QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Senator AYRES (New South Wales—Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science) (14:30): In relation to tax policy and the government's fiscal settings, I'm sure that you'll be waiting, as all of us will be, for announcements that the government makes in the budget in the normal way. But our approach on these issues hasn't changed. Our focus is on delivering tax cuts for every taxpayer.
The Treasurer, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Housing have acknowledged that there are intergenerational issues in housing and tax, and we've got a big agenda to deal with those issues. Intergenerational equity was, indeed, one of the big reasons behind our tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer—tax cuts that the Liberals and Nationals said, when they went with their big-taxing approach to the last election, they would reverse.
That was the position of the Liberal and National parties on intergenerational equity. They wanted to lift taxes for working Australians and lift taxes for ordinary Australians. That was Mr Taylor's proposition, that was Senator Canavan's proposition, to lift taxes for— The PRESIDENT: Senator Pocock?
Senator Barbara Pocock: I have a point of order on relevance. I made no inquiry about what the opposition were up to. I was asking about your policy.
The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Pocock. I will direct the minister back to your question. Senator AYRES: I will just say that the Labor Party is the only party in this place that's capable of delivering a fairer, simpler and more sustainable tax system that deals with those issues that you have included in your question.
Our approach on housing more broadly is, as you know, squarely focused on the questions and challenges of supply—that is the question of making sure that the private market and the Australian government's investments, through the housing affordability future fund and the raft of other measures that we've undertaken are directed towards building more houses. (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Pocock, first supplementary?