STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS
Mr KENNEDY (Cook) (13:48): I'd just like to take this opportunity to let some of the members across the aisle understand the human face of some of the people this budget is hurting. Recently I heard from Andrew. Andrew is a young family man in my seat of Cook.
This is what he wrote: My name's Andrew and I'm writing to you for help … … … … My wife's a nurse and I'm a teacher … He says: Life has been hard for someone in his late 20s to try and build a future for my family, as with many other Australians. Inflation has made it difficult to keep up saving for a house, and my wife and I have been saving, investing, working hard to try and buy a home to call out own.
The hard part in the Labor government, without asking its citizens, has decided to change the capital gains tax discount, which means the investments we've worked so hard to build and risked so much money on will now only give us half the profit we would have, and is now dragging us further away from having a home to call our own. Please, please, please rectify this … He is begging.
Ms Plibersek: Did you correct him? Did you tell him the truth? Are you going to keep lying to him?
Mr KENNEDY: I did not correct him. The members on the other side might want Andrew to be corrected, but I'm here to stand up for Andrew. I'm not going to let the members on the other side shout across the aisle to me and tell me Andrew needs to be corrected.
Andrew's begging for me to rectify this, and I will work my guts out to axe these toxic taxes so we rectify it, and I will not correct Andrew— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): Member for Griffith. Honourable members interjecting— Mr Violi: It was an unparliamentary comment. I ask the member for Sydney to withdraw.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I did not hear any comment. Honourable members interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: When you want to correct a parliamentary procedure, stick by ones yourself too, okay? Is there a matter to be withdrawn?
Ms Plibersek: I withdraw. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you for pleasing the House.