Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Newcastle for her question. Today we have seen the first instalment of the Liberal Party’s smash-and-grab raid on the government’s surplus in the Senate after bungling it yesterday. That first instalment is highly symbolic, because the Liberal Party are seeking to relieve the tax burden on the purchases of Porsches, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and other such vital modes of transport for ordinary working people. At the same time as they are seeking to relieve the tax burden for purchases of such vehicles, they are also seeking to keep the tax burden for middle-income working families arising from the Medicare levy surcharge—something in the vicinity of $1,000 plus, which the government is seeking to remove and they are seeking to retain. In effect, their message to these working families in that middle- to upper middle-income bracket is: ‘Don’t worry; it’s okay. We will allow you to get a tax break on your next Ferrari or your next Lamborghini.’ While they will still have to suffer the Medicare levy surcharge, if they are out buying a Lamborghini, a Ferrari or a Rolls-Royce they will be okay.

It is interesting that the member for Hume today had the gall to ask a question about battlers selling cars on the side of the road. It appears to me to be rather odd that the policy response from the Liberal Party on the cost-of-living challenges facing working people—the first big policy position they put forward in this parliament—is to cut the taxes on luxury cars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

See this speech in context