PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Mr KENNEDY (Cook) (10:32): I move: That this House: (1) condemns the Government for using sneaky and dishonest tactics to impose higher taxes on Australians, including new and increased taxes that make it harder for families, workers and small businesses to get ahead; (2) notes the Government's higher tax agenda is punishing aspiration, making it more difficult for Australians to build a business, invest, buy a home, save for retirement or create jobs; (3) calls out the Government for picking winners and losers in the economy, choosing which businesses are allowed to grow and pursue aspiration while making others carry the burden of higher taxes, more red tape and rising costs; (4) recognises the Opposition's tax plan is focused on lower, simpler and fairer taxes, rewarding hard work, backing small and family businesses, encouraging investment and helping Australians keep more of what they earn; and (5) calls on the Government to remove its harmful new taxes, abandon its higher tax agenda and deliver genuine tax relief that supports aspiration, enterprise and economic growth.
The PM is very proud of his record achievements. He's very proud of his 94 seats, and, to give him credit, he is not wasting it. He's using that 94-seat majority to do exactly what he believes.
He has taken this 94-seat majority and used it to usher in the highest taxing budget of all time. Income has never been taxed more as a percentage of GDP than with the Albanese government now. The only time it will be taxed more than now is next year, and the only time more than next year is the year after that.
That is because of Labor's sneaky bracket creep tax. Every year, they increase taxes on young Australians and on all hardworking Australians working harder for longer. Why are they doing this?
It's because he is chairing the highest spending government of the last 40 years outside of the pandemic. Australians are working harder than ever, but, under this government, they're being punished for it. The more they work, the more they are taxed, and not just in absolute terms but in percentage terms.
The more that you work, the more you've been taxed. This younger generation will never be taxed more than they will this year by any government in Australia's history, far more than me or any other member in this House. Young Australians watching this will be taxed more than any of us ever have been.
And it's not just young Australians; it's families. Families are now paying more for groceries, more for electricity, more for insurance, more for rent and more on their mortgages. How much more are families being asked to take before it breaks them?
Small businesses are being hit with higher costs and more red tape, and of course they have weaker confidence. Westpac handed down its lowest consumer sentiment results ever. That is where Australians' confidence is.
They're shattered. They don't know what is going to happen to them, their families and this economy under this Labor government. Young Australians are openly wondering whether the dream of owning a home, building wealth or starting a business is dropping out of their reach.
At this very moment, Australians are asking for relief. I had a constituent last week begging me, 'Please, please, please force this government to take these changes to an election.' Well, unfortunately, we've failed at that and, at this very moment when people are begging for relief, this government is reaching into their pockets and taking more money out. This motion condemns a government that's used sneaky and dishonest tactics to impose higher taxes on Australians.
They've teamed up with those great economic architects the Greens to usher in these regressive socialist policies. We're calling out a tax agenda that is punishing aspiration. We want to make it simple.
We want to make taxes far simpler. Unfortunately, the only thing simple right now is the point that Australia will not grow stronger by taxing people harder. One of my constituents recently wrote to me, and she said: 'I've been around long enough to see several Labor governments come and go, and the story is always the same.
They spend like drunken sailors and, when the money runs out, they squeeze taxpayers under some pretence to try and balance the books. They break promises and blame everything and anyone apart from acknowledging their own incompetence in creating the financial mess the country is in.' She went on to say, 'Voters don't like being lied to or heavily taxed as a consequence of Labor's financial incompetence.' This is an email I received in the last few weeks, and the frustration is being felt not just in Cook but across the country.
And you know who isn't getting a carve-out from these taxes? It is young Australians saving for deposits with ETFs, young Australians buying crypto or workers who are paying income tax. They can't afford the lobbyists that the tech companies and the others are shopping in and out of the Prime Minister's office to get their targets.
Who is getting an exemption? It is foreign investors, tech companies, Harry Triguboff and the new builders. Businesses using trusts are no longer getting exemptions either.
Family businesses. These hardworking Australians are being left exposed while this government gives carve-outs for super funds, tech businesses and anyone who can afford a high-paid lobbyist. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Buchholz ): Is the motion seconded?
Mr Caldwell: I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.