Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much—where the glorious optimism of the Sydney Harbour front triumphs over the reality of the rest of Australia. As the columnist, Rita Panahi, said:

[The Prime Minister] proves the adage that if you're short on substance, then compensate with plenty of style.

Listen to his speech about the desperate need to update Australia's taxation system and you may be impressed by broad motherhood statements about ''fairness" and "incentivisation" but you will be clueless about how he intends to reform the system.

We on this side of the House want some clarity, some certainty, for Australians. As the member for Jagajaga said during question time, the government is desperately shying away from that. That is why we asked the government if it could rule out a 15 per cent GST on things like fresh food and child care, but the government has refused to give that commitment. We asked the government if it could rule out a 15 per cent GST on aged care and services, but the Prime Minister refused. This is at a time when the Prime Minister wants to spend—while the finance minister wants to save money—$158 million on a useless plebiscite on marriage equality which the Prime Minister, the member for Wentworth, himself had previously derided. It is worth considering what else $158 million could buy—$158 million could pay for 10,000 age pensions for an entire year. More than this, the government is looking to punish grandparents who look after their grandkids. These grandparents are facing cuts to family tax benefit B for kids over 13 and losing family tax benefit B entirely for kids over 16.

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