Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. The former Treasurer, Mr Hockey, said, 'Negative gearing should be skewed towards new housing so there is an incentive to add to the housing stock rather than an incentive to speculate on existing property.' Does the current Treasurer agree with the former Treasurer, or did the former Treasurer have a better understanding of the Australian economy and housing market?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for the question on negative gearing. He would be interested to know that, of those who are negative gearing in this country, there are 10 times more negative gearers who are nurses, teachers and emergency service workers than surgeons, anaesthetists and finance managers. In fact over 1.2 billion in net rental losses has been claimed by teachers, nurses, emergency workers and clerks compared with just 150 million claimed by surgeons, anaesthetists and finance managers.

I do not know what those opposite have against those on ordinary wages—those who are on average wages. First of all—

Ms Butler interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Griffith is warned!

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

they show no empathy whatsoever—

Ms Butler interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Griffith will cease interjecting!

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

for the 300,000 on average wages going into higher tax brackets. Then they want to take away the only thing that people on average wages—people like nurses and emergency workers and teachers—who negative gear and make the sacrifice and the investment, have. You know what they want them to do, Mr Speaker? They want them to go and compete for about 10 per cent of the assets with all of the others on higher incomes and be driven out of the opportunity for negative gearing in this country.

The other thing they want to do, as the Prime Minister has rightly said, is: the day a new home buyer goes and puts their key in the door of their new home—

Ms Butler interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Griffith will leave understand 94(a).

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

it turns into an old home. We know what happens to old homes under their polices: it is like driving a new car off the lot—it depreciates in value.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer will resume his seat.

Mr Dutton interjecting—

The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection will cease interjecting.

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

The member for Sydney will cease interjecting.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order on direct relevance. The question is entirely about a comparison of this Treasurer with the previous Treasurer, and he has not touched on it once. It is a minute and a half in now.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. There is no point of order. The Treasurer has the call.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What I am talking about is the policy of those opposite to limit negative gearing just to new houses. As the Prime Minister has said, under their capital gains tax and other measures, one in three investors will be taken out of the existing home market, and they think that that will not have an impact on the nurses, the teachers and the others, who are looking for that opportunity. So what they are saying is: if you have got your property now, if you have had that opportunity, in the future—if you are a nurse graduating in five years from now, you want to get into the housing market and negative gear on an existing property—the answer from those opposite is: 'No, we're going to shut you out. We're going to roll you out.'

Those opposite have no empathy for Australians who are working to pay tax in this country. They have no empathy for those who are trying to back themselves in this transitioning economy. What you get from them is a race for higher taxes. The policy debate in this country is not about who can raise the most taxes, but those opposite think it is. Those opposite think the policy debate in this country is: who can raise the most taxes? We are not in that race; we are into lower taxes and lower spending.