QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: TAKE NOTE OF ANSWERS

Senator COLLINS (New South Wales—Deputy Opposition Whip in the Senate) (15:03): I move: That the Senate take note of the answers given by ministers to questions without notice asked by Opposition senators today. First of all, I'm going to defend the honour of the coalition. I take absolute umbrage at the Foreign minister playing politics in the Pacific.

We did not abandon the Pacific. We set up the Pacific Step-up. We set up the AIFFP.

We set it up. We couldn't go in there because of COVID. You know that.

How dare you—through you, Deputy President—play politics on that? The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Collins, I will remind you it's answers to coalition questions. Senator COLLINS: I'm just about to move to that.

Thank you, Deputy President. We asked the government today about the Prime Minister saying this about the tax changes and his budget: What we are simply doing is returning the CGT system to what was there before 1999. We asked: … was there a 30 per cent minimum tax before 1999, and is there one now under your legislated higher taxes?

It would have been very easy, had the minister responsible said, 'Yes and yes,' but of course they didn't. We asked: …was there income averaging before 1999, and is there no income averaging now under your legislated higher taxes? Of course they couldn't answer any of that, because it's simply not the case.

They are not simply doing what was there in the CGT system before 1999. The Leader of the Government in the Senate this morning used a good word, I thought. There's a certain word that we can't use here in the chamber—a certain word starting with L—but we can use the word 'deceitful'.

I heard it used many times this morning by the Leader of the Government in the Senate. This is exactly what our prime minister has been to the Australian people: deceitful. They are not doing what was there before 1999.

This 30 per cent minimum tax to be imposed on the Australian people is a completely new feature introduced by Labor, and it will hit those on lower incomes because, unlike pre 1999, there will be no income averaging. We also asked, 'How many taxpayers on lower incomes under $45,000 will be hit by these higher taxes?' All we hear back from the government is that they're not introducing higher taxes; these are tax cuts.

I don't know if anybody has spent any time on social media recently, but the Australian people know the truth. They know this government is being deceitful—$77 billion of new taxes, to be frank. Even their budget documents showed that low-income earners will pay more tax. 'Jack's tax' is what they talked about.

Jack earns below $45,000, but he will pay thousands of dollars of tax due to the 30 per cent minimum tax rate. So, when the Prime Minister says to you that they are returning to a pre-1999 CGT system and when the government tells you that they're introducing tax cuts, don't believe their deceit. They are not telling you the truth.

They are taxing your risk-taking, they are taxing young people, they are taxing entrepreneurs and they're taxing your dreams. (Time expired)