Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask the Treasurer to outline to the House how the government is helping those Australians who have saved for their retirement to plan their future with confidence. Secondly, is the Treasurer aware of any alternative approaches that impact or would impact on senior Australians, including those senior Australians in my electorate of Menzies?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Menzies for his question and know he's fighting hard for the 9,439 people in his electorate who are going to be hit by Labor's retiree tax. The member for Menzies and those on this side of the House ask the question: why is the member for Barton happy to see over 4,000 people in her electorate hit by Labor's retirees tax? Why is the member for Batman happy to see the 4,372 members of her electorate hit by Labor's retirees tax? Why is the member for Ballarat staying silent when more than 6,000 members of her own electorate are going to be hit by Labor's retiree tax?

Imagine what those people felt and thought when they saw the member for McMahon, earlier in the week, say to them that the Labor Party was not listening and would not change the dreaded retirees tax. They wouldn't change it one bit and, if you didn't like Labor's retirees tax and you were one of the more than one million people across Australia who were affected, that's all right; just don't vote for the Labor Party. That was an arrogant dismissal of the concerns of over a million Australians like Murray, who said: 'I'm almost 72. My wife is 68. We really have no likelihood of being able to get income from other sources to replace the 16 per cent loss to our income if the refundable franking credits are removed.'

The proposal is a direct attack on older Australians who have ungrudgingly paid their way over many years through personal tax payments with no government handouts. They have created employment and wealth. Murray and Helen are not the only ones affected. Richard points out that from his early income he will lose almost 30 per cent as a result of Labor's retirees tax. He says, 'As much as this upsets me, the reduction would include stopping charity donations to organisations such as the Salvation Army and the Red Cross. Further, our planned sponsorship of children for the Smith Family will also not occur.' These are real-life stories of real people—people who will lose a substantial part of their income as a result of Labor's desperate tax grab through a retirees tax that the people in Australia do not need, do not deserve and do not want.

But the arrogance of the Labor Party, who think that they've already got government sewn up, telling the people, if they don't like the policy, don't vote for them—I can tell those people that the Labor Party will take their money and the Liberal Party will let them keep it.