Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

While the Greens think the amendments moved by Senator Leyonhjelm are well intentioned and we broadly support the intention of Senator Leyonhjelm's amendments, I just want to highlight that the issues at stake here around housing affordability are much bigger than what we see in these two bills. The Greens have been very clear that we want to see significant structural reform in relation to housing affordability, and not just housing affordability but tackling inequality in this country and raising revenue—revenue that we desperately need in this nation to pay for schools and hospitals. At best, this is fiddling around the edges. We want to see structural reform. We want to see arguably the worst tax we have in this country, stamp duty, being swapped for a broad-based land tax.

The Greens had this costed by Parliamentary Budget Office. I know it's ambitious and it's bold, but I don't think there's a single economist or commentator in this country who doesn't agree that it's a good idea—