Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has labelled the opposition the ‘Liberal One National’ coalition and ridiculed Angus Taylor as a “Temu [Tony] Abbott” amid an increasingly bitter fight over tax changes in the budget. The Greens have raised concerns about key provisions of the government’s proposal, which Labor hopes to pass through the Senate within weeks.
Budget legislation and Greens concerns
Labor will speed the first tranche of its budget legislation through the lower house on Thursday, aiming for Senate passage soon after. Greens support is required to pass proposed changes to negative gearing, family trusts, and capital gains tax. However, treasury spokesperson Nick McKim said his party is concerned about the government having sweeping discretionary powers to change tax rules.
Albanese defends changes
In a speech to parliament on Wednesday, Albanese defended the changes, stating that most workers had “never even heard of a discretionary trust.” The Coalition opposes the changes and plans to move amendments to split the legislation, supporting the $250 Working Australians Tax Offset while voting down the broader package. This move is expected to fail due to Labor’s large parliamentary majority.
Taylor continued his criticism in question time, pointing to national accounts showing a slowdown in GDP growth and claiming Labor’s “economic strategy has failed Australians.” Albanese escalated his direct attacks, describing Taylor as “Temu Abbott… trying to press buttons.” The former Liberal prime minister was elected unopposed as party president last week, and Liberal MPs note growing similarities between Taylor’s rhetoric and his predecessor’s.
Albanese also alluded to discussions about an alliance between the Coalition and One Nation, adding: “Those in the ‘Liberal One National’ coalition of the three parties speak about battlers from time to time, but give a battler a wage increase and they hate it.”
Tax changes and housing market
In an earlier speech, Albanese said the government’s tax changes would make it easier for first homebuyers to enter the property market. “Teachers and nurses and cleaners, police officers, people in retail and hospitality, millions of Australians who work their guts out to make ends meet and provide for their families have probably never even heard of a discretionary trust, and they will never have the means or the opportunity to use one to minimise the tax that they pay,” he said.
However, he acknowledged the government was “still not doing enough” to help Australians overcome the 400% rise in house prices since 1999. “In the same period, the rate of home ownership among Australians aged 25 to 34 has fallen by 7%,” he said. “We owe the next generation better than this, and that’s what these reforms are about.”
Treasurer downplays discretionary powers
Treasurer Jim Chalmers downplayed media reporting about his discretionary powers to alter tax settings as a “beat up,” saying it was “not unusual in tax legislation for definitions to be settled in what are called legislative instruments.” But the Greens remain concerned. McKim said he wanted to probe the instruments during a short Senate inquiry before the bill is voted on in the upper house. “We aren’t talking about minor tweaks and adjustments here. The Treasurer would have the power to fundamentally alter these tax changes after it became law,” he told Guardian Australia. “It is a concern to the Greens and it is something we want to explore in the upcoming inquiry.”
Negotiations continue between the government and the Greens. Sources close to discussions said the Greens’ position on the bill had not yet been determined, and conversations had not turned to what concessions—if any—the minor party may seek for their Senate support.
