Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 2) Bill 2026

Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Women, Minister for Government Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (10:05): I thank senators who have contributed to the debate this morning. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 2) Bill 2026 is a good bill to get done and have passing the Senate this week, and we're very pleased to have been able to facilitate the passage of this legislation.

It is one of those rare moments when the Senate comes together and is able to deal with an issue like this—or a number of issues, actually, that are contained in this bill. As others have commented on through the debate this morning, this was a series of amendments that we were consulting on which were due to be reported on 21 August. It is unusual tax law reform and, as we said from the beginning of this process, we will be dealing with subsequent pieces of legislation in tranches—and that is exactly how Treasury has gone about this work.

But, with the agreement of the Senate to do something quickly, which is quite unlike the Senate in most instances, the government is very happy to have taken the opportunity presented to make sure that we can deal with this bill this session. I would like to thank not only those who have contributed in this debate but also the Treasurer and his team and the Treasury officials who ensured that the TLAB 2 bill arrived in this Senate on time and that we were able to deal not just with the amendment that people have focused on today but also other elements of the bill.

That is a great outcome because this continues to progress the tax reforms that we included in our budget. I know there's a lot of concentration on one element, but there are also all of the other elements, including around the instant asset write-off, the loss carry-back and all of those measures that form part of a much bigger and much more ambitious tax reform agenda than any recent government has put forward.

It is also a budget that seeks to balance a whole range of reforms, many of which haven't had much analysis post-budget. There has been a lot of focus, obviously, on capital gains tax and negative gearing—and I'm sure we'll continue to discuss trusts as well as the legislation around trusts progresses—but other elements of the tax reform measures haven't had the scrutiny that those elements have.

In fact, we were very pleased that the Senate Economics Legislation Committee had already reported and provided some recommendations, one of which we were able to pick up from the coalition—recommendation 4—which was to amend to deal with the issue around transfer of ownership in certain situations, and that has been able to be dealt with in this bill. I thank those who have contributed to this debate.

I welcome the passage of this, and I know the Treasurer and the PM also welcome the passage of this bill. It's another step forward in delivering on comprehensive tax reform work that was included in the budget in May. There will be further legislation to come, and I can only dream and hope that it passes the Senate as smoothly as this bill is passing the Senate this morning.

Perhaps we can deliver that, and I will be one very happy repping minister in this chamber.