and they're great Australian citizens. We're going to make it a lot easier for those ordinary working people to get $1,000 as an instant tax deduction, and that's a good thing.

I will note that, in that blast of negativity, Senator Hume actually did say in one of those sentences, 'We will support the $1,000 instant tax deduction.' You had to listen really carefully to hear it. The way she's tried to construct it, you'd think there was absolutely nothing in this for Australians—but there is. For 13 million Australians, there is a tax cut. That is what this legislation is going to deliver.

Like much of the legislation in this place, it's not always clear to ordinary people what we're doing. What we're talking about is called the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026. It's a bill for workers. It's a bill for first home buyers. It's a bill for future generations. It's absolutely about helping Australians get ahead. It's absolutely, and unashamedly, about making the tax system fairer and better aligned with the reality of where tax from work should stand compared to tax from assets.

This tax package is also about ensuring that small businesses can continue to aspire and grow, that every worker is going to be supported and that investments are made for future generations. I'm very keen to acknowledge the great work of my colleague here in the Senate, Senator Darmanin, who chairs the economics committee so ably, and our colleague, Senator Charlotte Walker, also from this side, the youngest Senator in this place, who arrived in the Senate at just age 21. She's got some pretty good insights into what young people need and want. Like young people who are paying attention across the country, they're cheering on the Labor government helping them get into housing and helping them save for their future.

I met a whole lot of young working Australians today from the SDA union who were moving around the halls of this parliament. Those workers were here celebrating an achievement that this government made possible on the back of a fantastic campaign from the union and all its delegates for 'adult age, adult wage'. The changes that are coming in for those young people mean that they're going to be earning more money. They're taking on responsibilities; they're paying adult fees for everything else. Now they're going to get an adult wage. That's starting later in the year, and it's going to be coming in more and more over the next couple of years. Those young people are proud to stand here in the parliament to talk to Labor politicians, to acknowledge that their wages are going up and to say it's fantastic that they're going to get these tax cuts. I think it's really, really important to get those facts on the record in the midst of all this incredible fear and alarm.

One of the comments made by those opposite was that this is some sort of rushed process, but consultation has been happening before the budget and since the budget. It has continued right through the whole process, with this government continually consulting with different parts of the sector right across the country: workers, small business and large business. We make sure that those consultations go on. When we hear good ideas, we are responsive to those good ideas in the national interest, not just for self-interest. That's why the amendments that are going to be made come from that concern about making sure that we deliver legislation that is going to be enabling for the majority of Australians. We want to help more people earn more and keep more of what they earn.

Let's go through a couple of the amendments that the government is going to move because we are listening to the Australian people. We're listening to advocates who come to the government in good faith and who want to do their bit to help this country be better. We will extend the eligibility of the 50 per cent active asset reduction to more businesses by increasing the turnover threshold from $2 million to $10 million. That concession brings the eligibility in line with the turnover threshold for the instant asset write-off. It's very efficient, and it's something that's understood by small business. They spoke, they gave their advice, and the government has listened. This is a change that's a response to that. It's good to listen to other people who have expertise. It's good to make a change when there is something that's already good but you can do it better.

We have also taken on board the issue that was raised about tax deductibility for gifts and donations. We will ensure deductible gifts and donations reduce capital gains that are subject to the minimum tax, to maintain the tax incentives in relation to charitable giving. I know of, and I acknowledge, the contribution to fleshing that problem out in our public hearings. They were public hearings, with one held here in Canberra and one in Sydney. Senator Smith was a very good advocate for that sector. I acknowledge that contribution and, despite the fear, alarm and craziness of the contribution before mine, the reality is that the government listened. The government listened to advocates for the sector, and we've made that change.

The other thing that we heard when we were taking evidence under the leadership of our very good chair, Senator Darmanin, was some concern about a list of income support payments. People wanted to know exactly how it would affect them if they were on an income support payment, so, in response to that suggestion, even though it's always been our intention to make sure that people were protected, we'll provide a list of income support payments that qualify for an exemption from the minimum tax on capital gains. It seems a reasonable ask, and, of course, it's a sound amendment, which I support 100 per cent. It doesn't substantively change this bill in any negative way; it only improves it.

We're also going to deal with the issue of a calculation method for the working Australians tax offset and put that into legislation so people can see it, it's in there, it's legislated and it's clear. That's a response to information that we received while we were taking on the inquiry. We will also remove ministerial powers that are no longer needed to give effect to the government's policy intent.

These are all things that sensible governments have always done with legislation. That's why you go out, you get the information and you get the experts in. You have to discern between the chaff and the wheat. People were in there pumping the brakes really hard for their own personal gain. They were saying: 'Give me my money! Let me keep my money! I don't want to pay my fair share of tax! I've never had to pay a fair share of tax compared to the people working at Coles! Don't expect me to start paying now!' Vested interests like that were there. They were saying: 'Leave it exactly as it is. The way I earn my money from capital is much, much, much better, and so much more important, than the people who earn their money from their labour and their hard work!' That's not the kind of Australia that I grew up in. It's not the kind of Australia we think of ourselves as. This is a society where, if you work hard, you should be able to benefit in the same way as any other Australian, and you should also be expecting that you pay your fair share of tax. You don't get a special discount, because you didn't earn it in a job; you earned it through the money that you already have. That's not the Australian way. So this is simply a rebalancing of what has got completely out of kilter in the years since the changes were made to the capital gains tax.

One of the important things that we will be putting into this bill is an amendment to remove ministerial discretion in relation to a couple of aspects of the bill, with legislation that's going to be introduced later in the year. That will deal with a couple of things that people might have heard about, like what a new build is. What's the definition of a new build? That's going to be very important for young people.

I stand here as a part of the Boomer generation. Of course, like many people in my situation, I appreciate the fact that the government has decided to grandfather plans that my husband and I have made for our provision for our retirement, but to have people in the media deliberately misrepresent that the capital gains discount has been taken away is absolutely wrong. If you're a young person and you've seen your parents make wealth from investing in property, you can still invest in property—buy a new property, knock down an old one, put in duplexes, put that on the market. Keep growing your wealth that way. You'll be able to get a capital gains discount, and you'll be able to negatively gear. Remember there are still so many opportunities for you as young creative Australians to grow your wealth and also to earn more and keep more of what you earn. (Time expired)

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The 2026 Chalmers-Albanese budget was a victory of ideology over decency. The fundamental ideology of this Labor government is one which ignores wealth creation in favour of wealth redistribution and division, otherwise known as buying votes with other people's money. This is a deliberate strategy of division or, more accurately, a strategy of 'divide and conquer'. Implicit in this strategy is a simple maxim: 'It doesn't matter how much hate you get from those whose votes you don't need.' It's callous policy, cynical, dishonest and in the end self-defeating, as every communist government in history has found out the hard way. When you take people's stuff, they stop creating new stuff and the nation descends into poverty—time after time after time.

Despite the lesson of history, here we are with the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026, which rakes in $1.38 billion in additional taxation in the first full year, 2027-28. This is a tax grab. This is before the $350 million backdown announced last week. How badly does this government need that money to take the electoral criticism they've received over a measure which is 0.2 per cent of budget revenue?

This bill takes from those who have created wealth to buy votes from those who have not yet created wealth—our young. And yet, according to the Productivity Commission and updated JBWere financial modelling, an estimated $3.5 trillion to $5.4 trillion in assets will pass from Baby Boomers to younger generations through to 2050. The speed of the transfer is increasing. Inheritances have more than doubled since 2002. Wealth passing between generations has risen from roughly $120 billion per year to an expected $500 billion per year in 2045. This government is trying to buy votes amongst young people with money they would have received anyway. That's the fatal flaw in this bill—the lie, the deceit. It's these trillions of dollars in inheritance that have become the grand prize of this communist Labor government's theft.

Labor wants to steal more of everyone's money, including from the young, and lock the young out of building assets for later in life. Lock you out! Labor's intergenerational equity and intergenerational wealth transfer lies will in fact really create intergenerational poverty—a veritable gold mine of money from taxing everyone for Labor and its bureaucrats to use to bankroll Labor's social engineering and to buy votes from their target demographics, which, for the record, are ABC journalists, university academics, immigrants from any country as long as it's not a Christian country and union bosses, although only the militant kind.

Not only will our young people receive less in the long run, they will receive less in the short term, owing to changes in the capital gains tax. Previously, any capital gain was discounted 50 per cent and then taxed as part of your normal income. This meant young people just starting out did not pay a lot of tax, especially those trading while at uni or TAFE. Not anymore. Now the full value of the profit will be taxed and at a minimum rate of 30 per cent, not your marginal rate. Even worse, more value trades and assets like trading cards or parts of a bitcoin over $500 are now treated the same for compliance purposes as large stocks portfolios. Do you have a $500 Pokemon card? Congratulations! Here's the compliance you'll need to meet, including valuations and notifications for a Pokemon card, you evil capitalist you. Off to the re-education camp you go. There will be none of this 'trying to get ahead' under this Labor government. The deceit of this government to pretend this bill is about intergenerational wealth when the real impact will be to make it harder for young people to get ahead—that's why the budget has been called the worst in living memory. Not only were the key measures toxic, the justification for taking those measures was a lie. It doesn't add wealth and opportunity for young people. It takes it away. Everyone except rusted-on Labor diehards saw straight through it. Our young have seen through it, and baby boomers are furious. They didn't work their whole lives to create wealth just so the government could come along and take a massive chunk to fund social engineering.

One Nation's response to these measures is simple: don't do it. Let Australians create their own wealth and use that wealth to benefit their children. For many Australians, the bank of mum and dad is in play to help young people get their own home. Assistance from parents has risen from 15 per cent of new mortgages in the 1980s to 40 per cent of new mortgages today. I know when I mention family that a lot of our constituents will be thinking, 'I don't have a family, since my parents got divorced and my parents lost their house in the divorce. What do you have to pass on?' I acknowledge those who are in that position. Your feelings and concerns are real. One Nation understands that, which is why our low-start mortgage will allow your personal superannuation account to provide a large share of your home deposit. This will allow you to get into your own home once you have a job, a work history and proven capacity to repay.

When it comes to the broader policy environment, including taxation and regulation, the response to Senator Hanson's amazing speech at the GetUp! press club in Canberra last week carries a warning. Our opponents will spin One Nation's policies and words so far, so tightly that Pauline Hanson could knit a sweater with them. Our policies do take a moment of serious thought to grasp. On one hand, One Nation policy does contain measures which need to be funded through some level of taxation. We will support and defend Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, aged pensions and the National Disability Insurance Scheme for those who are actually disabled, along with unemployment benefits for those looking for work and sickness benefits for those who legitimately can't work, amongst other measures. These are what make Australia a civilised society.

On the other hand, our campaign for smaller government is based on an overarching principle of allowing Australians to keep more of their own money and providing an economic environment that encourages people to get ahead through their own hard work and endeavour. This is not an absolutist argument. It's one of degree—a balance between a government of decency and a government of waste. The Chalmers-Albanese government has crossed over the line out of decency into waste and hypocrisy and deceit, and, as a result, One Nation ranks are swelling. Labor obviously feel that entrepreneurs are not their demographic. You show that repeatedly. Interestingly, a large number of small-business people coming into One Nation are saying the same thing about the Liberals. ALP arrogance has been on display in the development of these proposals. No open consultation occurred and no white papers. The measures were drawn up behind closed doors and then dumped on the public, vomited onto the public. The committee stage for this bill was a farce engineered to manipulate a favourable report—deceit yet again.

This Labor government has made a mockery of the committee system across legislation, referrals and Senate estimates to the point where a review is needed to find a way to stop this abuse from ever happening again. The government has been forced to remove some of the worst elements of their tax grab. Great—now remove the rest!

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 includes a provision to limit negative gearing to new properties only. Negative gearing allows someone on a wage or salary to buy a second property, or more, and claim the net cost of that property against their tax. Any net profit is considered taxable income—it's taxed. Many Australians have used this method to get ahead. It's most common in retirement, with couples purchasing their retirement home near retirement and then renting it out to help pay it off until they're ready to move in. Then they rent out their family home to fund their retirement.

It's true that this is a concession which tends to be used at higher-income levels. Here are the facts. The top 20 per cent of wage and salary earners own 40 per cent of investment properties and claim 60 per cent of the tax deductions. Before this bill, there was no limit to the number of homes that a person could negatively gear other than the ability of their income to cover the cost.

One Nation believes—our policy has shown this before today and shows this right now—that a large property portfolio is not something that should be set against a salary. It's a business, and the person should have a corporate structure which is appropriate for that business. One Nation will limit negative gearing to two properties. This is enough for Australians to invest in real estate and lift themselves up without misusing the tax system.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026, though, cancels negative gearing on existing homes entirely, and it allows unlimited negative gearing on new builds. So that older couple I mentioned before, buying their retirement home and renting it out to help pay for it—they can't negatively gear. Yet a high-income earner can buy up a whole new block of flats and negatively gear that. Where's the justice? How is that fair? How does that advance intergenerational equity? It doesn't. It drives intergenerational poverty.

There are two other measures in this bill. One Nation will support the $5-a-week tax cut. Although $250 a year is nothing towards offsetting the rising cost of living, it's money better off in workers' pockets than in the government's pockets, where it'd be eaten up before it even gets into play in 2027. As a reminder, One Nation policy will put a lot more into the pockets of everyday Australians. We will index the tax thresholds to ensure nobody is forced into a higher tax bracket because they got a pay rise to make up for inflation. That's the stealth tax. I've tried twice to amend Treasury bills, once under the Liberals and once under Labor. Both times, both parties said they loved the idea—but not now.

One Nation will leave schedule 4 in the bill. That is the no-documentation-required $1,000 for tax deductible expenses. I'm concerned that people who are entitled to more than $1,000 will lazily tick that box to save time, although opposing what is a benefit for the many on the basis of what it could do for the few is the wrong decision.

One Nation is moving an amendment to remove schedule 1, capital gains tax, and schedule 2, negative gearing, from the bill. If that amendment fails, we will oppose this bill.

The Labor Party have taken to using a deceitful trick to make it look like One Nation opposed pay rises for workers, which is false. Instead, this is to add a measure to a bill which they know One Nation will not support. In this case, it's the capital gains tax and negative gearing changes hurting the young and the old. It's called a poison pill. It's not their idea; the parties of globalisation around the world are using it to frame conservative parties as hateful of workers when the reverse is true. Tricks destroy trust and kill truth. Prime Minister Albanese gives so much material himself to the Fire the Liar campaign across the nation. Poison pills allow their fake 'independent' websites like They Vote For You to lie and say One Nation voted against tax cuts, for instance, when, in fact, the Albanese government wrapped the tax cuts in legislation that could not be supported—it had to be opposed. Labor refuses to put the measures separately. Had they put the measures separately, we would have supported the tax cut, minuscule though it is.

Another Labor lie is its claim this bill is tax reform. It's not. Instead it increases tax complexity, which leads to increased fees for accountants, lawyers and valuers when preparing tax returns for which the people pay. Taxpayers pay even more when doing their return. This is not reform; it's a rip-off for which you, the people of Australia, pay—including the young. Anyone interested in honest political discussion should treat the OpenAustralia Foundation and their propaganda arm They Vote for You with utter contempt. Their subscribers apparently do, because their most recent report admits a $50,000 loss. It's not working—perhaps try impartiality and honesty next time—nor is it having any effect.

The growth of One Nation is proof the public are breaking what has been a lifelong allegiance to the tired old parties—yes, you two—and are instead embracing One Nation policies that will restore wealth and abundance for all Australians. Labor's dirty tricks and lies will not stop One Nation from voting in the best interests of everyday Australians. We want to make Australia a land of abundance and opportunity again for the old and the young.

Susan McDonald (Queensland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on Labor's toxic taxes, which the coalition will fight tooth and nail. If the CGT changes, the negative gearing changes and the death tax hidden in the trust rules become law under Labor, a coalition government will repeal them. When the government taxes something, you get less of it. You get less housing, less saving, less investment and fewer small businesses. We will back aspiration and reward hard work by scrapping these taxes.

Last week, in the highly rushed and poorly executed Senate Economics Legislation Committee's inquiry into this toxic legislation, it was clear that the Albanese government's proposed capital gains tax changes would devastate Australia's mineral exploration sector, and those opposite will not do a thing about it. The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies told the committee the changes would directly target the retail investors who provide the lifeblood of junior exploration companies. When the peak body that represents more than 550 mining and exploration companies warns that Labor's tax changes will starve junior explorers of capital, the government should be paying attention, but they're not.

Australia's mineral exploration industry is our pipeline for future mines, future jobs and future economic growth, as well as energy sovereignty. AMEC told the committee that about 75 per cent of Australia's economic mineral discoveries are made by small- and mid-tier explorers, yet most rely heavily on mum-and-dad investors willing to back high-risk projects. AMEC warned that if these investors walk away because of Labor's tax changes exploration activity will fall, discoveries will decline and mining projects may never be developed. We know that new mines don't develop overnight. They definitely won't appear overnight and provide jobs under Labor's safeguard mechanism carbon tax or the overreach of the EPBC legislation, and now they definitely won't be incentivised by these tax changes.

Discovery to production for a mine can take up to 16 years. If exploration investment dries up now, Australia will be paying the price for years to come. These are the future jobs of our children today. We know that self-starters are what built this great nation. The resources sector is what built this great country. But what's even more concerning to me is this CGT problem is compounded by Labor's decision to abolish the highly successful Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive in 2025. Labor has already removed one of the few Commonwealth programs supporting exploration and is now proposing tax changes on top of that, so there is now nothing that will further encourage that incredibly important investment.

The coalition introduced the Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive in 2017 to encourage investment in greenfield mineral exploration by allowing exploration companies to pass tax credits on to Australian investors, and it was hugely successful. The program delivered $105 million between 2018 and 2021, with the coalition extending a further $100 million from 2022 to 2025.

Despite the program's strong industry support and proven success in attracting investment into exploration, the Albanese government allowed the program to expire in 2025. The program cut by Labor had unlocked more than $1.1 billion in capital and $400 million in exploration spending. That's a huge return, and it's a huge loss now that it's gone.

We've already announced that a coalition government would reinstate the Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive program with a $100 million commitment, including $50 million dedicated specifically to oil and gas exploration. With what we have just experienced in the Middle East, it's clear we need to pump the gas and get our resources sector unlocked so that we're never reliant on geopolitics again.

Only the coalition back Australia's resources industry, because we understand it underpins national prosperity and our energy and manufacturing sector. At a time when Australia needs more critical minerals, more resource investment and greater sovereign capability, Labor is making it even harder to discover the mines of the future.

AMEC also told the inquiry last week:

The government's Critical Minerals Strategy … says the world needs '50 new lithium mines, 60 new nickel mines and 17 new cobalt mines to meet carbon emissions goals' by 2050. It therefore seems counterintuitive to make exploring for these minerals fundamentally harder in Australia, but that is what the proposed CGT reforms do. The proposed reforms seem to undermine the government's own agenda.

Doesn't that say it all? This means there's no Commonwealth support to junior minerals explorers but a new tax and obstructive legislation.

That may explain why, in the recent budget papers, there is a forecast—in the government's own budget papers—of a zero per cent growth rate in the mining industry by 2027-28. The International Energy Agency report shows a 30 per cent reduction in mining investment in Australia at a time when that investment is increasing in Asia and in other countries that understand the importance of the critical minerals sector. That's disgraceful.

This is another decision sending the wrong signal to investors at a time when Australia should be strengthening its global competitiveness in resources and critical minerals. Labor talk endlessly about critical minerals and future industries, but, when it comes to backing the companies actually searching for these resources, they're missing in action. This is yet another example of Labor making Australia a harder place to invest. Mining investors say the tax payable on successful exploration investments would almost double, destroying the risk-reward balance that underpins junior exploration. Junior explorers already face enormous risks in trying to raise capital to search for the next generation of Australian mines. Without exploration, there are no new mines, no new regional jobs and no future pipeline of critical minerals and resource projects.

Labor wants to punish the mums and dads who back these projects. Labor simply does not understand that, if you stop exploration today, you destroy mining tomorrow. Our message to those targeted by this budget is simple: we are going to back you to be its future. You work, you risk and you should get ahead. No-one voted for these new taxes. The Prime Minister promised in his own words, more than 50 times before the last election, that he would not introduce them. In an act of complete bad faith and disregard for the Australian people, he turned around and broke every single one of those commitments.

The coalition opposes schedules 1 and 2, supports schedules 3 and 4 and calls on the government to immediately pass laws to end bracket creep and implement a tax back guarantee by indexing the personal income tax brackets to inflation, starting with the first two tax brackets in 2028-29 and the remaining tax brackets from 2031-32. The coalition notes that this will deliver lower income taxes permanently to all Australians and ensure that income tax cannot rise without the passage of new laws.

The Senate inquiry was a farce. It was performance controlled by the government to ensure only a few of the many submissions could be uploaded and scrutinised and only a few of the many interested organisations, companies and parties could appear to give evidence. The government restricted the number of days available to hear on this important issue. The government restricted the resources available to the Senate committee to allow it to properly do its job. The government reduced the technology available for the live streaming of proceedings, something that is core to our democracy. This government is wilfully and devastatingly changing Australia. It's making investment in the businesses that pay the bills in Australia impossible. Labor is making us poorer.

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 and the Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026. As a Labor Senator for Tasmania, I judge reform by a simple test: does it make life fairer for working people in my home state? These bills do. They help people keep more of what they earn and give more Australians a fair chance to own a home. Leaving everything as it is would be the easiest political choice. But the current system is not working for too many Australians, especially younger Australians. Doing nothing would pass the problem on to the next generation.

The first major part of these bills is the new working Australians tax offset. From the 2027-28 income year, eligible workers will receive a permanent tax offset of up to $250. Nationally, 13.3 million workers are expected to benefit. In Tasmania, around 270,000 workers are expected to benefit. That includes nurses, teachers, aged-care workers and apprentices. The bill also delivers the $1,000 standard deduction for work related expenses. From the 2026-27 income year, eligible workers can choose a standard deduction of up to $1,000 instead of claiming each expense separately. Workers with expenses above $1,000 can still claim their actual costs. Around 6.2 million Australians are expected to benefit, with an average tax saving of $205. The Australian Taxation Office estimates the change will reduce paperwork and compliance costs by $380 million each year. Around 140,000 Tasmanian workers are expected to benefit. For a worker managing rent, groceries, power bills and fuel, $205 matters.

These bills are also about housing. We need more homes, including social and affordable housing. But tax settings also shape where money is invested and who has the strongest hand when a home is sold. In Tasmania, I hear from young people who are working, saving and making sacrifices but still feel ownership is moving further away. It may be a young worker trying to buy in Glenorchy, a couple saving by renting in Hobart or a family trying to stay close to work and relatives in Kingston. They're asking for a fair chance.

Schedule 2 changes negative gearing for future residential property investments. For residential properties purchased after 7.30 on 12 May 2026, negative gearing will only be available for new builds from 1 July 2027. Existing investments are protected. People who own a residential investment property or who have entered into a contract before that time can continue to use the current arrangements. Investors can also continue to negatively gear new homes. That directs the tax benefit towards investment that adds to the housing supply, by respecting decisions people have already made. The government expects these reforms to help an additional 75,000 Australians buy a home over the next decade.

Schedule 1 reforms capital gains tax from 1 July 2027. The current flat 50 per cent discount will be replaced with a system that adjusts the purchase cost of an asset for inflation, alongside a 30 per cent minimum tax on net capital gains. In simple terms, tax will be paid on the real gain rather than the part caused by inflation. The changes only apply going forward. Gains built up before 1 July 2027 will remain under the existing discount. The family home remains exempt from capital gains tax. These bills do not create an inheritance tax.

The four existing small-business capital gains tax concessions will remain, and, following consultation that the government has undertaken, the government has announced it will increase the turnover threshold for the existing 50 per cent active asset reduction from $2 million to $10 million. This will make the concession available to all 2.7 million active small businesses and 98 per cent of all active businesses. That is important in Tasmania, where small businesses are the heart of our towns and regional communities. The government is also consulting on new concessions for eligible innovative startups, to be included in later legislation.

People receiving payments, including aged pension and JobSeeker, will be exempt from the 30 per cent minimum tax in a year when they receive an eligible payment. Deductible gifts and donations will also reduce the capital gains subject to minimum tax. Investors who buy new builds will continue to be able to choose between the existing 50 per cent discount and the new arrangements. The discount for eligible affordable housing will remain.

These details are important, because we have seen a campaign of fear and misinformation from those who do not want the system to change. That includes the Liberal Party, the National Party and One Nation. They say they care about first home buyers, but they oppose reforms that will help 75,000 more Australians buy a home. They offer anger, but they do not offer answers. We have heard claims about a death tax, a tax on the family home and the end of small business. None of that is true. The family home remains exempt. There is no inheritance tax. Existing investment properties are protected. Small-business concessions remain and are being expanded.

Parliament should not protect the status quo simply because reform is difficult. Fear campaigns are easy; reform is harder. Labor is prepared to do the hard work because leaving the system as it is would leave another generation locked out of homeownership. We are cutting taxes for workers, making tax time simpler, supporting new housing and improving the fairness of the tax system.

For Tasmania, this means support for hundreds of thousands of workers. We're backing young Tasmanians saving for their first home; protecting existing investments; and supporting small businesses, pensioners and affordable housing. Most of all, it means taking responsibility for the future. Every generation should have the chance to build a secure life, earn a fair wage and own a home with rules that do not only favour those who already have wealth.

These bills will not solve every housing or tax challenge, but they are an important step towards a fairer system that rewards work, supports new housing and gives the next generation a better chance. That is good for Tasmania, good for working Australians and good for the country. I commend the bills to the Senate.

Sean Bell (NSW, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to oppose the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 and related bill. If anyone's looking for a reason for the rise of One Nation in the polls—a reason why everyday Australians went and donated almost $5 million to Pauline Hanson's Fire the Liar campaign—look no further than this bill and the chaotic process we have before us today.

What we're dealing with is legislation that has been rushed. The government admits they botched it, and we are still waiting to see what amendments are coming before the Senate as the government desperately tries to fix legislation they know is bad and broken.

I was listening to Senator Brown say that this isn't about death taxes. Well, if that's the case, why are you rushing to remove that part of the bill? Why have you flagged you'll be taking the death taxes out of the bill? It's because you know you got it wrong. What we are watching is damage control dressed up as a housing policy and damage control dressed up as backflips. Labor is now trying to explain why their capital gains tax changes go well beyond what they initially flagged with the public, well beyond housing. Labor's come back talking about exemptions and changes within weeks of supporting them in the lower house. Let's be clear. The Prime Minister and the Treasurer supported this bill that Labor is now admitting is broken and bad. It's a big broken tax grab. The fact that we are going to have to sit here and deal with a bunch of government amendments is an admission of guilt. It is an admission that the government did not understand the consequences of their own legislation as they rammed it through the lower house and as they presented it to the Senate. And it is an admission that One Nation was right to flag this from the start.

One Nation stands with mums and dads, tradies and small-business owners who, right now, are worried that the Labor Party is going to be reaching into their pockets, grabbing their hard-earned taxes and wasting their money. The outcry we have seen from the people is a public repudiation of the Labor government's bad budget. It is a public rejection of the politics of broken promises. You can sneer at One Nation voters, at Pauline Hanson and at the 70,000-plus Australians who chipped in $60 to One Nation's Fire the Liar campaign because they are sick and tired of broken promises from a desperate and chaotic Labor government. But it won't work, because Australians know that Labor is desperately rewriting and patching up a bill that is nothing more than a giant tax grab. They claimed that the bill was ready—the Prime Minister and the Treasurer have already voted for it—but we know it is not ready to pass; we know it is broken.

Older Australians were given the opportunity in the past to work hard, to save, to buy homes, to invest, to take risks and to build security for their families. Now young people are watching as Labor turns around and tells the next generation that they can't access the same benefits. They can't have access to asset growth or property growth or long-term investments. What we're seeing is a bill that will replace a known system with a much more complicated one. For many Australians, the result will be simple. It will be that they have to pay much more tax. As I said, this is Labor reaching into the pockets of Australians who have worked hard, saved and invested so they could stand on their own two feet. Now a person who's saved, invested and taken risks is facing more taxes because Labor has decided that private wealth creation is a problem that they need to manage in Canberra with a bill that punishes aspiration and will make Australia poorer.

This bill hits the very pathway many young Australians are now using, because homeownership has been driven out of reach because of Labor's mass migration obsession. It targets elements that young people have used: shares, EFTs, startups, equity and long-term investing. The number of young Australians who are exposed to the consequences of these changes is growing sharply and it is much larger than Labor would like you to think. So what is the answer from this government? This is another reason why the 'Fire the liar' campaign was so successful, because you see that the Labor government says, 'This is actually a tax cut.' Well, it is not a tax cut. They're talking about an offset which will be chewed up by inflation while they do nothing to address the problem of bracket creep.

I can flag that One Nation has no problem with supporting the tax-cut element of this legislation. But it's so clear to the Australian people what you are trying to do. It is so clear to everyone that, for anyone who opposes this terrible tax grab, you are going to stand up and attack them. You've envisioned this fantasy that somehow this is an attack on tax cuts, but that's just not going to work this time because the people of Australia are awake to your record of broken promises and deception.

Labor says it's giving every dollar back, which is exactly the problem. Labor is taking money out of private hands, sending it through Canberra, clipping the ticket, writing the rules and expecting Australians to be grateful when they hand some of it back. You're raising taxes, handing a little back, but the balance doesn't add up and you're telling Australians to be thankful. Frankly, it is insulting. One Nation believes Australians should keep more of what they earned in the first place. That's what we believe will help a teacher who can't afford a home near the school where she teaches. That is what will help a nurse who is doing extra shifts and getting smashed by the rents that are rising, the grocery prices that are soaring and the power bills that are growing under Labor. That's what will help police officers who are working nights and weekends while wondering how his children will ever be able to afford to buy a home.

One Nation is for working Australians. We're for the tradies, truckies cleaners, carers, retail workers, nurses, teachers, police officers and small-business employees doing everything right yet falling further and further behind under this Labor government. And we are for the more and more Australians have been forced into a category of working poor. As Senator Hanson said at her National Press Club address, there are many, many thousands of Australians with a job who cannot support a household. They are trying to pay their rent, feed their kids, keep the lights on and they can't. As we see, too many of them are ending up at the Salvos, at food banks and at charities asking for help in a country that should be rewarding work and not punishing it. This Labor government has failed them under this government. The promise was that life would be cheaper, but that promise, like so many others, has evaporated.

This government promised that power bills would come down. Well, Australians are still waiting —$275 cheaper from when you promised it. It never came. Again, this is why the Fire the Liar campaign has cut through—because people are awake to the broken promises. You promised to stand up for workers, yet you're making it harder for workers to build capital, buy assets, invest for retirements. You're making it harder for them to stand on their own two feet. The battlers, small-business owners and entrepreneurial young Australians trying to build wealth outside of the family home will be worse off. That is what accountants, lawyers, experts have warned of about this bill. It will make the country worse off. This is the government who promised that life would be cheaper and easier, and all they have delivered is higher interest rates and pain as Australian families are drowning in repayments and bills they cannot afford.

This Labor government claimed to care about housing while running population growth far ahead of housing supply. They consistently make projections of immigration and yet blow straight past them time and time again. You are now asking this parliament to believe that this bill that we're about to pass—it beggars belief that here we are again. It's so clear what will occur. We are facing another guillotine. There's no doubt you'll shut down debate. You'll rush this through again. Whatever amendments you're making will come at the last minute. It is truly disgraceful, and Australians are not as gullible as you seem to think they are. You truly have stuffed this up. This is one of the worst budgets of all time.

One Nation believes Australians should be able to build something. We believe that things can be better. The process that we are watching here—the failed process alone—should shame this government. Truly, some of the—if we're talking about who's going to benefit from this bill, it's going to be accountants. It's going to be managers of finance. The people who are really licking their lips at this are the people who are going to be paid to help Australians try to understand what's going on. The absurd scenarios that we are looking at as a result of this budget beggar belief. To look at and read that you've now got people who are desperately rushing out to try and get Pokémon cards costed because this Labor government did not think through the consequences of this budget is such an absurdity.

The chaos and uncertainty you have caused with this cannot be overstated, and we will not support it. We will not vote for this bill, which is going to be riddled with rushed amendments and hidden behind deceptive language. One Nation instead supports Australians keeping more of what they earn. We believe in protecting genuine small-business owners, founders, investors from being caught up in these rules. We believe that real housing policy deals with supply approvals and comes off the back of sustainable migration—an end to Labor's mass migration. We should not be punishing aspiration and attacking the pathways everyday Australians can use to build independence and wealth.

One Nation will oppose this legislation because Australians deserve better than a big tax grab and a failed budget from a government that cannot manage this economy, cannot keep its promises. Every time they feel they're caught short, they're reaching into the taxpayers' pockets and taking their money because they have run out of ideas of their own. Driving up inflation, driving up the pain that families are feeling—this truly is a disgrace. One Nation will not be supporting this legislation.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Skills and Training) | Link to this | Hansard source

Mark my words, this legislation will be remembered for what it absolutely failed to do. It failed to create the opportunities Australians need to get ahead—opportunity for the small-business owner, opportunity for the apprentice, opportunity for parents trying to build a better future for their children. Governments should ultimately be judged by the opportunities they create not for themselves but for the people they serve—the opportunity to start a business, the opportunity to learn a trade, the opportunity to buy a home, the opportunity to raise a family and the opportunity for the next generation to do better than the last. That is the test this legislation should be measured against, and, by that test, it simply fails.

We're now five budgets deep into the Albanese government. Australians are asking a very simple question: are we better off? Australians are working harder and getting less in return. Homeownership feels further out of reach. The cost of living continues to bite. Yet, instead of addressing those challenges, Labor has decided the answer is more tax. These changes are being presented as reform, but reform should make it easier for Australians to get ahead. It shouldn't make it harder. For generations, there was an understanding in this country: if you worked hard, if you saved your money, if you invested wisely, if you started a business, if you took responsibility for your family, you could get ahead. That was the Australian promise—not a guarantee of success but a guarantee that effort mattered, a guarantee that responsibility would be rewarded. Today, more and more Australians feel that promise slipping away. They are not asking for guarantees. They are asking for a fair chance, a fair go. Australians are doing their part. They are working hard. They are taking responsibility and wondering whether the government is doing its part to.

As shadow minister for small business, I spend a great deal of time listening to business owners—the people who open the doors before sunrise, the people who invest their savings and their future into building something, the people who employ Australians and keep local communities alive. What I hear repeatedly is the same concern. For small businesses already facing rising costs, higher energy prices and workforce shortages, Labor's approach creates one more obstacle. It makes business owners think twice before investing, before expanding, before taking on an apprentice, before creating opportunity. Small businesses create opportunity with every dollar they invest. Every apprentice starts with a business owner willing to take a chance on somebody's future. Sadly, though, many businesses tell me they are simply keeping their head above water, and the consequences are already visible. More than 45,000 businesses have entered insolvency since Labor came to office. It's an utter shame. Construction businesses continue to record the highest number of failures. These are the very businesses Australia needs to build more homes. At a time when Australians are struggling through a housing crisis of Labor's doing, the businesses we need most are under the greatest pressure, and the pressure does not stop there.

Next month Australians will pay another 32c a litre at the fuel bowser under the Albanese government, and fuel is not just another cost. Fuel moves our freight. Fuel grows our crops. Fuel powers our machinery. Fuel gets Australians to work. Fuel keeps businesses operating and goods moving across this country. When fuel costs rise, everything costs more. You cannot build a stronger economy by making everything that powers it more expensive. Small businesses feel it. Farmers feel it. Families are feeling it, and Australians will pay more as a result. Now Australians are being asked to trust Labor again when it says these tax changes will somehow improve the economy. But economic success is measured by whether Australians can get ahead, whether they can build a business, whether they can own a home and whether they can build a future for their family.

Uncertainty does not only affect investment. It affects training. Governments talk about skills, housing and productivity, but none of those things appear by magic. Somebody has to train the next generation. Somebody has to teach young Australians skills they will carry for life. Builders, mechanics, manufacturers and contractors do that every single day. Every apprenticeship begins with an employer willing to invest in somebody else's future. Yet at the very moment Australia needs more skilled workers, Labor has cut $266 million from apprenticeship incentives. At the same time, it found another $35 million for skills advice and bureaucracy. It's a familiar story. Australians are entitled to ask a very simple question. Does this government value apprentices or bureaucracy more? You cannot build homes, strengthen industry or improve productivity without skilled workers, and you cannot create skilled workers without employers willing to train them.

Every apprenticeship represents independence, a career, a future. When governments make it harder for businesses to train apprentices, they are not simply reducing workforce numbers. They are reducing opportunity. That contradiction sits at the heart of this very legislation because, at its core, this debate is not really about tax. It is about whether Australia rewards responsibility or punishes it, whether we encourage aspiration or make it harder, whether we create opportunity or put it further out of reach. I acknowledge my own Northern Territory within this debate. In the Territory, investment is not an abstract concept. It is how businesses start, it is how communities grow, it is how jobs are created and it is how families build their future.

In the Northern Territory, those investors are not faceless corporations. They are almost always your mums and dads. They are police officers, firefighters, nurses, teachers, public servants, tradespeople, small-business owners, the people who coach the local footy team and the people who volunteer in their communities and back the place that they call home. They are not asking for special treatment. They are asking not to be punished for doing the right thing. In Australia, we should reward aspiration, not penalise it. They are Australians who have worked hard, saved hard and invested so that they can look after themselves in retirement and help the next generation to get ahead.

In the Territory, where 99 per cent of businesses are small businesses, when small businesses succeed, our communities succeed, when small businesses thrive, our communities thrive and, when small businesses take on apprentices, opportunity is created. That should be encouraged, not discouraged. These are people willing to work hard, take risks, build things, fix things, make things and take responsibility. The small-business owner, the apprentice, the parents saving for their children's future, the Territorian backing their community—these are the people who create opportunity, and that is the standard this legislation should be judged against.

Every apprentice creates opportunity, every business creates opportunity, every home built creates opportunity and every investment in a local community creates opportunity. Australia does not need more barriers to those opportunities. It needs more Australians willing to invest, hire, train and take risks. Prosperity is not created by government. It is created by Australians who build, hire, invest and take responsibility. This legislation will be remembered for what it will fail to do. It will fail to create more opportunity for Australians to do exactly that. That is what Australians and small-business owners have been telling us and trying to tell this government, and that is why the coalition opposes it.

Charlotte Walker (SA, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 and the Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026. I want to start with a pretty simple observation. For years, Australians have been told that housing affordability is too hard, too complicated, too politically sensitive and too difficult to tackle. Every government acknowledged that there was a problem, every politician gave speeches about it and every expert wrote reports about it. Yet, for young Australians, the dream of homeownership kept drifting further away. House prices climbed, deposits grew larger, rents increased and more and more people found themselves wondering whether they would ever be able to buy a home of their own.

This government has decided that simply talking about the problem is no longer enough. We are prepared to act, because housing is not just another economic issue. It is one of the defining issues facing this generation of Australians. It affects whether people can move out of home, whether they can start a family, whether they can build financial security and whether they can put down roots in the communities they love. If we're serious about making housing more affordable, we have to be willing to have serious conversations about the policies that shape our housing market. That is exactly what this legislation does.

There has been a lot of chirping about this bill—a lot of outrage, scare campaigns and social media posts claiming this is the end of civilisation as we know it. But, when you strip away all the noise, this package does three very simple things: it cuts taxes for workers, it makes tax time easier and it helps more Australians buy their first home. That is what this legislation is about. This is a tax package that is pro-worker, pro-aspiration and pro-investment. It delivers tax investment for more than 13 million Australian workers.

It introduces the working Australians tax offset, providing a permanent annual tax offset of up to $250 for working Australians. This isn't a temporary measure or a one-off payment but a permanent tax cut. It introduces a $1,000 instant tax deduction so Australians can claim up to $1,000 in work related deductions without having to spend hours collecting receipts and navigating complicated paperwork. Let's be real: nobody enjoys tax time. Nobody wakes up excited about searching through old emails trying to find receipts from eight months ago. Nobody wants to spend their weekend trying to remember whether they bought something in September or October.

Australians want a tax system that works for them—a tax system that is simpler, easier and fairer. These reforms will reduce compliance costs by around $540 million every year. That's less paperwork, less frustration, less time dealing with bureaucracy and more time focusing on work, family and everyday life. Combined with the tax cuts already announced by this government, the average working Australian will be up to $2,800 better off each year by 2028. This is real cost-of-living relief. At a time when Australians are doing it tough, what some people have called 'small' measures really matter.

But this legislation is also about something bigger. It's about intergenerational fairness. It's about recognising that young Australians deserve the same opportunities previous generations enjoyed. If you're in your 20s or your 30s today, the housing market looks very different to the one your parents entered. Young Australians have done everything they've been told to do. They've worked hard, studied and built careers. They've saved up as much as they can. Many have moved back home with their parents to save for a deposit. Many have delayed major life decisions because housing costs have become so overwhelming. Yet, every weekend, when they turn up to inspections and auctions, they're competing not only with other first home buyers but often with investors who already own property. This doesn't feel fair, and this government isn't afraid to say that.

The reality is that housing policy cannot only work for the people who already own assets. It must also work for people trying to build a future. That's why these reforms are so important. Treasury estimates these changes will help around 75,000 Australians achieve homeownership. That's 75,000 people who will have a better chance of buying their first home and 75,000 people who will have a better chance of building security for themselves and their families. This is a significant outcome, and it's one that should be welcomed by everyone in this chamber.

But what have we seen from the opposition? The Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation have lined up to oppose these reforms. They are blocking tax cuts for working Australians, they are blocking measures to make tax time easier and they are blocking reforms that will help more young Australians buy a home. They offer outrage and they offer scare campaigns but they don't offer solutions.

Let's talk specifically about negative gearing. If you listened to some of the commentary surrounding this debate, you would think that this government was abolishing negative gearing altogether. We aren't. Australians will still be able to negatively gear residential property. The difference is that, from 1 July 2027, those arrangements will be focused on new housing supply. If people want to use negative gearing, they can still do it by investing in new homes—homes that increase supply, homes that help address Australia's housing shortage, homes that contribute to the construction of the housing stock our country desperately needs. That seems like common sense to me.

Importantly, existing investments are completely protected. If somebody already owns an investment property, nothing changes. Their arrangements remain exactly the same. This reform is targeted, sensible and measured. Despite all of the noise, the overwhelming majority of Australians will never be affected. Only around one per cent of tax filers begin negatively gearing a property in any given year—one per cent. Yet, somehow, we are expected to believe that modest reforms affecting a small proportion of taxpayers represent some kind of national emergency. The facts simply do not support that argument.

The same applies to our capital gains tax reforms. The current system provides a flat 50 per cent discount regardless of inflation. This government is replacing that arrangement with a fairer approach that focuses on real actual gains not inflationary gains. Once again, there has been a lot of misinformation about these changes. Treasury estimates that, under these reforms, the average tax rate on gross capital gains will increase from 19.3 per cent to 21.4 per cent over the medium term—not 47 per cent and not the figures being thrown around in memes but a modest increase that creates a fairer system.

Who benefits most from capital gains? Treasury's analysis shows that more than half of all capital gains are realised by the highest lifetime income earners. Meanwhile, ordinary Australians pay tax on every cheque they earn. Workers cannot negotiate a 50 per cent discount on their wages. Teachers cannot claim a 50 per cent discount on their salary. Nurses cannot claim a 50 per cent discount on their income. Tradespeople cannot claim a 50 per cent discount on their pay packet. So it is entirely reasonable to ask whether the tax system should better balance the interests of workers and investors. That is what these reforms seek to achieve. They reduce distortions that have encouraged investments in established housing. They encourage investment in new housing supply. They help fund tax relief for more than 13 million Australian workers, which is a fair trade-off.

This debate ultimately comes down to a simple question: who are we building Australia's future for? Are we building it for those who already have the most assets, or are we building it for the next generation of Australians who are trying to get ahead? This government has made its choice. We are backing workers. We are backing aspiration. We are backing homeownership, and we are backing young Australians, because every generation deserves the opportunity to own a home, every generation deserves the opportunity to build wealth through their own hard work, and every generation deserves a government willing to take difficult decisions in the national interest. This legislation delivers tax relief for workers. It makes tax time simpler. It supports homeownership, and it helps create a fairer Australia. For those reasons, I proudly support this bill and commend it to the Senate.

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I've got to reply to this because it's just absolutely ridiculous that this is for the young ones. It's not. It's ripping the guts out of the young ones. Just to make the comment, this capital gains tax can only be, or negative gearing, on new homes. What you're doing is forcing young ones to move away from areas that they've actually grown up in—away from their parents, away from that support. If you wanted to negatively gear a house that you may want to move into in the future, it might be way out somewhere, away from family. You're not giving them a choice or an opportunity to buy a house where they want to buy the house. That is not helping the young ones at all, so this is just ridiculous—to actually tax businesses at 30 per cent. Then, from next year, they're going to have to get valuations done on their property—more cost to everyone. And then it's got to be indexed. This is more compliance and red tape that you're putting onto everyone again. You reckon you're helping everyone. You're not helping anyone at all with this tax.

This budget that you've handed down is going to destroy aspiration. It's going to destroy it for the young ones who actually invest in shares or whatever they may want to do, and to buy their own homes.

Debate interrupted.