MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Dr WEBSTER (Mallee) (15:45): The MPI today is the economic harm caused by the government's plan for higher taxes. While we hear members opposite saying, 'No, we're lowering taxes,' how can you increase the tax pool by $77 billion and actually lower taxes? That does not compute.
I'm not really a mathematician, but that honestly does not work. I want to give you a tale of two Peters in my electorate, one from Swan Hill and one from Horsham. I note the Minister for Education is sitting here, and I know he likes stories about people.
Peter from Swan Hill is a self-funded retiree. He wrote to me. He said: 'Thank you for the opportunity to express the extreme frustration self-funded retirees face with this overwhelming and abject failure of a budget.
We have paid taxes all our lives, and now there is no reward or incentive to fund our own retirement. Why are self-funded retirees being slugged, slapped around the face, when they are not any sort of burden on the taxpayer? We self-funded retirees do not get any assistance from the Commonwealth government or any other agencies in return for actually assisting the government of the day through our sacrifice of saving money for the country.
The Labor government has more than doubled down on self-funded retirees by attacking us on trusts and CGT. Self-funded retirees, mind you, are not getting any younger and would greatly appreciate, for example, assistance on PBS scripts, lessening the CGT, trust funds being untouched and doctor's consultations.' And so Peter from Swan Hill goes on. Then I have Peter from Horsham.
These are both towns in my electorate. He is also a self-funded retiree. He asks: if he earns a modest income through work and accesses the tax-free threshold up to $18,200, but Labor says that if he earns less than the threshold through modest share investments he will pay a minimum 30 per cent on what he earns, even if it's just $100, how is that fair?
That is what Peter asks. These are two self-funded retirees who are wondering what is going on. In my mind, as I've heard the Labor government, the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and other ministers rave about how fabulous the budget is and how much better off people are, particularly young people, the reality is that the Labor government itself has become an aspiration drainpipe.
It is incredibly damaging to people. I just briefly want to mention Vince. I spoke about Vince yesterday.
Vince is 19 years old. He lives in Stawell in my electorate. I met up with Vince last week.
He wrote me an email, and the reason I wanted to meet him face to face was because I couldn't believe how much sense he had. He has come from a foster home. He got his first job at 14 years old.
He is now putting himself through university, which again the Minister for Education would be very pleased to know, doing law and commerce. He's working in a timber yard to get himself through. This is a young man with incredible aspiration.
He's a young man who is determined to make his way. He has been putting some money away in shares, hoping that in 10 to 15 years time he might be able to have a deposit for his own home, which is something that I believe would be incredibly important to Vince. What has this government done?
Well, they've ripped the heart out of every one of Vince's friends who is in the same boat. They have been squirrelling away. Some share funding to buy into shares so they could get a deposit, be independent and actually look after themselves, not rely on the government.
I would have thought that this government would have been very proud of these young men, but instead they're being slapped around the head just like self-funded retirees Peter from Horsham and Peter from Swan Hill. This is an absolutely shameful budget, and it is dragging another $77 billion out of taxpayers' pockets.