Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2016 Measures No. 1) Bill 2016. It is late, and I am imbued with a sense of collective spirit, but I have to point out to the member for Fraser that, as good as the now opposition was to the agricultural sector, the agricultural sector will never forget what Labor did to the live export trade and what that meant all the way down in the south-east. The Prime Minister has spoken about this. He spoke about the shock to our industry, the cattle job as we know it, or the live export industry for cattle in particular in Australia. He said that it was not limited to those who were involved in the live export trade out of the north. And it was not, because I can tell you that cattle markets in my electorate could not be further away from that sector. They are at the southernmost part of Australia, and we felt the impact that week. That will never be forgotten.

Can I also say to the member for Fraser that he knows well that if you are to reduce the demand for existing house stock and take investors out of the market, that will have a deleterious effect on demand for existing house stock, which will inevitably put downward pressure on prices. That is a very bad thing for everyday Australians who invest in their own homes, their primary asset. They know it and I am sure he knows it. I am reliably informed that he is a former professor of economics. I know that he knows it well, and he cannot run away from that. But I am not here to be combative. I do enough of that from time to time, as those opposite have pointed out.

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