Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026, Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026
Ms PRICE (Durack) (21:27): I rise this evening to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 and the Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026. It is in these pieces of legislation that Labor squarely attacks regional West Australians, small businesses, small-business owners, farmers, and younger and older residents. The coalition absolutely opposes the adjustments to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing contained within these bills.
These pieces of legislation mark the end of aspiration in Australia and trust in government. Not one Australian voted for Labor's toxic taxes at the last election. Prior to the last election, the Prime Minister told us in his own words more than 50 times that there would be no change to capital gains tax or negative gearing.
Is there anything this Labor government is not taxing? There is a death tax, a tax on family savings and a tax on renters. There is a tax on first home buyers and young Australians just trying to get ahead.
That's on top of taxes on small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs—truly unforgivable. The coalition has consistently said that if you tax something more, you get less of it. But don't trust me—Labor's own budget papers say that there will be 35,000 fewer homes delivered because of these new taxes.
The Commonwealth Bank's chief economist says that these changes will raise government revenue but will not build more homes. How can Labor claim that this budget is about young Australians when all it delivers is a lower supply of houses, higher prices, higher rents and higher taxes on their deposit and investments? That is not helping first home buyers.
That's kneecapping them. The Financial Services Council data confirms that aggressive investors, typically Australians aged around 35, will be the hardest hit by these capital gains tax changes—not the ultra wealthy, as our Prime Minister wants us to believe, just ambitious young Australians. Gen Z and millennials are investing more than three times the share of their income than baby boomers.
The government's response to this ambition: just tax it! We've heard all of the contributions here today. But, no matter how much spin we hear from the other side of the chamber—that this budget is all for young people, young Australians—the facts, in their own budget papers, and from experts right across the country, tell the true story: that this budget is about limiting opportunity, not about increasing opportunity.
Small businesses now have a new 47-per-cent co-owner: the Albanese government. The government has taken on none of the risks and it will not work one day in these businesses, but now it wants nearly half of the business at the time the business is sold. Why would any Australian now start a new business when the government acts as a silent partner from day one?
The young plumber or chippie or hairdresser or gym operator or yoga athlete—just trying to build wealth beyond a day-to-day income, and to get their business to a point of selling in the future—is now being cut down for just having a go. For many business owners, it's their retirement savings and their family legacy. And they're the first employer of many young people in our regional communities.
Everyday Australians must start somewhere, and often, particularly in regional seats like Durack, they start working in a small or a family business. Now Labor are trying to take that start away. Farmers—well, they're becoming Labor's No. 1 target.
Labor views farmers as their personal cash-grab. Labor bowed to the Greens and the inner-city voters in ending live export—and we all remember that and those dark days. They provided inadequate compensation—still ongoing, by the way—wrapped it in red tape, and watched as the industry tanked.
Now the future of WA's agricultural industry is at risk because of Labor's toxic taxes. The last thing our country needs—and I repeat: the last thing our country needs—is to make it harder for the next generation of farmers to stay on the land. We're talking about feeding our country—food, and fibre, for our country.
If hitting small business, farmers and young Australians wasn't bad enough, hidden away in the budget papers, hoping no-one would see it, was a 30 per cent death tax. The Prime Minister was asked in question time, in front of the Australian people, if he would rule out a death tax. He wouldn't rule it out, and now we know why—because it had already been announced; it was already hidden in the budget papers.
So you've got to ask yourself: how low can this Prime Minister go? Honestly! He fails to tell the truth to the Australian people during an election campaign; he attacks aspiration; and now he wants to insert himself into families' inheritance.
By the way, the Prime Minister was asked, only the other day in Canberra, whether the family home was going to be the next capital gains tax victim. Well, he refused to answer that question, so I'll leave it up to those listening, playing along at home, as to what they make of that. Why wouldn't he just count that out and say, 'Of course the family home is not going to be the next victim of capital gains tax'?
But I smell a rat. This budget is not intergenerational fairness, as those opposite would have us believe. It is causing intergenerational war, fuelling fights at the dinner table between generations about what will be left and what the government will pocket.
Older Australians—well, they can't escape the Prime Minister's cash grab. Labor will hit them with higher costs for private health insurance. Nearly a quarter of residents in Durack will be directly affected by these changes.
Regional Australians are already facing limited healthcare services, longer wait times and fewer specialist options. Yet Labor has shamefully prioritised politics over practical support, imposing increases of up to 21 per cent on essential healthcare cover for older Australians by reducing the tax rebate. The government has ignored a simple reality.
Older Australians rely on health care more frequently than younger Australians. At a stage of life when affordable and reliable access to health care matters most, Labor is forcing our older Australians—our senior Australians—to pay more. This is unforgivable.
Older Australians on fixed pensions are telling me it is becoming nearly impossible to keep their private health insurance while managing the rising cost of living. Many are being forced to choose between keeping their insurance and paying for essentials like heating and groceries. There is a consistent theme in this budget.
Labor simply does not care for Australians. They do not want you to get ahead. They do not want to support you.
They only want to cut you down and tax you more. For what? It's purely to help feed an overspending government that has been reckless with our economy.
The coalition supports the introduction of the working Australian tax offset and the $1,000 standard deduction for work related expenses. We support an annual offset of up to $250 for all Australians. But the coalition is more ambitious.
The coalition wants to give Australians a greater tax cut—one that is not wiped out by Christmas. We call on the Albanese government to agree to our proposed amendment. Why not?
You want to give Australians more of a tax cut. Here's a chance to show that you really do believe in tax cuts for all Australians. Under our tax-back guarantee, the coalition will index income tax thresholds to inflation so that Australians are not taxed simply because prices have gone up.
We believe that when you earn your money, risk your money and save your money, you should get to keep it. From 2028-29, a coalition government will index the bottom two income tax thresholds to inflation, delivering relief of around $250 in year 1, growing to $1,000 a year by year 4. Now that is generational tax reform.
A coalition government will repeal Labor's toxic taxes. The capital gains tax changes, negative gearing changes and the hidden death tax will all be gone. The more you tax, the less you get—less housing, less saving, less investment, less small business.
We will always back aspiration and reward for hard work, starting with the scrapping of these taxes. The coalition has always prioritised homeownership and wants to put it back at the centre of Australian values. We will restore common sense to migration and housing by only bringing in as many people as we can house.
A coalition government will cap net overseas migration each year based on how many new homes are completed. Never again will we have a migration program that brings in more people than what our housing can support. It simply doesn't make sense.
The coalition values the contribution of migrants. Of course we do. Everybody in this House values the contribution of migrants.
We've all come from somewhere else. But without a secure home to come to, it cannot be a great start to a life in Australia for new migrants. The key to getting more people into a home is more supply.
That is why we will establish a $5 billion housing infrastructure fund to unlock up to 400,000 homes, funding critical last-mile infrastructure such as water, sewerage, power and access to roads. The National Construction Code will be simplified, ending red tape, making it easier—not harder, easier—for building companies to build more homes and cutting the cost of a first home by up to $70,000.
The coalition will always back small businesses and startups. We see the value of small business and want to help small businesses grow, not stall. We will make the $50,000 instant asset write-off permanent for any business with a turnover of less than $10 million.
When a small business invests, it grows. And when a small business grows—well, Australia grows with it. The difference between the coalition and Labor is clear.
While Labor wants to move Australia away from being an ambitious nation, we want more ambition. We want young Australians to be able to get ahead, small businesses to grow and older Australians to have the support they need and deserve after a lifetime of hard work. We believe that, if you work hard, you should keep more of what you earn.
That is why we will repeal Labor's taxes and give all Australians a fair tax system. I thank the House.