Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I had a whole speech prepared for this matter of public importance, but I'm going to ad-lib a little bit, so please stick with me. I think what we've just observed is that there is vociferous agreement that the need for broad tax reform is as clear as it is urgent, and I thank the member for Curtin for bringing this matter of public importance into the House. Having sat here and listened for over an hour now, what strikes me in this debate is that we need to agree what 'reform' actually means. Is it simply playing within the same ground rules that we've had all along and only moving the degrees of impact by adjusting the barriers, or is it actually turning up, as the member for Goldstein said, and focusing on rebuilding trust within our community by ensuring that we're able to have reasoned discussions that drive us forward in a possible way?

On behalf of my community of North Sydney, I'd like to add our voice to calls for responsible, sensible and reasoned reform of the core principles. It seems to me—again, having listened really carefully—there are three core principles that we all agree on.

The first is fairness, which must be at the heart of any tax reform process. We need to be driven by desire to tackle the growing inequality in our economic system and intergenerational wealth disparity. Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, one in eight people in Australia live below the poverty line. A robust discussion around tax reform must be grounded in a commitment to fundamental, free and equal human rights. At the heart of it is that not what we are discussing here, that we all deserve to be treated with respect and to live with respect.

At the same time, we need to be prepared to robustly debate our tax space. Our current system relies too heavily on personal income tax, which hampers productivity, as the member for Wentworth said, and is increasingly unsustainable as our population ages, as the member for Curtin said. To become less reliant on this, we must consider alternatives. This is when the next characteristic, I think, needs to step in, and that is courage. From the moment I entered this parliament, I have been calling on our current government to lead with courage, be prepared to have the conversations that are uncomfortable, be prepared to show our nation that a government can truly lead, and be prepared to push for reform that takes us outside the comfort of a single election cycle.

To become less reliant on income tax we have to be prepared to take on some of the forces that, arguably, may make us feel uncomfortable. Winding back things like the fossil fuel subsidy, for example, or ensuring big businesses and the fossil fuel industry pay their fair share, is a good place to start, but it is not going to be easy. And what I would like to say to today's government is, 'I see you. I see you have put your toes into the water around this space, but sitting on the edge and dangling your feet in is not driving reform. You need to jump and invite the Australian people to come with you.'

Taxing windfall gas profits would enable billions to be invested in modernising Australia's energy grid and helping households and businesses directly rather than going into the pockets of gas companies. It should not be beyond the capacity of this government to take that leap. Let us come with you. The Australian Institute estimated that related windfall gain to liquefied natural gas companies in the last financial year was between $26 billion and $40 billion. No wonder Dr Ken Henry, the former Australian Treasury secretary, has argued that a windfall tax should be levied on 100 per cent of those profits. If it was imposed, the revenue generated alone would cover the Australian government's entire $20 billion Rewiring the Nation initiative to modernise the electricity grid. If we hear nothing more from this debate today, I hope we take out the following principles: as Australians, we all agree we want a tax system that is fair; as Australians we all agree we want a government who will lead with courage; and as Australians, we all agree that we need to focus on rebuilding trust between each other and encouraging reasoned discussion in this place for the betterment of our nation. It's time.

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