STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Ms PRICE (Durack) (13:39): As Labor rammed their toxic taxes through parliament last week, we learnt of their secret widow tax. Labor have not only attacked young people, senior Australians, small-business owners, farmers and investors in their budget, but, now, have gone after the widows. Is there anyone Labor does not see as a tax opportunity?

It was only after this widow tax was identified that the government admitted that they had a problem and that they would fix it later. Why later? Why not now?

We've seen this movie before, sadly—a promise from a Labor government that cannot be trusted just for that promise to be broken and for more Australians to be worse off. Labor wants to fix the widows tax later in the year, but that is not the right thing to do. The right thing to do is to fix it now, which is why the coalition is putting forward amendments to end Labor's cynical tax.

This provides a great challenge for the government, for those sitting opposite. If they vote against these amendments, their promise would be exposed for what it is—yet another Labor mistruth. What should we do?

Let's help the widows urgently. I don't mind telling you, Madam Deputy Speaker Claydon, that I've been in this exact position myself. The last thing widows in Australia need is for their lives to be more complicated when they are at their most vulnerable.

Labor, do better and act now.