‘We proudly stand for lower taxes’: Chalmers introduces tax cuts bill to parliament
Jim Chalmers is up in the house to bring the tax cuts he announced last night to a vote.
He says cost of living is front and centre of the budget and the government’s economic plan.
The Coalition has said they won’t be supporting the bill, which Chalmers has called a “brain snap”.
To vote against this legislation would be to stand in the way of more hard-earned money staying in the pockets of every hard-working Australian. To vote against this legislation would be to stand against more cost of living relief that Australians need and deserve, Mr Speaker, now this is what those opposite are proposing with the shadow treasurer’s brain snap last night when he said that he would oppose more tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer.
This is big wedge against the Coalition, and Chalmers is digging in, saying “on this side of the house, we proudly stand for lower taxes for Australian workers. We are for Australians earning more and keeping more of what they earn.”
Labor has the numbers to pass the bill through the house, but will need crossbench support in the Senate.
The Greens have said they’ll pass it, but the government will also need more support from independents.
Key events
Sarah Collard
Moving away from the tax cuts for a moment…
Victorian Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has responded to the federal budget, accusing the Albanese government of “losing interest” in truth-telling and justice issues after the failed Voice to Parliament and the Uluru Statement which called for treaty and truth-telling.
It comes as no surprise that Truth and Treaty are completely off the agenda. The government had made clear they already broke that promise.
This government started their term talking big about First Nations justice, and its first budget in 2022 gave us hope that First Peoples justice would be centred on the political agenda,”
Three years later this budget offers so little – just more crumbs on the table.
The Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman said much of the announcements were not new with the $1.3 billion committed over six years.
Including $842 million for NT remote community spending, we already know that a quarter of that – $205m – goes to the police, who will only hurt and criminalise more of our people and send more of our children into jail. This will widen, not close the gap.
Thorpe also criticised a lack of additional investment in legal assistance services, or diversion programs for young people away from the justice system.
She welcomed budget measures including plans to improve the affordability of groceries and food in remote stories and mental health funding and the extension of the Stolen Generations redress scheme for survivors in the NT and the ACT.
The PM is now up to debate on the tax cuts legislation:
I’m looking forward to the Leader of the Opposition explaining to people why he doesn’t support tax cuts for Australians. But then again, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, Mr. Speaker, because this time last year, they were in here, firstly saying they would oppose our tax cuts, then saying they would roll them back, and then demanding an election a year ago, just in order to stop hard working Australians getting a tax cut.
Anthony Albanese says the government, and treasurer Chalmers have navigated the “turbulent seas” since the COVID pandemic and the global economic uncertainty, and conflicts that have helped to keep inflation high.
He reiterates the point that these tax cuts add to those that came into effect last year, plus the energy relief and Medicare funding that will help households.
For those playing at home, here’s what’s going on in the house right now.
So the government just moved to suspend standing orders – that means to stop the program for the house that they had already decided – to bring forward debate and a vote on their bill to legislate the tax cut “top-up”.
The Coalition voted against the suspension along with crossbenchers Zoe Daniel, Helen Haines, Dai Le, Monique Ryan, Rebekha Sharkie, Allegra Spender, Zali Steggall and Kylea Tink.
This doesn’t mean any of them will necessarily vote against the actual bill, they just voted against changing the program. (Haines’ office has confirmed she’s only against changing the program.)
We also know that the Coalition had previously said it wouldn’t support the stage-three tax cut changes but came around and eventually voted for them, so anything could happen.
Angus Taylor got up to speak after the vote:
We saw interest rates that have been higher for longer in this country. And I talked about the average Australian family with a mortgage: $50,000 they had to find that they weren’t expecting to find. $50,000, Mr Speaker – his [Chalmers’] answer is 70 cents. You’ve got to be joking. You absolutely have. He has no concept for the pain that they are experiencing.
‘We proudly stand for lower taxes’: Chalmers introduces tax cuts bill to parliament
Jim Chalmers is up in the house to bring the tax cuts he announced last night to a vote.
He says cost of living is front and centre of the budget and the government’s economic plan.
The Coalition has said they won’t be supporting the bill, which Chalmers has called a “brain snap”.
To vote against this legislation would be to stand in the way of more hard-earned money staying in the pockets of every hard-working Australian. To vote against this legislation would be to stand against more cost of living relief that Australians need and deserve, Mr Speaker, now this is what those opposite are proposing with the shadow treasurer’s brain snap last night when he said that he would oppose more tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer.
This is big wedge against the Coalition, and Chalmers is digging in, saying “on this side of the house, we proudly stand for lower taxes for Australian workers. We are for Australians earning more and keeping more of what they earn.”
Labor has the numbers to pass the bill through the house, but will need crossbench support in the Senate.
The Greens have said they’ll pass it, but the government will also need more support from independents.
To give you a bit of a sense of what the morning interviews look like – all the TV networks set up their cameras in a parliament courtyard and Albanese, Chalmers and Dutton all circulate around for their allotted slots.
You can see below just how close they’re all standing around each other:
Who says you can’t have a bit of fun in politics?
On News Breakfast earlier James Glenday made this playful dig at the end of his interview with Peter Dutton:
Glenday:
You didn’t answer my question at all but I appreciate you joining the show this morning.
Dutton:
I think that the way that you asked them in different ways was fantastic, James. That was very creative!
I tell you what, there are only so many ways you can ask about what the Coalition will do on tax cuts (and I’ve heard a lot of them this morning).
But we’d all probably still prefer a bit more accountability and transparency from those in Canberra …
Budget tax cuts should be means tested, Lambie says
Independent senator Jacqui Lambie was not happy last night when the tax cut top-up was announced, and she argued again earlier this morning that it should be means tested.
She told Sunrise there’s a lot of “waste” in the budget because the support like the cuts and energy rebates aren’t targeted towards those who need it most.
We spent billions of dollars giving people like myself and you, Nat, I’m sure you don’t need it, and neither does Jane Hume. She doesn’t need the tax cuts. If we target those people that [need] money down here we could have tripled what they’re getting.
Lambie was on a panel with the shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, who is also no fan of the tax cuts.
But Lambie also had some choice (and fiery) words for the opposition – particularly on their nuclear policy and plan to cut public servants.
Oh my goodness, I cannot wait to see their budget reply on Thursday night. Have they become the Grinch, have they? … What is in your budget paper apart from you spending $360bn on [a] nuclear power plan that is completely going to blow out of proportion …
Jane [Hume], I want to know this, this morning, are you going to go in and cut the veterans’ affairs [department] again? Are you going to put that [work] out to consultants? Because you took a lot of my mates out over that nine years and spent $20bn of taxpayers’ money to consultancy firms. Are we going back to those days, Jane?
Cait Kelly
Help to Buy expansion ‘will not move the needle’ on housing affordability, advocates say
Housing advocates have also accused the government of tinkering at the edges of affordability instead of addressing the issue.
The federal government is expanding its shared equity scheme, which helps first home buyers into the market by stumping up 30% of the person’s despot for an established dwelling. It then gets paid back later.
As announced before last night, the government will expand the criteria – single applicants now have to earn less than $100,000, and couples less than $160,000.
Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said:
Expanding the Help to Buy scheme may help some, but it will not move the needle on the housing crisis which is affecting millions of Australians.
The housing crisis is deepening and hurting more and more Australians. We need a response that matches the scale of the crisis. We need leaders that will take bold leaps forward.
The election is an opportunity for the federal government to offer the ambitious, visionary, and transformative solutions that voters are crying out for.
Azize said there was broad support for winding back negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, and building more social housing.
Chalmers says jobseeker rate not raised because it is indexed
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, was asked on RN Breakfast why the government hadn’t lifted the rate of jobseeker, and instead chose to cut taxes.
Chalmers said jobseeker is indexed (which means it automatically goes up every year – though advocates have said it’s by not nearly enough), while taxes are not.
He also argues that other measures for health and education have helped those on jobseeker payments.
The single rate of jobseeker, I think from memory, is $138 higher than when we came to office. And part of that, but not all of that, is that we gave a permanent increase to jobseeker in one of our budgets, we found room to do that from budget to budget, you use a different combination of ways to help with the cost of living in this budget, tax cuts for every taxpayer, strengthening Medicare, because more bulk billing means less pressure on families. Cheaper medicines, cutting student debt and the energy rebates as well.
Cait Kelly
Budget has ‘betrayed welfare recipients’: Antipoverty Centre
Antipoverty Centre spokesperson and disability support pension recipient Kristin O’Connell said:
This is an irresponsible budget that once again has betrayed millions of welfare recipients and left us in deep poverty … This budget puts the nail in the coffin of Anthony Albanese’s cruel, false promise to leave no one behind.
So-called energy bill relief does nothing to help when energy companies keep ratcheting up prices. The government needs to stop pretending to help poor people with more handouts for big business, landlords and corporate charities.
For people on Centrelink payments life is harder now than it was three years ago, and this budget does nothing to change that.
Cait Kelly
Lack of welfare increases in budget an ‘act of cruelty’, welfare groups say
Welfare groups have accused the government of leaving the poorest Australians behind by not lifting the rate of welfare payments.
The CEO of Economic Justice Australia, Kate Allingham, says the cost-of-living relief in the budget, including the $150 energy rebate and cutting the cost of medicines, will do little to alleviate pressure.
Allingham said leaving vulnerable groups out is an “act of cruelty”.
There are more than 1.5 million Australians who are living off working-age payments such as jobseeker, youth allowance and parenting payments. As an example, the base rate for jobseeker is $390.55 per week. Routine indexation that took place last week increased this by $1.55 per week. That is just not enough money for a person to live on.
Carers, parents, students, people living with a disability or illness, volunteers, people in crisis, people who can’t work, low-wage workers or those who are looking to find employment – these are people that rely on our social security system. We should be investing in a system that financially supports people when they need it.
It is an act of cruelty, to put out a budget promising to assist those struggling through the cost-of-living crisis and yet to completely ignore those most in need of economic relief.
Budget bolsters Australia against global shockwaves – Chalmers
On Donald Trump’s tariffs and the economic impacts of that, Chalmers says the budget has been designed to help insulate our economy against global shocks.
Some of that is what the government has been saying before about diversifying trade, and putting our export eggs into more baskets.
The other part of that, Chalmers says, is bolstering manufacturing in Australia.
Are the tariffs keeping him up at night? asks Sally Sara. The treasurer said:
These escalating trade tensions are obviously keeping us awake at night, because trade tensions are bad for growth and they’re bad for inflation. They are a big part, but not the only part of the global economic uncertainty, which does cast a dark shadow, not just over our budget and our economy but the budgets and economies of the world.
Chalmers adds he still believes the economy will continue to grow – which is why the government keeps saying it has “turned a corner”.
