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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2016/feb/23/the-coalition-floats-halving-the-capital-gains-discount-for-super-funds-politics-live
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| The Coalition floats halving the capital gains discount for super funds – politics live | The Coalition floats halving the capital gains discount for super funds – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 10.05pm GMT | |
| 22:05 | |
| I should note a couple of good stories around in the news cycle this morning. | |
| My colleague Lenore Taylor notes that Senate cross benchers are trying to negotiate a compromise with the government over its proposed building industry watchdog in an attempt to avoid a fresh trigger for a double dissolution election. | |
| Matthew Knott at Fairfax is reporting that Cabinet has approved sweeping changes to Australia’s media ownership laws, including scrapping the population “reach rule” and the “two out of three” media ownership rule. | |
| Some commentary worth noting, too. Dennis Shanahan in The Australian notes the prime minister has located his inner Abbott. | |
| Turnbull has turned to the traditional favourite that Labor “can’t be trusted with the economy” and claims the Opposition Leader’s appeal to his electoral base with a clampdown on negative gearing will destroy house values, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne. The phrases, tone and arguments Turnbull used in parliament yesterday could all have come from Tony Abbott when he ruled out changes to negative gearing more than six months ago. | |
| 9.55pm GMT | |
| 21:55 | |
| Finance minister Mathias Cormann was on the ABC earlier this morning and was asked to clarify the government’s position on CGT. Cormann said he didn’t intend to announce the government’s policy on breakfast television, but the prime minister in question time yesterday had been “appropriately critical” of Labor’s policy position on capital gains (cutting the discount from 50% to 25% on assets held for more than 12 months.) | |
| Updated | |
| at 9.58pm GMT | |
| 9.45pm GMT | 9.45pm GMT |
| 21:45 | 21:45 |
| As well as giving the prime minister a tickle up, Chris Bowen confirmed that the Senate reform package would go to the Labor caucus this morning. Shadow cabinet resolved last night to oppose the government’s proposal. (It being Tuesday, there are partyroom meetings before the chambers get underway.) | As well as giving the prime minister a tickle up, Chris Bowen confirmed that the Senate reform package would go to the Labor caucus this morning. Shadow cabinet resolved last night to oppose the government’s proposal. (It being Tuesday, there are partyroom meetings before the chambers get underway.) |
| If you are bamboozled by the mechanics of the voting reform proposal, my colleague, Daniel Hurst, is here to help. | If you are bamboozled by the mechanics of the voting reform proposal, my colleague, Daniel Hurst, is here to help. |
| 9.35pm GMT | 9.35pm GMT |
| 21:35 | 21:35 |
| Labor’s Chris Bowen, to reporters a little while ago. | Labor’s Chris Bowen, to reporters a little while ago. |
| Now, is there nothing this government won’t do to attack the retirement incomes of working Australians? Last week was the thought bubble about exemptions (from superannuation) for low income earners. We have seen the government rip away the tax concession for low income earners in superannuation. We have seen the government freeze the superannuation guarantee at 9.5%. And now, this miserable excuse for a government is contemplating reducing the capital gains tax discount for superannuation by half. | Now, is there nothing this government won’t do to attack the retirement incomes of working Australians? Last week was the thought bubble about exemptions (from superannuation) for low income earners. We have seen the government rip away the tax concession for low income earners in superannuation. We have seen the government freeze the superannuation guarantee at 9.5%. And now, this miserable excuse for a government is contemplating reducing the capital gains tax discount for superannuation by half. |
| Now, this goes to character as well as competence. If the prime minister can stand there at question time and deny even thinking about reducing capital gains tax discount and yet his ministers and his officers briefing out, talking to journalists, that afternoon, saying that, in fact, what he really meant was we would reduce the capital gains tax discount within superannuation. | Now, this goes to character as well as competence. If the prime minister can stand there at question time and deny even thinking about reducing capital gains tax discount and yet his ministers and his officers briefing out, talking to journalists, that afternoon, saying that, in fact, what he really meant was we would reduce the capital gains tax discount within superannuation. |
| This goes to the prime minister’s character. He cannot be trusted on tax. If he can’t be trusted on something he says at question time at two o’clock, how can his commitments about the GST be taken seriously? | This goes to the prime minister’s character. He cannot be trusted on tax. If he can’t be trusted on something he says at question time at two o’clock, how can his commitments about the GST be taken seriously? |
| (Like I said earlier, watch for the reposition from the prime minister, or alternatively, watch for efforts from Labor to go down ‘the prime minister has misled the House’ route.) | (Like I said earlier, watch for the reposition from the prime minister, or alternatively, watch for efforts from Labor to go down ‘the prime minister has misled the House’ route.) |
| 9.19pm GMT | 9.19pm GMT |
| 21:19 | 21:19 |
| As you can see from Mikearoo’s great opening picture of the independent Senator Glenn Lazarus, our corridor is teeming with aggrieved cross benchers this morning. | As you can see from Mikearoo’s great opening picture of the independent Senator Glenn Lazarus, our corridor is teeming with aggrieved cross benchers this morning. |
| The Family First Senator Bob Day has just been on the ABC flagging some kind of legal challenge to the government’s proposal to change Senate voting procedures. Day thinks it may be unconstitutional to disenfranchise the voters by ensuring that a vote is exhausted if the first, second or third preference of the voter does not get elected. Right now, he says, a vote remains alive for the duration of the count. | The Family First Senator Bob Day has just been on the ABC flagging some kind of legal challenge to the government’s proposal to change Senate voting procedures. Day thinks it may be unconstitutional to disenfranchise the voters by ensuring that a vote is exhausted if the first, second or third preference of the voter does not get elected. Right now, he says, a vote remains alive for the duration of the count. |
| Fair to say these folks are cranky. No good will come of this, Day tells his host Michael Brissenden, somewhat darkly. This is the big guys ganging up on the little guys. Day has some reason to feel bruised. He’s voted with the government more than any other cross bencher. And now they’ve gone and stolen his play lunch. | Fair to say these folks are cranky. No good will come of this, Day tells his host Michael Brissenden, somewhat darkly. This is the big guys ganging up on the little guys. Day has some reason to feel bruised. He’s voted with the government more than any other cross bencher. And now they’ve gone and stolen his play lunch. |
| 9.03pm GMT | 9.03pm GMT |
| 21:03 | 21:03 |
| Fancy meeting you here | Fancy meeting you here |
| Good morning everyone and welcome to Tuesday on Politics Live. Before we power into Tuesday, I think it’s worth recapping a notable development of Monday, and it’s this: the prime minister had a pretty bad day. Given it was Malcolm Turnbull’s first obviously bad day since taking the leadership, I’ll walk you through it. | Good morning everyone and welcome to Tuesday on Politics Live. Before we power into Tuesday, I think it’s worth recapping a notable development of Monday, and it’s this: the prime minister had a pretty bad day. Given it was Malcolm Turnbull’s first obviously bad day since taking the leadership, I’ll walk you through it. |
| Monday started with an opinion poll which showed the major parties were locked in a dead heat (which in the real world should be heavily discounted, given one or two polls does not give you a trend, but in the febrile world of Australian politics, a bad poll is a thunderclap in the news cycle. Echo, echo, echo.) | Monday started with an opinion poll which showed the major parties were locked in a dead heat (which in the real world should be heavily discounted, given one or two polls does not give you a trend, but in the febrile world of Australian politics, a bad poll is a thunderclap in the news cycle. Echo, echo, echo.) |
| The prime minister then unfurled his reforms to Senate voting reforms, which, without bipartisan support, will be more difficult to land without mess and contention. The cross benchers fired up talk of dirty deals, and Labor started hurling around the concept of gerrymanders just to spice things up. Governments tend to approach the politically sensitive subject of political reform on a bipartisan basis for a reason: change happens with very little contention attached to it. Change has to happen to the Senate voting system because the voting system is being gamed – there’s no doubt about that – but without bipartisanship, the conversation is more risky. | The prime minister then unfurled his reforms to Senate voting reforms, which, without bipartisan support, will be more difficult to land without mess and contention. The cross benchers fired up talk of dirty deals, and Labor started hurling around the concept of gerrymanders just to spice things up. Governments tend to approach the politically sensitive subject of political reform on a bipartisan basis for a reason: change happens with very little contention attached to it. Change has to happen to the Senate voting system because the voting system is being gamed – there’s no doubt about that – but without bipartisanship, the conversation is more risky. |
| Malcolm Turnbull then rolled into question time, and stuffed up. He told the parliament in response to a question from Labor’s Chris Bowen: “Increasing capital gains tax is no part of our thinking whatsoever.” Late yesterday evening that statement was being walked back. It became clear the government was, in fact, contemplating measures like halving the capital gains tax discount for superannuation funds. So that part of increasing capital gains tax was, in fact, part of the thinking. It will be interesting to see how the prime minister handles the reposition after that stumble today. | Malcolm Turnbull then rolled into question time, and stuffed up. He told the parliament in response to a question from Labor’s Chris Bowen: “Increasing capital gains tax is no part of our thinking whatsoever.” Late yesterday evening that statement was being walked back. It became clear the government was, in fact, contemplating measures like halving the capital gains tax discount for superannuation funds. So that part of increasing capital gains tax was, in fact, part of the thinking. It will be interesting to see how the prime minister handles the reposition after that stumble today. |
| The other negative for Turnbull in question time I mentioned yesterday. Labor is keen right now to back the prime minister into a corner where he will define himself as being all for the aspirational rich, the investor class, at the expense of people who are, say, struggling to buy a house. Turnbull cooperated with that effort yesterday both in tone and in substance. I might be quite wrong about this, it wouldn’t be the first time, but I suspect the combination of reflexive partisan negativity and defending the assets of people who can probably cope with one less tax concession is not a good look for him, Malcolm Turnbull. His political style is charm and disarm, not smash and plunder. | The other negative for Turnbull in question time I mentioned yesterday. Labor is keen right now to back the prime minister into a corner where he will define himself as being all for the aspirational rich, the investor class, at the expense of people who are, say, struggling to buy a house. Turnbull cooperated with that effort yesterday both in tone and in substance. I might be quite wrong about this, it wouldn’t be the first time, but I suspect the combination of reflexive partisan negativity and defending the assets of people who can probably cope with one less tax concession is not a good look for him, Malcolm Turnbull. His political style is charm and disarm, not smash and plunder. |
| I’m sure the prime minister is being advised to muscle up to Labor, to ramp up the high visibility contrast before powering through quick sticks to the election. But the prime minister also needs to consider what’s in his own long term interests as a political leader: the one who promised voters, less aggro, less chaos, less madness, and a genuine conversation about policy when he toppled Tony Abbott last September. Abbott got sucked in to serving the machine at his own personal cost. It would be good for the collective sanity of politics lovers everywhere if the current prime minister resisted the invitation to repeat past mistakes. | I’m sure the prime minister is being advised to muscle up to Labor, to ramp up the high visibility contrast before powering through quick sticks to the election. But the prime minister also needs to consider what’s in his own long term interests as a political leader: the one who promised voters, less aggro, less chaos, less madness, and a genuine conversation about policy when he toppled Tony Abbott last September. Abbott got sucked in to serving the machine at his own personal cost. It would be good for the collective sanity of politics lovers everywhere if the current prime minister resisted the invitation to repeat past mistakes. |
| Anyway, let’s power on. Today thread is open for love readers, hate readers, grammar watchers, spell checkers, encouragers and discouragers. Welcome everyone. Magic Mikearoo and I are also dancing like we won’t make it til Wednesday on the Twitters. He’s @mpbowers and I’m @murpharoo | Anyway, let’s power on. Today thread is open for love readers, hate readers, grammar watchers, spell checkers, encouragers and discouragers. Welcome everyone. Magic Mikearoo and I are also dancing like we won’t make it til Wednesday on the Twitters. He’s @mpbowers and I’m @murpharoo |
| Twirl under the disco ball blogans, bloganistas. Blame it on the boogie. Here comes Tuesday. | Twirl under the disco ball blogans, bloganistas. Blame it on the boogie. Here comes Tuesday. |