Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise on the matter of the Turnbull government's spectacular failure on tax policy. It has become painfully clear the Turnbull government has no plan for the economic future of our country and no idea when it comes to taxation reform. Last year, Mr Turnbull told us he was stepping up to contest the prime ministership because of the dire lack of economic leadership in the federal Liberal government. He told us he would lead an intelligent conversation with the Australian people about the economic reforms that his government would undertake. He told us that things would change. He told us that he would be different. Many Australians took Mr Turnbull at his word. They trusted that he would deliver solutions that would create a fairer taxation system to drive a more productive economy, which would create more jobs in Australia, for Australians. They believed that they would be treated as rational, intelligent human beings and that the government would be clear, direct and honest with its plans. There was also genuine goodwill in the electorate that the government was doing the hard yards and a comprehensive taxation agenda would soon be unveiled.

It is now more than five months on and what have we seen—nothing—no policy, no direction, no solutions and no idea. We have seen the Liberal Party members continue to block greater fairness and transparency in our taxation system at every opportunity, while they continue unabated in their calls to cut the wages and conditions of hardworking Australians. We have seen a party divided, a party where the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and the Minister for Finance cannot agree on what problems are facing the country, let alone find any solutions.

The reality is that while the Liberal Party might have a new front man in his shiny leather jacket, they are still singing the tired old Liberal songs that have already been roundly rejected by the Australian people. Songs of young people forced into decades of debt with $100,000 degrees, and of Australian schools being tasked with educating the next generation with $30 billion less. Songs of hospitals that have to absorb more than $50 billion worth of cuts in the face of the increasing care needs of an ageing population. And songs of hardworking Australians who would have their wages and conditions viciously cut and penalty rates slashed if the Liberals got their way. Let me be clear, while Mr Turnbull might sing in more soothing tones than Mr Abbott, the words are exactly the same.

All of the toxic Abbott era policy remains and now we have the additional burden of a government that does not have a clue what to do on taxation reform. In fact, if anything, the Turnbull government actually went backwards when they junked their own tax white paper after billing it as 'the document' that would lay out a road map for the direction of tax policy. Those opposite spent millions of dollars in staffing and advertising the white paper process before junking it completely. What a shameful waste of time and money.

The truth is that Mr Turnbull and Mr Morrison have completely dropped the ball on tax policy. They have been asleep at the wheel when it comes to the fundamental levers that will drive the direction of our national economy. The reality is that our taxation system is in dire need of reform. There are too many loopholes that allow the highest earning companies and individuals to avoid paying their fair share of tax. There are too many subsidies going to the well-off. There is too little to stimulate growth and create jobs, and despite being in power for more than two years the Liberal government has shown it has no idea how to do anything about it or is completely unwilling to do anything about it. This is a very serious matter.

The Liberal government is hopelessly divided, irretrievably ideological and utterly incompetent when it comes to economic reform. On if any given day, we see as many different policy positions as there are Liberals fronting the camera. We saw Treasurer Morrison try to convince us in his Press Club address that bracket creep is one of the greatest issues facing the country, only to be contradicted very soon after by the Minster for Finance, Senator Cormann, who has contended that it is really not so bad after all. We heard Senator Cash reiterate that a GST hike is definitely still on the cards, only days after the Prime Minister told us exactly the opposite. Clearly the Liberals are deeply divided. The only thing they could agree on was a regressive hike to the GST, and, clearly, Mr Morrison had nothing else to offer once Mr Turnbull scotched this plan in a transparent attempt to save his electoral fortunes.

This became abundantly clear last week at the Treasurer's awkward and highly embarrassing appearance at the National Press Club. After more than five months as Treasurer, all the Australian people got was 46 minutes of waffle, slogans and platitudes. It became painfully clear that the Treasurer had no framework, no vision and no policies. Even the most rusted-on Liberals would have been hard-pressed to find a single policy to celebrate from Mr Morrison's much anticipated speech. Two and a half years in power and this government cannot summon up a single idea—not one. Even their multinational taxation legislation has an asterisk where the revenue figures should have been.

The Labor Party understands that Australia's taxation system is in dire need of reform and we understand that we need a system that works for all Australians, not just the wealthy, who are able to benefit from generous taxation loopholes. In too many areas fairness has been mistaken for the interests of the rich and powerful—never more so than under this Abbott/Turnbull government. The harsh and punitive measures put forward by those opposite will not solve the problem of inequality, they will only serve to entrench it. Labor has presented a coherent and measured set of policies that would deliver more fairness to our taxation system and grow our economy without sacrificing vital investment in the health and education of our people. In the complete absence of leadership from the Turnbull government, Labor has proven we are ready and able to lead the tax debate. Labor has been very clear about our priorities and we have released a comprehensive suite of policies so that the Australian people know exactly what we stand for. In fact, we have released more policies than any other opposition in living memory—more than 50 so far. We have led the way on high-income superannuation, multinational tax, tobacco and housing subsidies.

More recently, we have offered a positive plan for negative gearing and capital gains changes which would remove distortions in the housing industry and put homeownership back in reach for prospective first home buyers. Australian taxpayers currently spend more than $10 billion each year on negative gearing and capital gains subsidies for housing investment. Despite what those opposite will tell you, the facts are indisputable. The vast majority of the financial benefit from these concessions goes to those on high incomes. Many argue that negative gearing and capital gains concessions encourage building activity. The reality is that 97 per cent of houses bought under this policy are existing properties, with few investors taking the opportunity to invest in new housing stock. If more houses is truly the goal then it is very difficult to argue that we should continue to spend billions of dollars each year with only a three per cent success rate.

But Labor's reform plan will succeed where the existing policy has failed because negative gearing subsidies will be restricted to new properties. It will invigorate the construction industry. It will increase housing supply and create jobs. It will also provide the financial means for greater investment in health and education. Labor have demonstrated that we are willing to address the difficult questions and do the hard work to find solutions that are fair, reasonable and productive.

In contrast, this Abbott-Turnbull government have been in power for more than two years and yet they clearly do not have a clue on tax policy. The reality is that those opposite either have no intention or no idea how to create a fairer tax system that will support a productive economy. And now they are trying to distract from their abject failure by waging a baseless, hysterical scare campaign against Labor's measured and sensible negative-gearing reform. Mr Turnbull promised an intelligent debate on tax to the Australian people. But now we see that he is trying to cover up the total policy void in his own government by waging a desperate misinformation campaign against Labor. Well, it is not good enough. Australians expect more from the government, and they deserve more. Those opposite need to stop sitting on their hands and start doing the work. Mr Morrison needs to stop blaming everyone for his failure and Mr Turnbull needs to front up to the Australian people. (Time expired)