Angus Taylor
Hume · Liberal Party · Australia
“It was in 1927 that the federal parliament moved from Melbourne, where it had sat for 26 years. It's a much better location here; I'm in agreement. It did take up a beautiful sheep station, but it has become a great city. It came to a provisional building, as we just heard, in the new capital of Canberra.”
“I'm sure that all in this place look forward to that special sitting of the parliament in Old Parliament House to commemorate the occasion, and I warmly welcome that opportunity.”
“On behalf of the coalition and the federal opposition, it gives me great pleasure to support the motion moved by the government. We warmly welcome the establishment of the Joint Select Committee on the Centenary of Parliament in Canberra.”
“He captured the aspirational spirit of the Australian people when he said: One's own life would hardly be worth living without its dreams of better things, and the life of a nation without such dreams of a better and a larger future … Prime Minister Stanley Bruce delivered an address in which he said: May those who enter this open door go…”
“Given the shortage of accommodation in the new capital, I think it was largely restricted to tents at that point. Consequently, the overcatered event reportedly saw a large quantity of Sargents meat pies left over. Legend has it they were disposed of in a pit where the Treasury building now stands.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Under Labor, aged care wait times have blown out to over a year. More than 200,000 Australians are waiting for care. Today, Labor was defeated in the Senate, which passed the coalition's bill to put people back in charge of aged care decision-making.”
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“My question is to the Prime Minister. Under Labor, aged care wait times have blown out to over a year. More than 200,000 Australians are waiting for care. Today, Labor was defeated in the Senate, which passed the coalition's bill to put people back in charge of aged care decision-making. Why won't Labor support the coalition's bill to provide human oversight of all aged care decisions?”
“I'm sure that all in this place look forward to that special sitting of the parliament in Old Parliament House to commemorate the occasion, and I warmly welcome that opportunity. I feel lucky enough to have sat in the public gallery there in the 1970s with my two grandparents who lived at the time just on the other side of Red Hill, in Garran. I was young and I didn't fully understand what was going on. How could you in this place? I'm still working it out! But what I did know about what was going on was it was important. It really did matter. In fact, it inspired me to want to be part of this place in the future. What has happened down at Old Parliament House is worth celebrating, and it will be a true honour to be sitting there. I'm sure it will be a very civil question time—”
“Given the shortage of accommodation in the new capital, I think it was largely restricted to tents at that point. Consequently, the overcatered event reportedly saw a large quantity of Sargents meat pies left over. Legend has it they were disposed of in a pit where the Treasury building now stands. I think the productivity has gone up since then; sometimes I wonder! RAAF planes flew overhead, and, indeed, the celebration that day was sadly marred by tragedy. Flying Officer Francis Ewen, swept from flying formation, crashed and was killed. Of course, it was a great moment despite that tragedy. There will be much to remember and celebrate next year at the centenary of parliament in Canberra.”
“He captured the aspirational spirit of the Australian people when he said: One's own life would hardly be worth living without its dreams of better things, and the life of a nation without such dreams of a better and a larger future … Prime Minister Stanley Bruce delivered an address in which he said: May those who enter this open door govern with justice, reason, and equal favour to all. May they do so in humility and without self-interest. May they think and act nationally. May they speak with the voice of those who sent them here—the voice of the people. That day, Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba sang 'God Save the King', our national anthem at the time. There was a band. A crowd of about a thousand people gathered. It was one below expectations.”
“It was in 1927 that the federal parliament moved from Melbourne, where it had sat for 26 years. It's a much better location here; I'm in agreement. It did take up a beautiful sheep station, but it has become a great city. It came to a provisional building, as we just heard, in the new capital of Canberra. It wasn't very provisional, of course; I'll come back to that! But that building that we now refer to as Old Parliament House was opened on 9 May that year, and that building would remain the site of the federal parliament for 61 years, until 1988, when it moved to this building. During the opening of the first federal parliament in Canberra, the King's message was read expressing his pride in the new capital city. His son the Duke of York, the future King George VI, was there in person.”
“On behalf of the coalition and the federal opposition, it gives me great pleasure to support the motion moved by the government. We warmly welcome the establishment of the Joint Select Committee on the Centenary of Parliament in Canberra. Our history must be remembered, our history must be protected, and our history and the stories associated with it must be celebrated. That includes the history of this great parliament and the old parliament just down the hill. In the end, the parliament is the people's house, and the parliament is very much about the history of Australia and the Australian people. As we've just heard from the Prime Minister, our parliament is absolutely central to our wonderful democracy, the greatest democracy in the world, in my view—and long has been.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Labor's toxic taxes are tanking the housing market. Housing data released today shows house prices have already fallen further than Treasury predicted, around three per cent in Sydney and Melbourne over the last quarter. HSBC and Morgan Stanley predict further falls of eight to 10 per cent. Will the Prime Minister guarantee house prices won't fall any further?”
“Under Labor, the price of everything is going up. Electricity is up 38 per cent. Gas is up 37 per cent. Rents are up 23 per cent. Health costs are up 17 per cent. Education is up 21 per cent, and childcare fees are up 27 per cent. Because of Labor, families are falling behind and small businesses are on their knees. Prime Minister, how are Australians supposed to get ahead when Labor keeps making them pay more?”
“The self-effacing Richard admitted that he never felt entirely comfortable with public accolades, but, in the eyes of our nation, he was more than deserving in being named an Officer of the Order of Australia and as an Australian of the Year. Professor Richard Scolyer sits with the pantheon of remarkable Australians, but, as we just heard from the Prime Minister, he was more than that. He was a devoted husband and loving father, and our thoughts today are with those dearest to him: Dr Katie Nicoll and his children, Emily, Mathew and Lucy. In his final farewell letter, Richard implored government to keep funding science and medical research. May Richard's wish hold this federal parliament and future federal parliaments to that mark. That's the way we can honour his memory and push forward his work.”
“His work and clinical trials pushed forward the scientific fields of pathology and cancer. His research pioneered breakthrough melanoma treatments that have saved and improved lives. He helped start a melanoma biobank, now the world's largest—and he passed on his knowledge as a lecturer and in more than 1,000 publications. He nurtured a new generation of young doctors and researchers, who will carry on his vital work, and of course one of his defining achievements was when the pathologist became his own patient. He was the first person to receive the experimental brain cancer treatment he helped pioneer, but he didn't sugarcoat his darkest hours. Notably, there was valour in his vulnerability, and through his sincerity he inspired others. He inspired strength in fellow cancer sufferers.”
“His deteriorating health saw him prerecord the speech. Humble and happy, he delivered a heartfelt message for graduates—one full of hope. He said: Be brave. Be bold and challenge the status quo. He lived by those words, and his life has inspired, and will continue to inspire, others to live by his noble example. Richard admitted that his childhood was full of adventures built on how, not if. That childhood nurtured his inquisitive nature and his 'give it a crack' attitude. For him, life was about possibilities, not problems. His optimism was matched by his deep sense of duty. He wrote: I have always been driven by the belief that we all have a responsibility to try to change the future for others and leave the world a better place. And he did exactly that.”
“I thank the Prime Minister for his heartfelt words and I join him in honouring the life of Professor Richard Scolyer AO. To read Richard's final farewell letter is to appreciate all the more that our nation has lost a great Australian, a gifted scientist and a generous and gracious man. He was a rarity: bright, brilliant, brave, big hearted—the very best of us. Today, as a parliament, we commemorate this remarkable Australian, we commend his work and we celebrate his life and his legacy. In the touching goodbye he penned, Richard said: … cancer does not define us. Yet Richard's more than three decades of work has defined cancer research and treatment, and I'm confident that the inroads he made will ultimately help humanity defeat this dreadful disease. Earlier this year, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Sydney.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister confirm that no Commonwealth taxpayer funds have directly or indirectly been paid into the hands of convicted criminal and underworld figure Mick Gatto or any associated companies?”
“My question is to the Minister for Housing. Last April at the National Press Club, the minister said this about first home buyers: 'Many of them have taken on incredibly large mortgages while interest rates were particularly low, and we don't want—nor is it good for the country—to see that generation go into negative equity.' How many first home buyers have fallen into negative fallen into negative equity since the budget?”
“The Prime Minister gave the project another $3.8 billion in the budget. And, today, in the parliament, they're doing it again, handing unions control over taxpayers' money, writing corruption into law. Labor's protecting its mates in the CFMEU from scrutiny. Labor's giving a green light to organised crime, to rackets, to rorts, to rip-offs, in the CFMEU. It's time to get organised crime out of our construction sites. Every Australian knows it. The only people pretending otherwise are those opposite.”
“Over and over, again and again, the Australian people see the same pattern—the CFMEU engulfed by corruption, kickbacks, organised crime, intimidation, violence and mistreatment of women. It is a culture summed up in two chilling words—'everybody eats'—except that's not right. It's the Australian taxpayer who pays the bill, and Labor keeps protecting the CFMEU. Last night, the Prime Minister was asked about organised crime and corruption in the Victorian government's Big Build projects. He said he had no tolerance for it and he has taken the strongest possible action against it. Surprise, surprise—another perversion of the truth! The government's aware of at least four allegations of corruption on the Suburban Rail Loop. So what did it do—seek assurances that taxpayers' money wouldn't be misused? Of course not.”
“It will never be the Australian way whilst we are fighting here and in government, and we will fight all the way to the next election to win that election on the back of Labor's toxic taxes.”
“I added another word to that, but I won't do that now. It's illiberal. It's the mother of all broken promises from a prime minister who's pretty good at broken promises. He said his word was his bond, but his word is worth absolutely nothing, because he and the modern Labor Party believe in wealth redistribution, not wealth creation. The Labor Party attacks aspiration instead of nurturing aspiration. It wants dependent citizens. It wants dependent Australians, not empowered Australians. It resents success instead of respecting success. I say their disdain and contempt for Australians owning assets and building their nest eggs is unmistakeably just socialism. They are back at their roots. That's what they believe in. There's no mistaking Labor's socialist vision for our country. That has never been the Australian way.”
“We want Australians to dream, to aspire, to strive and succeed, to take risks, to have a go and to get ahead. That is the Australian way. We will make the next election a referendum on these taxes. My promise to Australians is this: on winning the election, the coalition will repeal these toxic taxes with immediate effect. This is not just a dark day for Australia and Australians. It's a dark day for the Labor Party because, prior to the election, the Prime Minister ruled out changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing not once, not twice, not three times and not even 20 times. It was 50 times. In his own words, he said it was for the 50th time. The other thing the Prime Minister said is that he doesn't do deals with the Greens. But he did a deal with the Greens. He does every single time. As I've said before, this is arrogant.”
“Then we learned in the last few days that it's a tax on widows too. Make no mistake about it: that legislation included in it a tax on widows, no matter what those opposite have to say. There can be no doubt about what Labor is signalling with these taxes. They are signalling to Australians, particularly young Australians: 'Don't be aspirational. Don't be ambitious. Don't take risks and have a go. Don't chase your dreams. Don't work hard to get ahead. Don't seek a better life for you and your family.' These toxic taxes are an assault on aspiration and ambition in this country. They are a war on the Australian dream, and we will have none of it. I say to Australians today what I've been saying since Labor's disastrous budget. We will axe Labor's toxic taxes, every single one of them.”
“Today is a dark day for Australia and for Australians because today Labor's toxic taxes were rushed through the parliament in a dirty, dangerous deal with the Greens. Not only that but I'm giving this speech now because the government decided to shut down the MPI so we couldn't hold them to account on these toxic taxes. Have no misapprehensions about these taxes. They are a tax on housing and, when you tax housing, you get fewer houses. They are a tax on every asset class—on shares, on crypto exchange-traded funds, on everything—and you get less investment if you tax investment. It's a tax on savings, on young Australians, on startups and on small and family businesses, which are the engine room of our local communities and our nation. It's a tax on farmers and a tax on Australians building a nest egg so they can buy a home.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Today, the Labor government has backflipped again, issuing an entry permit for yet another dangerous ISIS terrorist sympathiser to enter Australia. Last night, in his annual threat assessment, the director-general of ASIO declared that Islamic State and al-Qaeda and their affiliates are growing their capability to conduct and inspire attacks. Why does the Prime Minister keep rolling out the welcome mat for ISIS terrorist sympathisers?”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Labor's budget of broken promises and higher, toxic taxes will impose $77 billion of new taxes on Australians. Why does this prime minister, the leader of this dishonest government, want to pull up the ladder on hardworking Australians?”
“The Albanese government said it couldn't do anything. What a lot of codswallop! It chose to do nothing. Worse, it flung open the door and rolled out the red carpet. This government has deliberately turned a blind eye to Islamist extremism in this country. It is showing utter disdain for the safety of hardworking Australians.”
“It's farcical. Last night the ASIO Director-General gave his annual threat assessment. He warned that terrorism remains an acute concern. But today we discovered this government has again done nothing to stop terror coming through the door. The Albanese government imposed just one temporary exclusion order on just one ISIS bride. Disgracefully, it has now lifted that order. Frankly, not a single ISIS bride should have been allowed back into this country. The term 'ISIS bride' covers all manner of sins. These people abandoned Australia. They travelled to terrorist hotspots. They supported an evil death cult, and they steeped their children in a monstrous ideology. The repatriation of these terrorist sympathisers fails the security test, fails the fairness test, fails the values test and fails the pub test.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Labor's wasteful spending is fuelling core inflation. Labor's taxes are punishing aspiration, and Australians have suffered the worst collapse in living standards in the developed world. Why are Australians continuing to pay the price for Labor's economic incompetence?”
“I associate the coalition with the words of the Prime Minister. Of course we will participate in this important event this evening. I pay tribute to the extraordinary work that's been done by the Australian War Memorial and successive governments. I should say this did start under a coalition government but has been continued under the current government. It's an important piece of work to pay tribute to our war fighters and those who have served our country over many, many generations, many of whom who have paid the ultimate price. These are extraordinary people, extraordinary Australians, and I look forward to paying tribute to them and the great work that's been done for a long time by the Australian War Memorial.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has done a dangerous deal with the Greens to ram through his toxic taxes. Prime Minister, will Australians with a self-managed super fund face higher tax bills because of your dangerous deal?”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was humiliated into changing his position on his toxic taxes just 38 days after his budget of broken promises. Despite this Olympic-level backflip, can the Prime Minister name a single country that will have a higher tax rate on real capital gains than Australia?”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Australian taxpayers will pay $77 billion extra because of Labor's toxic taxes. Prime Minister, why did your government vote against lower income taxes 11 times, including the coalition's plan for bigger and better income tax cuts year after year after year?”
“Now, of course, we support the $250 annual income tax cut. We support the $1,000 deduction for work related expenses, but we do not support Labor's toxic tax hikes. This much is clear: Labor is for imposing higher aspiration-killing toxic taxes on Australians. We stand for lower income taxes for Australians year after year after year.”
“Today, the Albanese Labor government voted 11 times against lower income taxes for Australians. Labor stands condemned. The Prime Minister promised there would be no changes to negative gearing and no changes to capital gains tax. He ruled out changes, in his own words, for the 50th time. No Australian can trust another word that comes out of his mouth. This budget isn't about addressing intergenerational equity. It isn't pro supply. Australians know weasel words when they hear them. They know they're being gaslighted. Behind the Orwellian doublespeak, it's a massive con job—a budget of toxic taxes from this government. That's why this government is rushing this rotten legislation that they didn't take to an election through the parliament this week, with discretion all left to this treasurer.”
“If the Albanese government doesn't support our two amendments, it means two things: (1) Labor is imposing higher, aspiration-killing taxes on hardworking Australians; and (2) Labor is for inflation pushing more Australians into higher tax brackets, so they can take more of their income as tax. We know that's what they want. The ball is in Labor's court. The Albanese government should stop its toxic taxes. The Albanese government should support the coalition's bigger and better personal income tax cuts.”
“We also seek to omit schedule 2, the negative gearing changes—we don't support those changes as contained in schedule 2. The government's own budget papers, on page 158, explicitly admit that these combined toxic taxes will reduce housing supply and push up rents. The Treasury secretary has had to admit it, because it's there, plain, for all to see. We seek the removal of schedule 2 from the bill as well. Put simply, we support tax cuts, but we don't support Labor's toxic taxes. As the government is aware, during my second reading speech on Tuesday I moved another amendment in my name, calling on the government to immediately pass laws to end Labor's automatic tax increases using bracket creep, and to implement a tax-back guarantee by indexing the personal income tax brackets to inflation.”
“The coalition's resolve is clear: Labor's toxic taxes need to be axed. That's why we don't support Labor's legislation and we have proposed an amendment today. Now, for simplicity, there are two schedules we seek to retain in the bill. We seek to retain schedule 3: the WATO $250 annual income tax cut would stay in the bill. We support it. We also seek to retain schedule 4—the standard $1,000 deduction for work related expenses. We support that as well. However, we oppose Labor's toxic taxes on Australians. So there are two schedules we seek to omit from the bill: schedule 1, the CGT amendments—we don't support those, of course. They punish aspiration—that's what they do. Again, we seek the removal of schedule 1 from the bill.”
“They could have put forward separate bills—one bill for tax cuts and one bill for tax increases—but they didn't, and what Australians see is a bad faith government playing a cynical, tricky game, because that's what they do every single day of the week. Back in 2022, on the day he was sworn in—the day he was sworn in—the Prime Minister said: I look forward to leading a Government … that doesn't seek to have wedges … I reckon he's eaten a lot of wedges! But here is the truth: the Prime Minister's word is never his bond—never, never. Ramming this 'wedgislation' through the parliament without sufficient scrutiny is an act of political expediency—an act of political bastardry! Labor is more interested in headlines than in helping Australians. That's what you get when you get a media adviser as a Treasurer. And Australians know it.”
“Australians need cost-of-living relief after four years of Labor's raging homegrown inflation. They do need cost-of-living relief, with a broken economy that we saw yesterday, productivity down five per cent and the standard of living down almost four per cent. We see that the only thing left growing the economy is record levels of migration. So we support Labor's $250 annual income tax cut. We support Labor's $1,000 deduction for work related expenses. These cost-of-living measures could have passed this parliament easily, with bipartisan support. But tricky Labor and this tricky Treasurer have deliberately tied these measures to their toxic taxes, using a single piece of legislation, an omnibus bill, for their tax cuts and toxic tax increases.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister promised Australians they would be better off. Today's national accounts show living standards going backwards. Since Labor came to office, Australians have experienced the sharpest fall in living standards in the developed world. When will the Prime Minister admit his economic strategy has failed Australians?”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Today's national accounts show that GDP per person went backwards in the March quarter for the 10th time out of 15 quarters under Labor. On Labor's watch, more than 1.4 million migrants have arrived in Australia. Prime Minister, why is out-of-control migration your only strategy to achieve economic growth?”
“Prime Minister Wale, Australia is unwavering in its support for Solomon Islands' sovereignty and freedom, particularly in an age of emboldened authoritarian regimes who respect neither freedom nor sovereignty. Solomon Islands will always have a friend in Australia, just as Australia will always have a friend in the Solomon Islands. I look forward to seeing the growing engagement between our police forces we've just heard about. I also welcome the news that Canberra and Honiara will begin negotiations on a new comprehensive treaty. You are a most welcome guest in our country and a dear friend.”
“on indulgence—Can I associate the opposition with the fine words of the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Wale, I welcome you, your wife and the Solomon Islands delegation on a cold and rainy day in Canberra. Next month, Solomon Islands celebrates 48 years of being an independent nation. Ahead of that anniversary, and on behalf of the federal opposition, I give my best wishes to you and the people of the Solomon Islands. In 1978, as your people ushered in nationhood, profound words were spoken by your first Prime Minister, Peter Kenilorea. He said: Independence means having our own political freedom, our own status, our national identity, dignity, and self-respect as a nation.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Today we welcome the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, Matthew Wale, to this place. Solomon Islands is a dear neighbour and an indispensable friend to Australia. What is the government doing to deepen this friendship and support the sovereignty of sovereign islands in the face of disruptions to peace in the Pacific?”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Last week, the Treasury secretary defended Labor's toxic taxes by saying: … revenue needs to be raised from somewhere … Will the Prime Minister confirm that Australians will pay $77 billion more tax than they get back?”
“In simple terms, our policy will help protect Australians' incomes from inflation, that thief in the night. We will protect it in a way Labor never would. From 2028-29, we'll index the bottom two income tax thresholds to inflation, and that will fully protect 85 per cent of income earners. From 2031-32, we'll index the top two tax thresholds as well. Of course, that will protect all income earners from inflation. Let me give you two examples of how this works in practice. Let's assume that inflation was at the Reserve Bank's target rate of 2½ per cent. It's a big assumption under this government; it won't be under our government.”
“It will be gone by Christmas. Here's the reality. Labor are stealing more money from Australians through inflation than they're giving back through their tax cut. That's how they work—give a little bit with one hand and take way more back with the other. That's how they're doing it. That is how Labor always like to do it. The Albanese government's not so dirty little secret is that it likes inflation because that way it gets more money for its spending. A coalition government under my leadership will stop Labor's dishonest tax. In my budget-in-reply, I announced the coalition's policy to index income tax thresholds to inflation, and we call that the tax-back guarantee. Never again will the government be able to steal from Australians year after year via stealth, as this Labor government is doing.”
“Without compunction, the Albanese government is coming after Australians' money however it possibly can. There's no more harmful tax than Labor's inflation tax. The higher this Labor government’s homegrown inflation goes and the longer it lasts, the more this government takes from Australians. That's how it works. That suits Labor just fine—because the government's reckless and unrestrained spending requires more revenue. Labor's only too happy to see inflation push more Australians into higher tax brackets, so it can take more of their income as tax. That's what they're doing. Bracket creep is their best friend. As I said, we support the government's $250 annual income tax cut. But here's what Labor is not telling Australians. If that were put in place tomorrow, it would be gone by Christmas because of inflation. That's what it does.”
“The Treasurer told us that he'd beaten inflation. The truth is that inflation had beaten this hapless Treasurer. The government now needs more than ever to take money from Australians to fund its spending addiction—and when Labor runs out of money, it comes after yours. The Treasury secretary was upfront about this being a tax grab. At the Australian Business Economists forum last week, she also said: Individuals are sensitive about paying additional tax— she's right about that— which is understandable. But revenue needs to be raised from somewhere … She could have said that revenue needs to be raised from someone—just from people who don't vote for Labor is obviously the way they're thinking, or at least the way the government's thinking. Let me repeat that last part: revenue needs to be raised from somewhere.”
“And should these toxic taxes pass the parliament with support from the Greens and Independents, our resolve is also clear. A coalition government under my leadership will repeal these toxic taxes with immediate effect. There's a reason why the government is desperately trying and failing to depict its budget as pro aspiration. I find it hard to even say. It's just absolute nonsense. But there's a reason why they're going to extraordinary lengths to paint this shameless tax grab as the solution to intergenerational equity. The Albanese government has lost control of its spending. Government spending as a proportion of the economy is at a 40-year high outside of the pandemic. It's why we are about to cross the threshold of $1 trillion of debt. It's why inflation in our country remains stubborn and sticky. It's going up, not down.”
“In 2022, on the day he was sworn in, no less, the Prime Minister said, 'I look forward to heading to a government that doesn't seek to have wedges.' I think he was talking about potato wedges. He certainly didn't seem to be talking about 'wedgislation' like we're seeing right here, so maybe it was a joke. The truth is that we know this prime minister's word is never his bond—never! Ramming this 'wedgislation' through the parliament without sufficient scrutiny is an act of political bastardry and expediency. Labor is more interested in headlines than it is in helping Australians. That's the truth. And Australians know it. Our resolve is clear. Labor's toxic taxes need to be axed. That's why we don't support Labor's legislation. We have proposed amendments. I'll come back to those.”
“We support Labor's $1,000 reduction for work related expenses. These cost-of-living measures could have passed parliament easily with our support. But tricky Labor has deliberately tied these measures to its toxic taxes. That's what it's done. It's using a single piece of legislation, an omnibus bill, for its tax cuts and tax increases, putting them both together so it can sneak them through. Labor could have put forward separate bills. It's very easy to do. There's absolutely nothing stopping it from doing that, other than trying to ram them through. It didn't separate them out. What Australians see is a bad-faith government playing a cynical political game, as it does every single day in this place.”