Senate — 23 June 2026

The Senate sitting of 23 June 2026 was dominated by the government's tax reform package — the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 and the Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 — which drew sustained attack from across the crossbench and generated the most contentious exchanges of the day. The legislation, which removes the 50 percent capital gains tax discount and restricts negative gearing to newly built homes, passed through a chamber divided sharply on its merits.

Opposition senators characterised the package as a broken election promise and a "dirty deal" with the Greens. Senator Matt O'Sullivan stated that the Prime Minister had repeated "there will be no changes" more than fifty times before the election, and he apologised to Australians for what he called the "broken promise" [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s087]. Senator Maria Kovacic declared flatly: "We oppose Labor's capital gains tax changes, and we oppose Labor's changes to negative gearing" [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s086].

The Nationals' Senator Cadell and One Nation's Senator Hanson both described the overall budget measure as a "$77 billion tax grab". Senator Andrew Bragg warned the legislation would drive capital offshore, harm mining exploration and usher in a "quasi-socialist era", while Senator Jessica Collins condemned the deal as a tax on aspiration, small businesses and renters.

The Greens' position was more nuanced. Senator Nick McKim argued that the CGT discount disproportionately benefits the wealthiest one percent and supported the Greens' amendments. Senator Barbara Pocock praised the amendment curbing self-managed superannuation fund borrowing and restricting the Treasurer's discretionary power to expand the discount, but said the reforms did not go far enough.

That partial Greens support gave the government the numbers it needed, which the opposition repeatedly characterised as a political transaction.

In question time, Leader of the Government in the Senate Senator Penny Wong defended the same package, telling the chamber that 98 percent of active small businesses will receive concessional CGT treatment under the reforms [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s130], and framed the government's broader tax agenda as pro-worker, pro-home-buyer and pro-investment. Wong also defended the domestic gas reservation scheme against Greens senators who demanded a 25 percent export levy, arguing the scheme serves Australian workers, businesses and households.

The two lines of attack — from the right on broken promises, from the Greens on insufficient ambition — were simultaneously active throughout the day, giving the government a two-front argument to manage.

The day's second major contested policy was Snowy Hydro 2.0. Senators from One Nation and the Greens interrogated the project's viability, and Minister for Finance Senator Katy Gallagher confirmed the projected cost has risen to approximately $12 billion, that the project is more than half complete, and that a formal cost reassessment is due in July [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s151].

The Opposition simultaneously moved procedural motions requiring the Minister for Climate Change and Energy to table all submissions, briefings and correspondence on Snowy Hydro, the carbon-leakage review and the Cheaper Home Batteries Program by 1 July 2026 [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s050], adding a transparency dimension to the cost scrutiny.

Independent Senator David Pocock raised a distinct AI and copyright question during question time, asking Minister for Industry and Innovation Tim Ayres whether the government would allow carve-outs for data-centre investors [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s117]. Ayres affirmed that copyright protections will not be undermined and stressed sovereign technology capability as a national priority.

This exchange connects to a broader government framing of technology sovereignty, with Ayres also using Senators' Statements to announce an additional $387.4 million for CSIRO research and additional funding for the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness to address the H5N1 bird flu threat [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s019]. Pocock separately warned in Senators' Statements that H5N1 has reached the Australian mainland and urged a $200 million two-year investment to protect wildlife and poultry farms [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s023].

In committee business, the Greens secured a procedural suspension to fast-track an additional eight-week inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026, with Senator Jordon Steele-John moving for the Community Affairs Legislation Committee to table an interim report on 23 June 2026 and a final report by 14 August 2026.

Senator Wendy Askew separately moved to refer Reserve Bank information system vulnerabilities to the Economics References Committee for a report by 30 October 2026. Senator Penny Allman-Payne presented the Community Affairs References Committee report on the transition from the Commonwealth Home Support Program to the Support at Home program, outlining committee concerns about timing, funding adequacy and service delivery in thin markets [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s078].

That report sits alongside a private member's bill Senator Askew introduced — the Aged Care Amendment (Restoring Human Override for Aged Care Needs Assessments) Bill 2026 — which argues that algorithmic decisions via the Integrated Assessment Tool are overriding professional clinical judgment, citing rising review requests and criticism from geriatric medicine specialists and the Commonwealth Ombudsman [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s048].

Labor senators used Senators' Statements and question time to promote the government's health and housing credentials. Labor highlighted the expansion of Medicare urgent-care clinics to 137 sites and a bulk-billing rate of 81.9 percent, citing an $8.5 billion investment. Senator Dorinda Cox cited the $47 billion Homes for Australia plan and the 5 percent deposit scheme for first-home buyers.

Senator Dean Smith countered that the Western Australian Premier and Treasurer had travelled to Canberra to protest the federal budget, warning of stalled mining projects without resource investment. In the adjournment, senators widened the range of issues further: Senator David Shoebridge detailed the Privacy Commissioner's finding that American Express had breached customer privacy through systemic data-logging failures [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s093]; Senator Peter Whish-Wilson warned of a foreign-origin disinformation campaign using AI-generated deepfake videos to amplify One Nation content, urging an independent investigation [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s096]; and Senator Steph Hodgins-May linked Gina Rinehart's support for One Nation to coordinated attacks on climate policy [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s090].

Senator Helen Polley called for trade and export support for Tasmanian manufacturers facing US tariffs and rising input costs. Senator Lisa Darmanin presented seven legislation committee reports on the 2026-27 budget estimates, completing the formal scrutiny record for the sitting week [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s073]. The Opposition used the procedural segment to file a series of orders to produce, demanding Treasury modelling on CGT and negative-gearing impacts, the government's housing supply response and Snowy Hydro documentation — all with tight deadlines of 25-30 June 2026 [TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s054 TA-260623-senate-0d6febb35e23:s055].