Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The opposition rises to support the government's Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 5) Bill 2022 and to ensure it has an expeditious route through the House. For those with great interest in tax matters like me and the minister opposite, the income tax law allows tax deductions for taxpayers who make a donation of $2 or more to a registered deductible gift recipient. To be eligible to be a deductible gift recipient, an organisation needs to fall within one of the general divisions set out in division 30 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, or be listed by name in the division. It can be done by the charities commission or indeed be set out by law in what is generally a tax law amendment bill. It's a common practice that governments of all persuasions have done from time to time. Many of the organisations that are listed here for DGR status in this bill were put into the budget by the previous government, so it is only appropriate that this method is done. The coalition supports what the minister is doing here.

Keep in mind that the deductible gift recipient list was a previous schedule to Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 4) Bill 2022, but TLAB4 is taking its time being debated in the normal course of affairs and won't be done until next year. The government has separated this out. I simply say to the government: you could have done this wrong. The government could have done this anytime over the last six months. It could have simply put together a quick TLAB and put it through. Putting through TLAB4 and suddenly panicking because it won't get through shows a Treasury team that is not on top of its game. I say to the Treasury team: these things are important. They're retrospective, so none of these organisations miss out per se—the time taken through the parliament won't adversely impact them from the date at which DGR starts—but many Australian taxpayers may not provide donations until the DGR status come through, unsure as to whether it will pass parliament, and that may have a deleterious effect or impact upon donations. All of this could have been avoided if the government had prioritised this earlier.

Tax law amendment bills are very, very simple. I think I did 31 bills in nine months as an assistant Treasurer. We know how to move bills through a House. But the government is focused on other matters—matters they did not take to elections. They're focused on watering down transparency for superannuation, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I say to the government: these things matter. There's no question the opposition will support you and be responsible because we understand they matter, but it's important that the government prioritise this type of legislative work, not legislation that they didn't take to an election or legislation that is not urgent.

I congratulate those organisations that will be receiving their DGR status, many of them committed to by the coalition—the Melbourne Business School, the Leaders Institute of South Australia, St Patrick's Cathedral Melbourne Restoration Fund, the Jewish Education Foundation, the Australian Education Research Organisation, Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition, the Sydney Chevra Kadisha—which is a charity that attends to Jewish burials to ensure they're undertaken in accordance with the faith precepts—and the Australian Women Donors Network. The Mt Eliza Graduate School of Business and Government has ceased its operation and activities, therefore this is a move to ensure that they no longer require it to be provided. I wish all those organisations the very best as they seek to serve Australians, and we look forward to supporting the minister and his deliberation.

James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with the member in rising to speak in favour of Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 5) Bill 2022, which is noncontroversial and fairly straightforward. I commend the words of the member for Fadden around the predicament that the government have found themselves in, having to proceed down this path with this separate bill.

One of the entities in this bill that receives DGR status is the Leaders Institute of South Australia, and I want to put some words of support for them on the record here in this debate. They do excellent work. The Governor of South Australia, Frances Adamson, is the patron of their organisation and, though that and the Governor's Leadership Foundation, they do excellent work in identifying, supporting and providing a program for emerging leaders in South Australia. We definitely commend their work, and this DGR status puts them in a position where they get deductible gift status, which will help them with more support et cetera and those that want to support them will get a fair and reasonable deduction.

It's noteworthy, I think, that the Indigenous recognition group are being registered for DGR status. It reminds us that this Indigenous voice referendum is going to be a significant part of 2023. It's one thing that I think is really important in our democracy. I very much support them getting this status, and inevitably there will be other organisations, both for and against the referendum question, that will probably emerge over the coming months. It's important that we treat everyone fairly through the process of wanting to participate in the debates on that referendum. It'll be on the hands of the government as to when the referendum is held. I noted at the introduction of another bill earlier regarding the referendum and in that the government have confirmed there won't be any taxpayer support for the campaigns for and against, as was the case for the referendum in 1999, when there was taxpayer funding for both sides of the argument. It will be during the debate on that bill that we'll get into discussing funding. But I'm thinking fairly deeply about that situation, because I believe we want everyone to have confidence that it's a fair playing field for the referendum next year.

Taxpayer funding in some form usually provides the ability to demonstrate that there's no attempt to give one side of a contest a particular advantage. Those progressing the yes campaign, like the group mentioned in this bill, have been in existence for some time and are no doubt well resourced. Good luck to them for that, but that's something we may have to confront, whether or not it is going to damage the perception of the legitimacy of the process of the campaign if a very well organised and well funded side of the debate exists before the debate begins. We're apparently going down the path of not providing any taxpayer support for the two sides of the argument, and I'm reflecting on how that might give rise to certain perceptions.

Speaking of DGR, I want to acknowledge the Andy Thomas Space Foundation. I was really pleased to work closely with former treasurer Josh Frydenberg on getting the foundation their DGR status a year or two ago. I congratulate Nicola Sasanelli, who was in building this week. She's the CEO of the Andy Thomas Space Foundation. Andy Thomas is a very famous former constituent of mine in the seat of Sturt. He went to school in my electorate and is the first Australian NASA astronaut. To do that, you have to be a US citizen, so Andy is now a US citizen. The foundation is doing great work, particularly in getting young people excited about space and STEM. We all understand that getting our next generation to want to pursue careers in STEM is a challenge. The opportunities are enormous, and raising awareness is something that the foundation does really well. Andy has said to me that the two things that get kids excited about STEM are space and dinosaurs. We have Jurassic Park doing the heavy lifting on the dinosaur front, and even the Lego people are doing a lot of Jurassic Park stuff. Young kids love dinosaurs and they also love space and everything to do with space. The Andy Thomas Space Foundation are doing excellent work working with the Space Discovery Centre in South Australia, providing an educational framework for kids. I really do commend them, and I give them a shout-out. With those words, I commend the bill to the House.

Andrew Leigh (Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is usual in the summing-up speech to broadly thank all members who've contributed to the debate, because you don't want to go through and name them all. But in the case of the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 5) Bill 2022 I think it is appropriate to mention the two opposition members who spoke. I thank the shadow Assistant Treasurer for making clear that the coalition will be supporting this bill. I thank the member for Sturt for singling out two of the organisations—the Leaders Institute of South Australia Inc. and Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition Ltd—and describing the worthy work that they do.

This bill amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to include Australian Education Research Organisation Ltd, Jewish Education Foundation (Vic.) Ltd, Melbourne Business School Ltd, Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition Ltd, Leaders Institute of South Australia Inc. and St Patrick's Cathedral Melbourne Restoration Fund on the list of deductible gift recipients. It extends the current listings of Sydney Chevra Kadisha and Australian Women Donors Network and removes the listing of the Mt Eliza Graduate School of Business and Government Ltd.

Deductible gift recipient status allows members of the public to receive income tax deductions for donations they make to these organisations. The Australian government is supporting these organisations in their provision of valuable community services, by granting them deductible gift recipient status.

Since this is probably my final parliamentary speech of 2022, I use this opportunity to thank those who've worked in my electoral and Parliament House offices this year—Nick Terrell, Cathy Day, Beck Press, Sam Bide, Olivia Kerr, Iris Eagar, Bria Larkspur, Toby Halligan, Meg Thomas, Tara Mack, Nelida Contreras, Oscar Kaspi-Crutchett, Stephanie Anderson and Alyson Chin; and our two departmental liaison officers: Phoebe Butcher and Tyler James.

I want to also thank my remarkable parents, Barbara and Michael Leigh, without whom I literally and figuratively wouldn't be standing here; and my family—my wonderful wife, Gweneth, and my sons, Zachary, Theodore and Sebastian. I'm looking forward greatly to spending more time with you in the coming weeks.

I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.