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Tax legislation passes in Senate in its entirety – politics live
Tax legislation passes in Senate in its entirety – politics live
(35 minutes later)
Richard Di Natale had a chat to Sky a little earlier:
“Pauline Hanson is a fraud and she should be called out for it,” he says.
We didn’t get to them earlier, because of question time, but Mike Bowers was running around those post-tax-package-passing press conferences a littler earlier:
The Business Council are happy with the tax package passing – but also say there is more to do. It’s not giving up on passing the corporate tax cuts. From its statement:
We commend the Senate today for taking the first of two critical steps in improving our tax system by passing the income tax changes and urge the parliament to take the second step and deliver Australia a competitive company tax rate, Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said today.
“Personal and company tax reform done together is good for workers, good for jobs and good for the economy. Now is the time to turbo charge the economy.
“The changes to personal income tax preserve the progressive nature of our system but encourage and reward aspiration and effort.
“It means Australians will keep more of their hard-earned money when they receive a promotion or get a few extra hours of work.
“Without the change, in a decades’ time the average worker would be faced with paying an extra $3,000 tax a year in today’s dollars.
“Fixing our business tax system will mean Australian businesses can better compete in an environment where tax rates across the globe are falling sharply.
“Australia’s 30 per cent top company tax rate has been frozen in time for 17 years and is now out of step with nations such as the UK which is moving to 17 percent, the US which slashed its rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and even France which has announced plans to drop its rate from 33 to 25 percent. The OECD average is 24 percent and in Asia it is 21 percent.
“We are kidding ourselves if we think we can impose one of the highest tax rates in the developed world on Australian businesses and expect them to continue to thrive, invest and create jobs.
“Failure to give Australia a more competitive business tax rate means we will leave $18bn a year bigger economy on the table.
“We need to get the settings right for business to improve competitiveness to continue to drive economic growth.
“It is time to end the nonsense that economic growth is at odds with fairness. When business thrives, Australia thrives. We cannot have a fairer society without a strong business sector.”
Having made mention of his “loyalty” Pauline Hanson confirmed Peter Georgiou will lead the WA One Nation senate ticket.
From Mike Bowers to you:
My count of the aspiration/aspires – 35
Mystified – 11
One Nation - 6
Arrogant – 1
After Steve Ciobo promises us a “more aspirational future” , question time ends.
Jim Chalmers to Malcolm Turnbull:
By the time they are fully implemented, stage three of the government’s personal income tax scheme and its big business handout will cost the budget at least $25bn a year. Why is the government giving $25bn every single year to big business and the top 20% of income earners when gross debt has already reached a record half $1tn under this prime minister?
Turnbull:
“As the honourable member knows, net debt is peaking this financial year as a share of GDP and we have turned the corner on the debt that the Labor party left us with. And we are backing hard-working Australian families to keep more of the money they have earned. We believe in the aspirations of hard-working Australian families, we want them to realise their dreams. We want them to be able to get ahead. We want them to be able to aspire to do all the things that a strong economy enables them to. Labor is standing in the way. Labor talks about health but undermines the strong economy that enables us to pay for it.”
It’s so nice to hear the government supports me in my aspiration/dream to ride a unicorn down a rainbow to visit a mer-cat.
Greg Hunt continues:
Greg Hunt continues:
“If you can’t manage the economy, you can’t manage health AND LABOR WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO MANAGE THE ECONOMY.”
“If you can’t manage the economy, you can’t manage health AND LABOR WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO MANAGE THE ECONOMY.”
The result of the division is:
The result of the division is:
Ayes: 61
Ayes: 61
Noes: 75
Noes: 75
Greg Hunt has turned a dixer on “delivering health services”, including those for motor neuron disease into a political issue. He talks about supporting the Big Freeze, which raises money for MND treatment, and trials and then says he was asked if there were any alternatives.
“... Our guarantee is that every medicine which is supported by the pharmaceutical benefits advisory committee, we will list that. But you can only do that, of course, if there is a strong economy. I am asked if there are any alternatives. I went to the 2011 budget papers. Because in 2011 Labor ...”
Tony Burke is having none of it:
Mr Speaker, for a long time there have been issues in this house that have been viewed as above politics. Issues like motor neurone disease have been part of them. To turn this into a partisan attack is not going to help the dignity of this house or question time.
But Hunt continues: “And page 121 of the portfolio budget statements said, in relation to seven medicines, “Given the current fiscal environment, the listing of some medicines would be deferred until fiscal circumstances permit.” Well, our guarantee is that as long as we are ...”
Burke calls for him to no longer be heard and the House divides.
Ged Kearney to Malcolm Turnbull: (the member for Batman is about to be the member for Cooper)
“Can the prime minister confirm that he teamed up with One Nation to vote for a tax scheme that will mean a surgeon at $200,000 will get a tax cut 16 times larger than a nurse on $40,000, despite having a salary only five times larger?
“Prime minister. How is that fair? Or is the prime minister telling nurses to just get a better job, too?”
Scott Morrison takes it and gives a lesson on the progressive tax system, which was summed up by Pauline Hanson this morning as “do you really think those on $200,000, you know and they’re making more than that, a $7,000 tax cut is going to make a big difference to them?”
Meanwhile:
Our attendants do not mess around. https://t.co/9lrrLhMQPO
Cathy O’Toole was just made to remove her Queensland scarf.
O’Toole to Malcolm Turnbull:
How is it fair that this prime minister teamed up with One Nation to give themselves a $7,000 tax cut, is giving a nurse at Caboolture a tax cut of only $10 a week and is cutting $2.9m from Caboolture hospital at the same time? Just how arrogant and out of touch is this prime minister’s policies?
Turnbull:
The claim the honourable member made about Caboolture hospital is completely false. Absolutely false. It is another one of those Labor lies that are being peddled around Longman, and it says a a lot about the character of the Labor party, that it is prepared to tell such lies, as I described a moment ago, funding for public hospitals in Queensland from the Commonwealth is increasing every year and in particular, to the Metro north part of Queensland where the Caboolture hospital is to be found.
Peter Dutton is up to talk about how safe we are and how unsafe we could be.
He says he has cancelled “more visas of criminals in the last 12 months than Labor cancelled in six years”.
Chris Bowen to Malcolm Turnbull:
How is it fair that the government is giving $25bn every single year to business in the top 20% of income earners while it is cutting billions from schools and hospitals?
Turnbull:
He reverts to the “record” health spending argument – and he is right, because there is always record funding in health and education, because those two services just continue to grow. BUT – Labor is also right, because funding the states were expecting to receive in those areas, in the forwards, was cut in 2014. So the funding is not increasing at the rate it expected, which could be described as, I don’t know – a funding cut.
Michael McCormack seems to have decided that the way to have personality in question time dixers is just to yell louder.
Moving on.
Terri Butler to Malcolm Turnbull:
“Why did the prime minister team up with One Nation to give themselves a tax cut instead of supporting Labor’s plan to give the people in Longman, who earn less than $125,000, a tax cut, double the tax cut that they will get from the Government? Why will the government not do more to help working Australians rather than tell themselves to get a better job and himself and Senator Hanson a $7000 tax cut?”
Scott Morrison takes this one:
He is still going, but the answer boils down to this (other than the obvious one that the Coalition will never vote for Labor’s economic policy)
People don’t believe Labor on taxes. It is that simple. They make all sorts of promises. The one I like at the moment is that the shadow treasurer says he is going to put the deficit levy back on and he promises to take it away three years later. He really does. They promised to turn back the boats. Sure you will. You’re right. People do not, Australians do not believe Labor and the promises they make on tax. For the simple reason they know that every chance Labor gets they will tax them more.”
Cathy McGowan has the independent’s question - it is on cross-border red tape. An important issue if you sit between Victoria and NSW:
My community is asking when will we start seeing the results of these discussions and when will you take a leadership role in holding the state governments to account to deliver on these commitments?”
Craig Laundy: The short version, is the government is hoping to have “deliverables” from those discussions in the next three months.
Julie Collins to Malcolm Turnbull:
“Why did the prime minister team up with One Nation to give themselves a tax cut instead of supporting Labor’s plan to give the 39,000 people in Braddon who earn less than $135,000 a tax cut of up to $928 a year, almost double the tax cut they will get from this government? Why will the prime minister not do more to help working Australians?”
Turnbull:
[The short version] Tasmania’s economy is growing because of us, the good burghers of Braddon know that, everyone can aspire for all of the things.
Alice Workman has published this story on Buzzfeed a couple of minutes ago:
21-year-old apprentice Jasmyn Smith was shocked when a security officer told her to remove the T-shirt she was wearing, which featured a small Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) logo, in the middle of the public foyer at Parliament House.
Smith, a third-year electrical apprentice from Launceston, was visiting Canberra for National TAFE Day to speak to politicians about issues faced by young apprentices.
She arrived at the public entrance to Parliament House with around 20 apprentices from around the country on Wednesday morning. They entered the building in small groups, many wearing clothing, badges and backpacks with the CEPU or Electrical Trade Union (ETU) logo.
But only Smith, and the group of five apprentices she was with, were approached by a security guard as they were standing in the Marble Foyer and told to take off their union clothing.
