Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor's proposed $200 billion taxathon is the largest single increase in taxation proposed by an opposition since Gough Whitlam thought 'It's time' for higher taxes. The largest of their new taxes, and possibly the worst, is Labor's unfair retiree tax. Everywhere I go in Brisbane, people have been raising their deep concerns about Labor's plan to abolish tax refunds for franking credits. I've now had thousands of people across Brisbane contact me to tell me how they're strongly against this unfair policy. This is not a policy that targets the rich and well-off, as Labor likes to pretend. The reality is that Labor's unfair policy targets many low-income retirees and will also hit many pensioners.

And it's not just senior Australians. The Economics Committee held a public hearing in Brisbane a few weeks ago.

Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It won't hit any pensioners.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Burt!

Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the witnesses was a motor mechanic who left the workforce due to a disability. He told us that, under Labor's proposed policy, he'll lose $9,000 a year—a quarter of his annual income—the money he uses to fund the medical expenses and other costs associated with his family and one of his children who has special needs. There are thousands and thousands more stories just like that, street by street, across Brisbane and across Australia. The fact is, Labor's policy hits the most vulnerable the hardest. It is discriminatory and it is unfair.