MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Mr LAXALE (Bennelong) (15:50): I wish I could make this MPI today make sense, because, on the very same day that the government has announced that the parliament will pass legislation which will deliver tax cuts for every worker, a fairer tax system for first home buyers and $3½ billion in new tax arrangements for small businesses and announced that we will extend the capital gains tax exemptions for each and every small business in the country—despite all that and despite that we announced all of this just this morning, we are sitting here listening to this absolute rubbish from those opposite, opposing each and every one of those changes.
But should we really be surprised? This has been their modus operandi for four years now since the Liberals and Nationals were voted out of office. Now they've got a new friend under their blue, green and orange umbrella, joining them to vote against tax cuts, to vote against support for small business, to vote against tax reform which will help 75,000 Australians buy their first home.
They are teaming up, the three right wing parties, to ensure that Aussie workers don't get the tax cuts that they deserve, and they're teaming up to say: 'Look, everything's fine in the way our system works. Everything's fine when young people are locked out of the housing market for a generation.' They do not want to change a thing. Well, we're not like them, so let's set the record straight.
Labor knows that Australians are facing real cost-of-living pressures. We know that this has been a challenge not only here in Australia but for people right across the world. Instead of fanning the flames of division, on this side we are working with Australian workers and with industry to change things for the better, particularly for young people.
We're doing this by delivering yet another round of permanent tax relief with the $250 working Australians tax offset. On top of this, we're introducing a brand new $1,000 instant tax deduction, which will help people save around $200 to $300 on their tax bill each and every year. If you add that up, over the four years since we've come to office, we have cut income taxes in many different ways.
On average, that's nearly $2,800 back in the pockets of someone on average income by the time they're all done in 2028, and each and every tax cut we've brought to this place and into the Senate the Liberals and Nationals have voted against. Let's not forget that they went to the last election saying that they were going to increase taxes. We're here today saying that we're going to reduce taxes for Australian workers.
Contrast their position on increasing taxes with what we've announced, which will pass the parliament this week. Our budget will make it easier for people to own their first home. It will help level the playing field and better align the tax treatment on income from work to income earned from other very legitimate ways.
And we will improve productivity by encouraging innovation and investment, particularly for small business. Now, I want to say here that I came out early and said publicly that we needed to get our consultation with small businesses right. Despite from the crows of those opposite, we've landed that consultation, and I'm proud to stand here and back them in, because, on top of the four existing concessions that were kept for small business and conveniently ignored by those opposite, we'll also extend the eligibility of the 50 per cent active asset reduction to more businesses by vastly increasing that threshold.
It's sat at $2 million since about 2007. It hasn't been changed by successive government, including those opposite. It has taken a Labor government to listen to small business, to listen to COSBOA and to listen to members of our Labor caucus and come up with a concession of increasing that $2 million threshold to $10 million.
That means that every active small business in the country will have that CGT exemption, and they should. This is a budget that is pro worker, pro aspiration and pro investment and that reduces tax cuts for every Australian.