Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government's term thus far is one that is littered with falsehoods, mistruths and broken promises, and weasel words that follow when those failures are finally called out. How does Labor mislead thee? Let me count the ways. Back in May 2022, immediately prior to the election, the then opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, was asked a very simple question: 'Does Labor commit to the current superannuation arrangements for self-funded retirees and other superannuants, and do you rule out any increase to super taxes and changes to caps?' In response, he told the Australian people: 'We have said that we have no intention to make superannuation changes.'

This was not simply a thought bubble from a man who wasn't across the detail. He was actually doubling down on what he had previously said many times—that there would be 'no changes to super'. And why wouldn't he say that? Let's face it: his shadow Assistant Treasurer, who was responsible for superannuation, had made the same commitment. He was asked what his planned changes for super were, and he said that his planned changes were more maintenance than architecture and that that was what was needed.

What was this maintenance? It was doubling the tax rate on superannuation for tens of thousands of Australians. That's a hell of a maintenance bill. This doubling of the tax rate is not just going to hit Australians who are in retirement now or who are about to enter the retirement phase—those who have been planning and relying on the consistency of Labor promises who are now left in the lurch. This is going to apply most punitively to young Australians who are now just entering the workforce, because setting that $3 million cap without indexation means that in today's dollars a 30-year-old will have a real cap of around $1 million. Labor's doubling of super taxes will capture around two million Australians under the age of 25 who are earning an average wage throughout their life. This is entirely intentional.

The next big mistruth of this government relates to franking credits. Prior to the election, Mr Albanese was asked about franking credits. He said very confidently, 'We're not touching those.' That was back in March 2022. What weasel words they were! Only months later, in October 2022, Labor handed down a budget with a sneaky new tax on franking credits. Labor's franking credit tax removes franking credits connected to capital raisings and share buybacks, and it will cost Australians around $550 million of additional tax in just four years—for investors and self-funded retirees, who rely on franking credits for their retirement.

We haven't even come to the most recent weasel words of the Labor government. Do you remember this one? 'My word is my bond. We said during the election campaign that we would maintain the position on stage 3 tax that had already been legislated.' That was the Prime Minister in July 2022. Fast forward to 2024, on 10 January, when the Prime Minister was asked if he could promise stage 3 would come into effect in July in full and he refused to do so. He instead said, 'We haven't changed our position. Nothing has changed. The government has exactly the same position.' The Prime Minister said in April 2022, 'No, our objective is not about raising taxes.' Right! What we see in practice is three new taxes that the government explicitly said prior to the election that it would not do.

Now, the question is: what is Labor turning its tax gaze to next? I have asked Minister Gallagher, the minister in here representing the Treasurer, about Labor's plans on negative gearing, and she has not given us a straight answer. When asked on live television, she said, 'We have no plans for that.' She was pushed again by the interviewer: 'That's not what I asked,' he said. 'Would you mind repeating, "There will be no changes to negative gearing under my government"?' But she couldn't do it. The best Minister Gallagher could do was say that there were no plans. There are those weasel words again!

Yet, last week, we found out that there are more than 1,000 documents in the Treasury classed as advice to Treasurer Jim Chalmers about changing negative gearing and capital gains tax arrangements. If you have no plans, why do you need advice? This is the question for the minister. We could go on with examples of broken promises and weasel words: cheaper energy—$275 off your energy bills, a number that the energy minister won't even utter now; cheaper mortgages—getting the cost of living under control. The truth is that this is a Labor government that will do and say absolutely anything to get elected but has no thoughts about keeping its words post election.