Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Today in the coalition party room the former Prime Minister challenged the current Prime Minister over his lack of economic leadership.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Will the Prime Minister finally show some leadership and rule out retrospective changes to negative gearing?

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

Members on my right were not only interjecting, but interjecting so loudly I could not hear the question.

Opposition members interjecting—

Members on my left will cease interjecting. The Leader of the Opposition will ask his question again, and I would urge members on both sides not to interject. The Leader of the Opposition has the call.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Today in the coalition party room the former Prime Minister challenged the current Prime Minister over his lack of economic leadership. Will the Prime Minister finally show some leadership and rule out retrospective changes to negative gearing?

Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I refer you to page 554 of Practice, which specifically prescribes that questions about party room matters are clearly out of order.

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

Mr Speaker, on the point of order: Practice also makes clear that ministers are expected to be across matters that are in the media. This one is well and truly in the media, and the question itself goes to what policy action the Prime Minister will take.

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

I am not going to hear point of order after point of order on the subject. Certainly the standing orders do make clear certain things with respect to parties. But, as I explained yesterday to the member for Bass—indeed on another point I think he made—I do allow latitude in both answers and questions. It has been the practice of many Speakers to allow preambles to questions. That is something that I have been reflecting on. It goes right back to the 1960s. In any event, the second part of the question was certainly in order, and I give the call to the Prime Minister.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question and I thank him for the opportunity to talk about our party room and the depth of the experience on our side of the House. I thank him for giving me the opportunity to remind the House that, on the coalition side, on the government side, we have members from every walk of life—from big business; from small business; we have farmers; we have professional people; and we have military people. We have every line of work represented. So, when we have a discussion about economic matters, there are backgrounds and views brought to it with a rich range of diversity that enable us to work through these issues carefully and come to the right decision.

The challenge that every member of the government party room knows is before us is: how do we successfully transition our economy from one that is led by the mining construction boom to one that is led by the big opportunities opened up by the new global economy and the big opportunities in Asia? How do we do that? Each and every one of our party room knows that the answers to that lie in innovation. They lie in investment. They lie in infrastructure. They lie in opening up big markets. They see, and we recognise, that every lever of our policy is pulling in that direction. They recognise our innovation statement in encouraging investment in start-up companies, encouraging investment, promoting entrepreneurship and promoting investment.

We compare that to the policy of the Labor Party, which of course is to increase the tax on investment by 50 per cent So, at the same time as the government is encouraging people to invest in new businesses and new enterprises, the Labor Party are saying, 'We will increase the tax by 50 per cent on any gain you might make.' That is what they are seeking to do—to increase capital gains tax by 50 per cent. At a time when we are promoting confidence and encouraging entrepreneurship and recognising that the family home is the most important single asset for every family, the largest single asset class in Australia, what are the Labor Party doing? They are recklessly, thoughtlessly and ideologically undermining the value of the family home.

There is a road to that new economy. There is a transition that can be undertaken. It needs investment, innovation, infrastructure and open markets. We know what those levers are and we are pulling them. Labor are standing in the way.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The member for Jagajaga will cease interjecting and the members for Chifley and Morton will cease interjecting as well.