Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Won't someone please think of the multimillionaire superannuants! Who is going to go in to bat for these battlers, who are going to go from one high-class grade of champagne down to the next level, from one brand of luxury car down to the next brand of luxury car? Who in this place is going to think of these multimillionaire battlers? That's right: the Liberal-National party. It is emblematic of the malaise in Australian politics that this extremely modest proposal—an extreme fiddling of the margins by the Labor Party—is getting this level of attention from the Liberal-National party. I'll tell you what, Australians are sick and tired of a political system that caters to the interests of the wealthy elite in this country while too many people are struggling to put food on the table.

Even under Labor's minimalistic plan, multimillionaires will be able to pay a lower marginal tax rate on their superannuation earnings than someone who is on the average wage. That just goes to show you how far the Labor Party has fallen from its origins. That's why the Australian Greens have put forward a proposal to tax more people twice as hard as Labor and for it to cut in earlier than Labor's proposal. That will ensure that the wealthiest Australians pay closer to their fair share of tax and help the government fund measures that will genuinely help with the cost-of-living crisis and genuinely help lift people out of poverty. Our plan would raise about $55 billion over the next decade, which could be used to help lift people out of poverty by increasing social security payments or doubling rent assistance. Labor is proposing to fiddle at the margins on superannuation tax concessions while proceeding with the stage 3 tax cuts for the wealthy. That is just a money-go-round scheme for the rich, and it is robbing Peter to pay Peter.

People with $1.9 million or more in their superannuation funds do not need assistance from the taxpaying public. It's time for the government to prioritise the needs of all Australians and invest in measures that will actually benefit the many, not just the few. I urge the Labor Party to accept the Greens's constructive suggestion to remove all tax concessions from super funds that have balances of more than $1.9 million from 1 July this year. That would make Australia a fairer place. (Time expired)