STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Ms JARRETT (Brisbane) (13:40): Today is a great day for working Australians and for young people because we passed, in this House, not that long ago, our aspirational tax reform package. This tax package will go down in history as one of the biggest reforms for our nation. It sits along other great Labor legacies.

Why? Because it's always a Labor government that's prepared to make the big structural changes for the benefit of our country. Our reforms mean, starting from 1 July, every working Australian will receive a tax cut.

That's more money in the back pockets of every working Australian. Another significant reform in this package is the rebalancing of the tax system so it's fairer for everybody, especially young people. I talk to people across the Brisbane electorate, and they tell me that they're working hard, that it's tough to get ahead and that the system's not working for them, and they're right.

The status quo isn't working, especially when it comes to that big dream of owning your own home. When you work hard, when you save, you should be able to buy your own home. But, right now, first home buyers are being priced out by property investors, who have access to big tax breaks through negative gearing.

And then there's also capital gains. This can't go on. A whole generation is being left behind.

As leaders, we needed to do something. We needed to change a broken system, and that's why we're acting and why we're levelling the playing field for first home buyers. Those opposite want to keep Australians down, but on this side of the House we are doing everything we can to lift them up.