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 the member for Bennelong repeated his call for reform of capital gains tax and negative gearing. If the Prime Minister will not listen to first home buyers, will he at least listen to a member of his own back bench saying the system needs to be reformed? Why does the Prime Minister refuse to simply say whether he rules out changes to capital gains tax or not?

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

The finance minister dealt with that this morning and Sabra Lane dealt with the Leader of the Opposition yesterday. What a pathetic performance—could not even say what his renewable energy target would cost, just like he had no idea what his negative gearing policy at the last election would do to housing prices. The reality is—

Mr Frydenberg interjecting—

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

The Minister for the Environment and Energy will cease interjecting. I should have warned him the other day. He is now warned! The Manager of Opposition Business, just as he rose to his feet the Prime Minister was speaking about negative gearing, which was the subject of the question. So I am not sure if he wants to take the one and only point of order he has now or save it.

Mr Burke interjecting—

The Prime Minister has the call. He is completely in order.

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

It is perfectly obvious the Manager of Opposition Business has no interest in the standing orders but plenty of interest in interrupting the way in which we are revealing the absolute shallowness of the Labor Party's policies, their recklessness, the damage they are doing to Australian families and households. Spare us the fake empathy, if you please. Every member opposite knows there are businesses and jobs in their electorate which their policy puts at risk, and none more so than the members from the Hunter Valley. The member over there, the member for Hunter, represents an electorate, the jobs in which are based on energy, on affordable energy, on strong, reliable baseload power, and he is a member of a party that wants to shut it all down.

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

The Prime Minister will resume his seat.

Mr Fitzgibbon interjecting—

The member for Hunter is warned!

Mr Pyne interjecting—

The Leader of the House will cease interjecting. The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order.

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

Relevance. I just want to say to the Prime Minister: there is no shame in just answering a question. Yes or no? Are you going to make the changes or are they off the table?

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

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The Prime Minister has the call.

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

The member for Hunter may reflect on the maiden speech of the member for Paterson when she said:

While coal is still a vital source of employment, we are a region in transition. Just as nearby Newcastle has blossomed beyond steel, the Hunter will transition from coal to newer, cleaner industrial bases.

What are they going to be? Is it going to be gas at $100 a megawatt hour? Ask the people at Tomago Aluminium. Ask them whether they can afford $100 a megawatt hour. What is the Labor Party's plan? We are putting in place energy storage. We are taking on the challenge of providing the storage and the backup that Australia's energy system needs.

Honourable members interjecting—

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

The Prime Minister will resume his seat for a second.

Mr Hammond interjecting—

And on that note, the member for Perth, who has been warned, can leave under 94(1).

The member for Perth then left the chamber.

I am going to make very clear before I call the Prime Minister back: if members are going to interject wildly, as I have said before, they leave me no option but to ask them to leave under 94(a). They will choose how often they are in the chamber. Many have worked very hard to get in the chamber. It surprises me they then work so hard to get themselves out of it once they are here. The Prime Minister has the call.

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

Thank you, Mr Speaker. This issue of energy is all about competence. It is about competence and Labor's incompetence, its failure to put in place a plan.

Honourable members interjecting—

I see members from South Australia interrupting. Well may they seek—

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

The Prime Minister needs to bring himself back to the question of tax in the remaining time.

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

Thank you, Mr Speaker. There is no bigger burden on Australian households than Labor's effective tax on energy, which they are imposing, and it is a tax levied by Labor incompetence.