Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Shadow Treasurer) | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by ministers to questions without notice asked by Opposition senators today.

Today, Labor has legislated its budget of broken promises and lies, and it did so because its legislation was supported through a dirty, rotten deal with the Australian Greens. Australians have been left scratching their heads this afternoon. How can it be that a political party that got just 34.6 per cent of the vote join with a political party, the Australian Greens, who got 12 per cent of the vote—that is less than 50 per cent of the vote at the last election—but still have the power to legislate a budget of broken promises and lies? This afternoon there was a stark warning to every Australian. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, supported by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and supported by Labor senators, revealed that Labor is happy to do deals, to govern hand-in-glove, with the least representative party in Australian politics, with the least centrist party in Australian politics, with the least moderate party in Australian politics, the Australian Greens. That should be a warning sign for Australians. What we saw was a willingness from the Prime Minister to break promises. But let me remind you, not so long ago, the Prime Minister broke other promises, and, because the Australian community let him get away with it last time, he thought he could get away with it this time.

So, the message to Australian voters is a simple one. If you want a political system that will be governed by broken promises into the future, then continue to vote for the Australian Labor Party. But if you want improvements in our political system and if you want trust to be restored in our political system, then punish Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Labor Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Labor members of parliament. But don't just punish them for breaking promises. Punish them for governing hand-in-glove with the least representative, the least centrist, the least moderate political party in our system, the Australian Greens.

Every Labor member of parliament, senator or member of the House of Representatives, should hold their head in shame that they choose to govern with a radical party of the left. The two left-wing parties of Australian politics this afternoon joined arms and voted together, and, unfortunately, it is not an uncommon occurrence. But if you want to change that then you have to change your vote. If you don't want things to get better in this country, if you are happy with the way that things are going in this country, well then, continue to vote for the Australian Labor Party who works in unison with the Australian Greens.

Unfortunately, the economic challenges for Australia remain, irrespective of the budget passing today. Inflation remains unchallenged. Interest rates are speculated to continue to rise. Government spending continues to go up and up and up, and it's at its highest level in 40 years outside a recession and a pandemic. That is bad news for Australian families. That is bad news for the Australian economy. (Time expired)

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I think, to be fair to those that are in the gallery, that we should actually just put on the record the difference that we have made since we've come into government in terms of building a stronger economy. We've been able to support some of the lowest paid workers in this country who are doing some of the most important work that any Australian can do, that being early childhood educators for our children who are our future. We have also increased the remuneration for those who care for the ageing members of our communities. These are essential responsibilities, and we as a government have supported them.

Let's not allow those opposite to rewrite history. On five occasions when we've put forward tax cuts for Australian workers, what have we seen from the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation? They voted against it each and every time. As Minister Wong said in her response today, the reality is that on every occasion when those opposite have had the opportunity to support working Australians, they have voted against it—every measure. In relation to the tax cuts, there's the additional money since we came into government. Next year, Australian workers will be $2,800 better off thanks to this government. For $1,000 of that, you won't need to keep any of your receipts.

We talk about, and hear the questions around, building homes in this country, but what was the record of those opposite when they were in government for over 10 years? How many houses did they build? Not one—zero. What did they do in terms of TAFE? They ran that down. Did they do anything to incentivise apprentices? After all—despite what they may think over there—you need Australian workers. You need electricians, builders and plumbers. They did nothing. We have incentivised those workers by giving them $10,000 to assist them. Why? Because we know they're terribly important to our economy. You can't build houses without builders, carpenters, electricians and plumbers—and the list goes on.

Instead of having this fake outrage, what we really should be seeing from those opposite is their plan for the future. We know what history has recorded of their actions in caring for workers and industrial relations and creating more access to GPs and cheaper medicine. There are 137 urgent care clinics right across Australia so that, when you have an urgent matter that doesn't require you to go to accident and emergency, you can be seen, without having to pay with a credit card or having to decide whether you can afford to take your child there.

What do we see from those opposite? They vote no, every single time, with their new coalition partner, One Nation. I am, though, somewhat surprised that some of those opposite would agree to go along and form a coalition with One Nation. I've been in this chamber a little while and seen contributions over a long period of time, and it is, frankly, very disappointing. But our record is strong and people know they can rely on Labor to protect Australian workers and Australian rights.

Slade Brockman (WA, Deputy-President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Polley, your time has expired.

Senator Polley!

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry, I didn't hear you.

Slade Brockman (WA, Deputy-President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Polley, you very well heard me.

Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm reminded by that somewhat coherent defence of the position—I'm showing my age here—of the dead parrot from Monty Python. 'What a beautiful plumage,' they keep saying about a dead parrot in the dead parrot skit. This is what this government is doing. They say, 'What about the tax cuts?' It's an amazing thing when $77 billion in new taxes, as shown by the budget documents, can be described as a tax cut. Imagine that! They're going to charge $77 billion more to the economy, but they'll call that a tax cut because they'll give you $1 in your hand while picking your pocket behind you. It's a great way to do things. It's misdirection—the wonderful thing that magicians do. But this government are not magicians. Great politic talkers are all they are, but it's not good policy. And this is what matters—the policy matters. When you sit there and say you're giving tax cuts and tax reform but taxing $77 billion more, it is wrong.

They rushed the bills through because they didn't want anyone to find out the details. It's like the Dodgy Brothers coming to your house and saying: 'We fix. Good price. Don't worry about any of the detail. We fix. We promise you.' This is what's going on here today. We heard that, if you or partner is widowed, that will be a new capital gains tax trigger. Effectively, capital gains tax will be charged on the joint assets, or there will be the trigger to revalue. If you're going through a divorce, you'll settle with your ex-partner, you'll have a fight with a lawyer and you'll pay those bills, and then the Prime Minister will come in and ask: 'Where's my cut? I'll have a bit of the CGT too.' They'll do all of this.

They've said, 'But don't worry, we fix.' It wasn't fixed today. If it's not fit for purpose, don't rush it. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 is not fit for purpose. We have seen these things—a death in the family or a divorce triggers a capital gains tax event, and their answer is, 'We fix.' It can't be trusted. It's not right. They sit there and talk about tax cuts. They say, 'We fix.' But they are getting the Australian people all of the time. For taxes that aren't going to be due for another 12 months, would it have worried them to come back in the next sitting and fix it in one block so people would know what they're getting? But they couldn't do that. They rush it through, rush it through, rush it through. And it's always a spin. It's always, 'Beautiful plumage, the Norwegian blue.' That's all they go on about. This parrot couldn't get through these gates if electric volts were put through it.

We hear about fee-free TAFE. They tell you the numbers. We heard of 6,700 people going through fee-free TAFE in Queensland. What they're not telling you is that fewer than 20 per cent of people are graduating and sticking with it. Some of these numbers are people doing course after course to find one they get, but they're not getting through it. This is what matters. The detail matters. They don't get the policy work of it. They get the politics. They can spin. They've got great software and a great team on sentiment analysis. They can spam you all they want through your social media and put up the messages that you want to hear. But Australians know they are no better off. Australians see $77 billion worth of new taxes and know it's not a tax cut. Australians aren't stupid.

More to the point, they sit there and complain about votes going to One Nation, but they don't see their own part in it. When you treat the people as stupid, when you treat them as not worthy of trust, they look for other solutions. It is not on the people in One Nation why people are going there; it's because of acts like this in the government. So I say: get back to doing better on the ground. Be honest with your policies. Come here with tax bills and things that are fit for purpose. We're running this through. You had new amendments we hadn't even seen until today, and we're hearing there are new amendments coming down the track. It is not good enough.

We all know why you tax things. Why do we tax smoking? To stop people doing it. Why do we tax all sorts of things? To stop people doing them. Why do we have a carbon tax? To stop people doing it. Why are we taxing capital gains? Because you guys don't like it. You tax things to make less of it happen—less profit, less money, less Australia.

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

After the contributions we've had, the actually terrible quality of the questions that were asked of the government today and these hyperbolic, hyperventilating responses, we really just need to pull it back and get some facts on the table.

I grew up in Australia where you worked hard and you paid your fair share of taxes, and whether you were in a small business, a large business or whether you're a worker, we were all in it together. I actually think Australians still believe it's good to get a tax cut. The legislation that has gone through today is going to deliver a tax cut for over 13 million people who are working in our country. Whether they're in a small business, a big business or getting their first job—it doesn't matter—13.3 million of us are getting a tax cut. Yet you heard these fear and alarm contributions from the opposition, who went to the last election wanting to tax Australians more. So it's hard to hear anything they say as authentic and genuine.

The other thing is that I was a teacher before I came into this place, and I lectured a whole lot of teachers who went out to teach the future of our nation. Some of them had come to university through TAFE themselves. People getting proper training makes a big difference to what happens in our country. Even amongst those students who got to me uni—across the course of my teaching time, I saw a lot of people who had a lot of trouble trying to manage paperwork. It's not their priority. They just want to go to work, do their job and pay their tax. When tax time comes around, they don't want to ask for anything more than they deserve; they just want a fair go. I'm thinking about lots of kids who had very messy homework, if it came in. Those people are going to get $1,000 as an instant tax deduction. They don't have to have the shoebox. They don't have to pull the bits and pieces of paper together. They don't have to have it on some app that you pay for. They're going to get a $1,000 instant tax deduction. That's it. We legislated today for that. Yet from the bleating, the moaning, the fear, the alarm, the drama—there's drama everywhere you look in terms of the Liberal-National coalition—you'd think that people had their throats slit today. The reality is a $1,000 tax cut, an instant tax deduction, for every Australian. That's what's going to happen as a consequence of this. They're just two of the items that are coming through.

I know as a Labor politician we have such a long way to go to really fulfil the promise of Australia and people who want a fair go, but we're committed to that task. Some of the measures in this budget will let us move to that $47 billion home investment for Australia. So far, we've helped over 260,000 ordinary, decent, hardworking Australians into their first homes with a five per cent deposit. All we get is no and no and negativity from the opposition and their partners, who sit and want to plan some sort of dastardly future for the country. I think it's great that 260,000 families have a roof over their head tonight because of Labor policy. This is another great achievement today in tax reform for the Australian people—binding us together, not pulling us apart.

Leah Blyth (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence Infrastructure) | Link to this | Hansard source

What an extraordinary contribution we've had from Labor senators during this take note session. Let's talk about the difference that Labor has made to Australia in what feels like very, very long years, particularly if you're a young person, if you own a small business or if you're a family just trying to make ends meet. We've seen productivity stall. For the first time, we are seeing living standards go backwards in this country. That's not something that, if I were in government, I would be proud of. We are seeing inflation running out of control. We're seeing interest rates continually climbing, and there seems to be no end in sight. Australians were promised $275 back on their electricity bills, and we're still yet to see that delivered—another broken Labor promise, another Labor lie.

Labor seems to be quite obsessed with partnerships that exist within this chamber and within the parliament. The partnership that exists here is between Labor and the Greens. Labor and the Greens have got together and rammed through what is probably one of the most disastrous budgets that Australia has ever seen. They've partnered up, they've got together, and they've basically stuck their middle finger up to everyday Australians who are working hard out there. It's important to remember that the government does not produce any revenue. There is no revenue that the government produces. The revenue it collects is from hardworking Australians. Every dollar the government takes in tax, an Australian has to earn first. Think about that. This government is going to grab $77 billion more from hardworking Australians—and they cheered when that legislation just passed. They cheered for the $77 billion more that they are going to take from hardworking Australians. That's not something that deserves to be cheered. That is such a shame. It is a shame for our economy. It is a shame for the state of our national debt, which is hurtling towards $1.25 trillion.

Twenty years ago, Australia had zero debt. We had zero debt as a nation. We were in a strong economic position where we could withstand global shocks. We could withstand things like the global financial crisis. The situation that we're in today under Labor and the budget that they have just passed—that they have just celebrated passing with the Greens—means that Australia is not in a strong position for global shocks. It means that, when things like the Strait of Hormuz are closed, it has devastating impacts here, a long way away from where that conflict is. We are in no position to be able to withstand and continue to prosper as a nation, and that makes me incredibly sad. I've got young adult children who just want to get out there and buy their first home, and this government has just passed a budget that is going to deliver 35,000 fewer homes, and they've done that with the Greens. They're going to deliver 35,000 fewer homes, on their own targets, yet they want to sit here and lecture us and say they're doing everything they can for young Australians.

This is a terrible budget. It is a war on young people; it is a war on older people, who have done the right thing and saved and put their money into super; and it is a war on anyone who owns a small business and anyone who wants to start a business here in this country. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.