Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to share my concerns on the draft ruling issued by the Australian Taxation Office on the application of the GST to mobile home estates. I have been contacted by members of my community who live in mobile home estates, and the message is clear: this draft ruling unfairly impacts on those who can least afford to pay more tax. I have encouraged local residents concerned about the draft ruling to lodge their objections directly with the ATO so that the impacts of any change as a result of the ruling are fully understood.

Unfortunately, rather than taking a bipartisan approach to the issue, which affects many electorates, those opposite have sought to politicise the situation and seized on the opportunity to mount a scare campaign targeting the vulnerable and making false accusations against the government. It is important that we look at the history of the ruling and that we separate fact from fiction. The former Labor Assistant Treasurer, David Bradbury, was advised on 19 December 2012 that the application of the GST to movable home estates was being reviewed. For nine months those opposite failed to discuss the potential impact of the ruling with their constituents. They chose not to raise concerns here in parliament and instead decided to wait until they were no longer in government before incorrectly painting the situation as a move by the current government to target some of the community's most vulnerable members.

Unlike those opposite, I am serious about offering relief to households, businesses and vulnerable members of our community who face a daily struggle on cost of living pressures. I call on those opposite to likewise be serious.