STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr PASIN (Barker) (13:57): Australians all know Labor can't manage money and that's why they're coming after theirs. Through a rushed two-day inquiry on the bill, a new tax was discovered, the widow's tax, where a change of ownership as a result of death would mean losing the grandfathered exemptions to capital gains and negative gearing. Once the widow's tax was exposed, those opposite had the chance to remove it when passing the bill but, for some reason, they refused.

They knew the bill was defective and they passed it anyway. Maybe Labor is going full post-truth. Maybe Labor thinks these widows, most likely boomers, a class of individuals that those opposite have sought to demonise, deserve to be punished, and what better time than when they've lost a loved one?

Luckily, the coalition is ready to help fix Labor's mistake, if it was one, by drafting amendments to remove the tax. Labor faces a simple test this week. If they're serious about fixing the widows tax, they'll vote for the amendments.

If they vote no, then you really do have to ask yourself: has Australia ever had a more rotten, a more mean, a more nasty government, punishing widows at their time of grief? What other taxes will small business and families be saddled with that they don't know about—perhaps a tax on the family home, a tax, perhaps a tax on unrealised gains? How much money will be enough for those opposite?

To the Prime Minister: Australians deserve to know how you plan to punish them.