MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Senator NAMPIJINPA PRICE (Northern Territory) (18:13): Labor had a really simple test this week, a really simple opportunity to do the right thing, and that was to protect widows, to protect divorcees and to protect Australian families during some of the hardest moments in their lives. But they failed miserably. Instead, Labor voted for higher taxes.
That tells Australians everything they need to know about this government. They say they're the party of compassion and yet their actions tell a completely different story. They promised lower taxes but they delivered yet another tax grab.
They call it reform, but Australians know exactly what it is. It's another toxic tax, another broken promise. They're pretty good at those, too—over 50 times from our Prime Minister—because Labor can't manage money.
So they come after yours. Australians, they come after yours. They tax your work, they tax your savings, they tax your investment, and, of course, they tax aspiration.
When a husband loses his wife, Labor sees another tax bill. When a wife loses her husband, Labor sees another tax bill. When a marriage breaks down, Labor sees another opportunity for a tax bill.
These aren't loopholes; they are life events. There is nothing sophisticated about losing the person you love, and there is nothing aggressive about trying to settle a family estate. There's nothing unfair about wanting to pass on what you've worked hard for.
Australians shouldn't be treated like tax minimisers simply because of tragedy, and that has ended their lives. No Australian chooses to become a widow or widower. No Australian plans for their marriage to end.
These aren't tax avoidance schemes. They're moments of grief. They're moments of uncertainty, when families are trying to rebuild their lives.
Those are the moments when government should show compassion, not send another tax bill. Government should stand beside Australians in their darkest moments, not stand there with its hand out seeking money. Grief should never become a revenue stream.
That is why this tax is so profoundly callous. It punishes Australians who have already been dealt one of life's toughest hands. And why?
This government cannot control its own spending. It is hurtling towards $1 trillion in debt. Governments that run out of money always come after your money.
That is the story of this government. Every problem has the same answer: another tax, another excuse to punish Australians who have worked hard and another way for Labor to cover up its own failures. Today it's widows; tomorrow it will be family businesses.
One by one, Labor is coming after Australians who have done the right thing. The day after that—well, who knows, with the uncertainty and deceit? This is bigger than one bad law.
It is a pattern. It's a government that taxes work, that taxes savings, that taxes investment and that taxes aspiration. And, when it runs out of places to tax, it comes along and it taxes grief.
Labor says it will fix this later. Well, that's simply not good enough. Australians don't expect parliament to pass bad laws and promise to clean up afterwards.
They expect us to get it right before that law becomes law. That is the standard Australians deserve. If you know legislation hurts widows and divorcees, don't pass it.
You stop it. The legislation should never have been introduced. It should never have been passed.
It should never remain on the statute books. Labor taxes hardship. The coalition rewards hard work, and that's exactly what we'll do.
That's why we'll scrap Labor's toxic taxes and reward aspiration instead of punishing it—because no Australian should ever receive a tax bill simply because they've lost the person they love. No government should profit from grief. Labor has run out of places to tax, so now they're taxing misery.