Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026, Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026

Mr GEE (Calare) (21:20): I second the amendment, and, if I may, I'd like to add a few brief words to this debate in the House tonight. I'll be opposing this legislation which upends the existing taxation regime. You're talking about sweeping changes here to capital gains tax, including trusts, negative gearing et cetera.

Now, the fundamental issue here is that if the government wanted to bring these changes into the tax system, it should have had the courage of its convictions and put these measures to the Australian people at a general election, and it chose not to do that. That's what people hate about politics and politicians, and it's why people are losing faith in political parties and governments because they say one thing before an election and do something totally different after an election.

I think people just want their politicians to be upfront and honest with them. This is no way to bring in these changes. They should have been put fairly and squarely before the Australian people, and we should have had an open and honest debate about it.

The government should have sought and received a mandate, but instead they chose not to do that, and it is very disappointing that the government has acted in this way. These are sweeping changes. The government says that these changes are designed to assist young people, but there are many penalties for young people in this legislation.

The changes on capital gains tax, for example, for crypto investments, the share market, exchange traded funds, microinvesting—all of these vehicles are used by younger Australians to get ahead. They're used as a means of getting a foothold on the property ladder. But they're going to be hit by this, and they're not even going to have the same investment opportunities for property that older Australians have had.

I think that these changes have been poorly received by all age groups really, and it's not difficult to see why. I just don't understand why the government has not been able to explain the rationale for these measures. If it was designed to help just young people, why is it penalising young people?

This is one of the fundamental issues with this legislation. Again, I say to the government: you really needed to have a proper conversation with the Australian people. It's a huge issue for everyone—all Australians, younger Australians and older Australians—and that's why there is real confusion and also real anger out there.

Many people in the business community, as the member for Fowler has just pointed out, are going to be hit by this tax. We often stand up in this place and laud businesspeople and the burdens that they carry, in particular small-business people, the sector that employs, what, 5½ million Australians. We say that our small businesses are the engine room of the economy and isn't it great that they are employing people and doing such a great job in doing the heavy lifting in our economy that is under so much strain at the moment.

But you can see why our business people are upset, angry and confused by these measures. A lot of them are going to say: 'Well, what is the point of it all? Why should I go through all of that pain and sacrifice if, at the end of the day, the government's going to take up to 47 per cent of what I make from my business?' These are the Australians who are taking risks.

They are building something. They are the ones who are lying awake at night wondering if they are going to be paid so that they, in turn, can pay someone else. It is a massive undertaking.

The sacrifice is enormous, the stress is often enormous, and the costs and red tape that they have to deal with are also enormous. And now they are worried that—at the end of the day, when it comes time to sell and finally get some return after what is often years and years of sacrifice, hard work and not taking anything out of a business—the government's going to take just under half of what they've made.

If we want this country to be productive, if we want to encourage enterprise, then we have to give business people some incentive. You've got to make it worth their while. You've got to have people prepared to take risk, to show initiative and to follow their dreams.

So let's support them. Let's give them some tax measures that actually help and support what they're doing rather than penalise what they're doing. We've heard it said that this is a tax on aspiration, and in many ways it is.

It doesn't encourage aspiration, enterprise or risk; it discourages them. Why would you want to go through all of the pain of employing people and borrowing money, all of the stress that that involves, if, at the end of the day, the government's just going to take a huge cut. These issues aren't going to go away for the government.

I would urge the government to rethink what these tax changes are doing to the younger Australians and the older Australians who are being hit by this, and to rethink what these tax changes are doing to the economy generally. We are under a lot of pressure at the moment on many different levels including the fuel crisis, the fertiliser crisis that we're facing at the moment and cost-of-living pressures.

The economy is not heading in the right direction, and I think there's going to be a high price to pay for these changes for the government. So I would urge them to rethink these laws while they still can—they haven't been passed yet. We would urge the government to change course on this and heed the messages coming out of the Australian community.

I know, from reading the media, these concerns are resonating through the government backbenches, and people are worried about it. People are worried about property prices. There's very mixed messaging coming from the government at the moment.

Do you support house prices going up, or do you want them to go down? What is the point of these changes, in terms of hitting young people as well? The answers aren't being clearly enunciated.

If you're having trouble explaining your own policy, then that probably tells you that there are fundamental issues here. Having voiced those concerns about these changes, I can only say that, in terms of this legislation, it's going to be a no from me. I would encourage and urge the government to change course on these changes and this legislation while there is still time for it to do so.

Heed the warnings that are being issued by your own backbench and by the wider Australian community. Change course. Encourage and reward enterprise and aspiration; do not penalise it.