STATEMENTS BY SENATORS
Senator ROBERTS (Queensland) (13:42): Last month, the Australia Institute stated that big government serves the interests of everyday Australians and small government only serves the rich. The point was to attack as 'neoliberal' policies that One Nation is promoting. It fails to understand One Nation's central belief that an economy run for the benefit of the people will grow wealth and abundance for all, reducing the need for government support as people take care of themselves.
It fails to understand that it's not the size of government but what government does that counts. The Australia Institute advocates an inheritance tax to target, in their words, 'the untaxed compounding of intergenerational wealth'. One Nation calls that wealth that parents build up during a lifetime of hard work 'people getting ahead'.
That's what it is. It's what parents do: work hard and pass the benefit to their children. The political left hate people becoming self-sufficient, because economic resilience removes subservience to government.
The fundamental difference between One Nation and Labor-Greens socialism is economic independence. Small business is in the Australia Institute's sights, with a proposed two per cent wealth tax on assets over $5 million. Not income—assets.
The losers from this include farmers, truckers, restaurants, fishers, fast food franchisees and childcare workers. These Australians are asset rich and income poor. Paying a $100,000 annual tax would force them out of business.
One Nation rejects a wealth tax and an inheritance tax. The Albanese Labor government listened to the Australia Institute when they advocated recent capital gains tax changes. The Treasurer needs to stop pushing socialism.
Founded on ideology not economics, these changes have caused a housing price crash, wiping billions from our national estate and placing many young Australians who used the five per cent deposit scheme in negative equity. Thanks, Treasurer. Now please stop helping.
Enough! Bring on the next election so that One Nation can slay the socialist dragon. (Time expired)