Madonna Jarrett
Brisbane · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“Parents, teachers and mental health professionals have increasingly expressed concern that social media companies have prioritised engagement and profit over children's wellbeing.”
“Since the introduction of those reforms, we have seen over five million accounts belonging to under-16s deleted off social media. That's an outcome, Member for Casey. This is a very positive development.”
“Protecting big tech or protecting young children—easy choice. Those opposite have the wrong priorities for this country, and we see it time and time again, whether it's keeping Australians locked out of the housing market, not supporting wage increases, voting against higher taxes or not acting on climate change.”
“Fourth is greater protection from online predators, scams and harmful content. Finally, the reforms send a strong message to the technology companies that child safety should be built into platform design rather than treated as an afterthought.”
“Platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X are all central to our modern lifestyle. But, while they're great opportunities to learn, to be creative, to connect, they also expose young people to significant risk. I'm going to make a point here: there is research behind this. There are facts that support this.”
“I'm pretty proud that the government is standing strong against big tech because that's what we need to do. We went out alone, but there are 16 more countries that are coming in behind us, which is pretty important. That's a pretty strong contrast to those opposite, who have chosen big tech over Australian kids.”
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“We will consult on what the new threshold should be. Second is the reporting requirements for the CFMEU. The Australian Labor government acted decisively by legislating for the appointment of an administrator to the Construction and General division of the CFMEU. This government will not tolerate corruption, criminality or violence in any workplace, and that includes the construction industry. The union movement doesn't want this either. But what we will tolerate is a strong and effective union movement that looks after workers and stops them being exploited. You can tell from the story I started these comments with that I am a proud unionist. I come from a union family. I see what a positive difference they make to individuals and their families. The problems we see in the construction industry are not the norm in the union movement.”
“Our truck drivers drive our goods around our country; we need a viable transport system. However, access to these protections is currently restricted by a high-income threshold, and, due to the significant operating costs faced by road transport contractors—such as fuel expenses and vehicle maintenance, particularly for long-distance owner-drivers—the existing threshold does not adequately reflect their circumstances. This reform will establish a separate, more appropriate high-income threshold for road transport contractors, ensuring hardworking Australian truck drivers and small transport businesses can access protections against unfair termination and unfair contract terms. This recognises that truckies have high out-of-pocket costs and conventional high-income thresholds are not fit for purpose.”
“Despite what the member for Flinders was saying, importantly, this bill does not mandate this approach. Decisions on when and how it should be applied are carefully considered as part of the development of the secure Australian jobs code, alongside existing requirements to ensure value for money and the delivery of high-quality, timely outcomes. All Commonwealth entities will continue to operate in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and the Commonwealth grant rules and guidelines. I now want to cover two key sectors that are also covered in the bill. The first is road transport contractors. In 2024, this government introduced new protections through the Fair Work Commission for truck drivers and small road transport businesses, safeguarding them from unfair contract terminations and inequitable contract terms.”
“Reforms implemented during the government's first term have revitalised the system, removing barriers and making it easier for employers and employees to negotiate agreements that suit their workplace and needs. As a result, there are now a record number of employees covered by enterprise agreements delivering genuine wage growth for workers alongside increased productivity and flexibility for employers. This is a good thing for workers, their bosses and our economy. The bill also introduces measures to support the use of good-faith bargaining through Commonwealth spending. It enables government procurement and funding decisions, where appropriate, to give preference to employers that have negotiated agreements in good faith and with genuine agreement.”
“All these changes may seem small, but together they will make the system fairer, easier and more efficient, not just for workers but for their bosses as well. Bargaining is another critical component of our industrial relations system. It allows businesses and employees to design unique working arrangements like specific rostering or flexible work-from-home rights and allowances—things that fit the exact operations of the business. Again, this is good for workers, but it's also good for the business. When this government came into office in 2022, it inherited a bargaining system that had long been ineffective. In fact, participation had declined to a point where fewer than 15 per cent of employees were covered by a current federal enterprise agreement.”
“Fifth, this bill allows the commission to dismiss unfair termination and unfair deactivation applications that are frivolous or vexatious or lack reasonable prospects of success. Finally, this bill simplifies the process for obtaining supported bargaining authorisations. This change will reduce administrative burdens where a new agreement largely covers the same employees and employers as an existing one, provided the application is made within the specified timeframe of three months before or two years after the previous agreement's nominal expiry. It also allows the commission to remove employers from an authorisation, either before or after it's granted, if their circumstances have changed.”
“This includes issuing basic things like certificates confirming that parties in a general protection dispute have made reasonable efforts to resolve the matter, but were unsuccessful. What these certificates do is allow the cases to move forward to consent arbitration or court proceedings. This delegation will help ensure the president and staff's time is used more efficiently. Third, the bill grants the commission greater flexibility to decide matters on papers without requiring a formal hearing or conference and, where appropriate, with the parties' consent. Fourth, it strengthens the commission's ability to deal with vexatious or frivolous applications, including the power to prevent individuals from lodging further claims without permission.”
“The commission plays a critical role supporting workers and employers, setting minimum-wage conditions, approving workplace agreements, and resolving disputes between employers and employees. The government remains committed to ensuring it continues delivering efficient dispute resolution services for both workers and employers. The first measure removes the need for a formal hearing to decide whether an applicant in a general protection case has been dismissed. Instead, the commission will now be able to hold a conference aimed at resolving the dispute, saving time and resources for the commission, workers and their bosses. Second, the bill enables the president of the commission to delegate certain responsibilities to staff.”
“These include amendments designed to: enable the Fair Work Commission to more effectively perform its vital function; support good-faith bargaining which delivers benefits for employees and employers alike, not to mention for our economy; ensure road transport contractors can access protections with the new fit-for-purpose high-income threshold'; clarify reporting requirements for the CFMEU administration; and support the effective operation of important tripartite advisory bodies in the workplace relations system. This bill has six important administrative measures which will streamline the operations of the Fair Work Commission to assist it in managing its workload.”
“Laws have expanded the scope for multi-employer agreements, helping small businesses and workers in fragmented industries negotiate enterprise agreements collectively. The government changed the definition of 'casual employment', offering clearer pathways for casuals to convert to permanent roles should they desire to do so, and we saw the abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the Registered Organisations Commission. These are big changes that the government has implemented since coming into power in 2022, and with this bill our government builds on those reforms with a package of practical measures to further improve the operation of the workplace relations system and to support more cooperative and productive workplaces.”
“Starting in July, the payment will also be available to family day care and the home care sector. Combined with minimum-wage adjustments, this ensures a typical full-time educator sees an increase of $255 or more per week compared to December 2024, with teachers receiving up to an extra $410 per week. The Fair Work Commission's landmark work value cases have delivered award wage increases for approximately 400,000 aged-care workers, with further phase pay jumps rolling out for nurses and direct care staff. There have been changes to help the gig economy and labour hire protections. New standards ensure same job, same pay for labour hire workers, and they've introduced a baseline protection and standard-setting powers for gig workers.”
“Employees can go home from work and they have a statutory protection to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from employers. Pay secrecy clauses have been banned and the gender pay gap has been driven to a record low. Minimum-wage earners have seen historic boosts, resulting in substantial increases to hourly rates and the nation experiencing multiple consecutive quarters of real-wage growth. More recently, the government supported the 4.75 per cent increase in the modern award minimum wage and a six per cent increase to the national minimum wage, which means national minimum wages will now be almost $1,005 per week, or $26.44 an hour. This month, the government also announced a $3.6 billion, two-year extension to the work retention payment to continue subsidising a historic 15 per cent pay rise for early childhood educators.”
“Governments can play an active role in making sure workplaces are safe, jobs are secure and wages are fair. In this government's first term, workplace reforms have been the most significant since the Fair Work Act commenced almost 17 years ago, and these reforms have delivered on our objectives to promote job security and gender equality, get wages moving, improve workplace safety, and address loopholes that have undermined fairness in the workplace. Some of those key industrial relations achievements include criminalising wage theft. It is now a crime to intentionally underpay workers. You can get penalties of up to 10 years in prison and fines of almost $8 million for businesses. There's a right to disconnect. We can go home from work.”
“This is just one story based on the memories of me as a small child whose family relied on her dad having a safe and fair workplace. There are many more such stories, and that's why we need workplace laws that promote such values—and that's what this bill, the Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Building Cooperative Workplaces No. 1) Bill 2026, is about. There is dignity in work. On average, we spend about a third of our lives at work, and that equates to roughly 90,000 hours. While this reality often sparks discussions about work-life balance, meaning, purpose and burnout, employment can also provide critical financial independence, social cohesion and a sense of purpose. According to the ABS, there are currently 14.73 million people employed in this country.”
“The Electrical Trade Union members went on strike to defend jobs and security, and, not long after that strike began, the government declared a state of emergency. It rushed in a series of anti-union/anti-strike laws, making picket lines illegal. The dispute stretched over the following months, and the striking workers held out with a lot of community support. My parents were involved in that dispute. They were on the picket lines and were part of the community that coordinated food and financial support for families who were affected. As children, we saw the tears and the hardship facing mums and dads when the workplace and industrial system broke down and when the community those workers had created was threatened.”
“My dad got up every morning and was at work by seven or 7.30 at the latest. He worked overtime. He was on call regularly, and quite often he got home when I was going to school. He worked hard. When he got home he told stories of his day. Sometimes maybe there was an injury; maybe there was a fight with the boss. More often than not it was a great day doing what he loved: being a sparky. He knew what he would bring home in his pay packet most weeks, which helped mum plan for meals and buy medicines and schoolbooks. But part of his working life also included the infamous Queensland SEQEB dispute. Basically, that dispute was an attempt by the South East Queensland Electricity Board to replace permanent workers with contract labour.”
“In the middle of a housing crisis, they would rather help developers build high-end apartments while turning a blind eye to affordable solutions. I say to the Queensland LNP: stop putting developers before Queenslanders and do your bit.”
“Peak body Q Shelter claimed that the policy shift risks delivering more market housing that remains out of reach for low- and moderate-income households. Then, just last week, it was reported in the Brisbane Times that the LNP government had not managed the social housing register and that, at the end of last year, there were almost 30,000 applicants for social housing in Queensland. This comes on top of the introduction of the three-strikes-and-you're-out policy. It's a cruel policy. I say to the people of Brisbane and Queensland that you should demand better out of the LNP. They have abandoned you, and they have given up the fight for more affordable housing. The LNP is putting the interests of property owners and property developers over the interests of Queensland.”
“We're tackling the housing crisis from every angle and we're delivering. This is in stark contrast to what's unfolding in Queensland under the LNP state government. They have scrapped the mandates under the State Facilitated Development program that require developers to include affordable housing in new builds. Under the LNP, up to 10,000 social and affordable homes across the state have now been cancelled. The SFD scheme was introduced by a Labor government in 2024 and included a mandate that at least 15 per cent of homes within those developments be affordable. The LNP claims it is cutting red tape, but let's call it what it is: it's delivering for its donor mates, the property developers.”
“We also see it in the rising homeless population that is so evident in our suburbs and across our regions. For too long the Commonwealth government had tapped out of the housing challenge. During the coalition's nine years in power, they neglected housing, to the point where they didn't even appoint a housing minister for most of their time in government. They built just 373 social and affordable homes over that entire period. The crisis wasn't created overnight, and it won't be fixed overnight. Since the Albanese Labor government was elected in 2022, real progress has been made right across the country. When it comes to housing, Labor has taken the Commonwealth from being the negligent bystander that it was under the former coalition government to being the boldest and most ambitious government since the Second World War.”
“To deliver fairness and the dream of owning their own home, every one of us in this chamber should be motivated to provide to the younger generations at least the same opportunities and aspirations that we had. We know that housing is a life-defining challenge for so many Australians. Many people are working hard and doing everything right, yet they still can't afford a place to call home. Young people are outbidding each other for rental properties, and families with kids—families that would have owned a home a generation ago—cannot get a foothold in the market now. We hear this from young people. We hear it from parents who cannot give their kids the stability they got as children. We hear it from renters whose rents are going up too high and too often.”
“For decades, generous tax concessions have distorted wealth creation and investment. The current system allows investors to be taxed on only 50 per cent of a capital gain or, put simply, a profit, regardless of whether that profit or gain comes from economic growth or simply from rising asset prices due to inflation. Labor's reforms seek to restore the original principles: tax real gains, not inflationary gains. They're also about bringing the taxes we pay as a result of sitting on assets closer to the tax we pay as a result of working very hard. Under the proposed model, capital gains will be adjusted for inflation rather than receive a blanket discount. This is not radical. This is common sense. In my first speech to this House, I did speak about one of the biggest challenges facing leaders right now being intergenerational inequality.”
“I rise to speak about housing and, in particular, the stark difference in approaches to housing between this Labor government and the LNP state government and the impact that's having in my Brisbane community and more broadly across Queensland. On this side of the House, we do not shy away from the housing challenges. That's why, in this year's budget, we made the decision to reform our tax system to make it easier for first home buyers to get into their first home. I heard from young people, their parents and their grandparents how the system is just not working. It's real. It's unfair. It's denying young people a chance at the Australian dream of homeownership. The current system, as we know, gives big tax breaks to investors, helping them outbid first home buyers, locking young people out of the market.”
“Approximately 3,000 Australians live with MND, including former Broncos and Queensland Maroons player Jai Arrow. It's a debilitating disease. It forced him to retire early. It took the life of a friend of mine who never got the chance to see her daughter grow up. We still haven't found a cure, and we know we need to step up our efforts to find one. That's why it was great to join hundreds of Brisbane residents at the New Farm annual walk for MND. As we said on that day, until there's a cure, there is care and there is community. I want to say to everyone with MND: we have your back.”
“I also spoke to the students, though, about the importance in leadership of holding true to your values, backing yourself, being brave and, importantly, being kind to yourself. It was so inspiring to be amongst so many young future women leaders, some who may one day sit in my chair in this chamber. Thank you, Zoe and the team, for a wonderful event. Tragically, we recently lost an Australian hero and legend Neale Daniher to motor neurone disease. Neil fought what he called the beast with courage, optimism and passion that brought hope and inspiration to many people affected by MND. The difference he made can be measured in national awareness and in the tens of millions of dollars that he and the FightMND fund have raised to support research for a cure.”
“This is why I recently had the pleasure of joining a panel of women leaders at the University of Queensland. The event, attended mainly by aspiring young women, was hosted by Zoe, the President of the Political Science and International Relations Society at the university. The discussion centred on the recognition that diverse representation leads to better outcomes in policymaking and in government. I couldn't agree more. Look at our landmark women's health package and our support for pay rises for some of the lowest paid workers across the country. Millions of award-reliant workers will see a pay rise of between 4.75 per cent and six per cent in their pay packets from 1 July in a few weeks time, and these workers are predominantly women.”
“I grew up surrounded by strong women. There are seven girls in my family. My mum and grandma were true matriarchs. At school I was taught mainly by women teachers, and throughout my career I've been mentored and sponsored by strong, accomplished women, who actually paved the road that I then walked. Being surrounded by strong, knowledgeable, caring and supportive women gave me my voice. I tell this story because women can make a difference, especially if we support each other. Women matter and their voices matter. Women make up half the population, yet our issues are often misunderstood, dismissed or sometimes ignored. But we know that having women in leadership positions drives the changes that women need. You can't be what you can't see. Women have a place in this world. We can lead and we can make a difference.”
“Those opposite want to keep Australians down, but on this side of the House we are doing everything we can to lift them up.”
“I talk to people across the Brisbane electorate, and they tell me that they're working hard, that it's tough to get ahead and that the system's not working for them, and they're right. The status quo isn't working, especially when it comes to that big dream of owning your own home. When you work hard, when you save, you should be able to buy your own home. But, right now, first home buyers are being priced out by property investors, who have access to big tax breaks through negative gearing. And then there's also capital gains. This can't go on. A whole generation is being left behind. As leaders, we needed to do something. We needed to change a broken system, and that's why we're acting and why we're levelling the playing field for first home buyers.”
“Today is a great day for working Australians and for young people because we passed, in this House, not that long ago, our aspirational tax reform package. This tax package will go down in history as one of the biggest reforms for our nation. It sits along other great Labor legacies. Why? Because it's always a Labor government that's prepared to make the big structural changes for the benefit of our country. Our reforms mean, starting from 1 July, every working Australian will receive a tax cut. That's more money in the back pockets of every working Australian. Another significant reform in this package is the rebalancing of the tax system so it's fairer for everybody, especially young people.”
“They can continue to watch the ground sink beneath young people's feet and pretend that it's solid, or they can join us and recognise that Australians need a tax system that works for everyone. While those opposite continue to be focused on themselves, this Labor government is focused on delivering for all Australians.”
“Labor has always been and always will be the party of fairness in Australia. That's why this budget is pro aspiration. It's pro-worker. It's pro-investor. It's for every young person who dreams to buy a home. It's for every person who goes to work every day, maybe before dawn or working through the night, and who brings home that pay packet but is still finding it tough. It's for those who have fallen on tough times, and it's for those who want to invest. This government is doing everything it can to help Australians with the cost of living, and we're changing the tax system to make it fairer for our younger generation. Now the LNP has a clear choice.”
“The status quo is not working, especially when it comes to the big Australian dream of owning your own home. We've already delivered five per cent deposits for first home buyers, and we're building 100,000 homes just for them. But right now, first home buyers are being priced out by property investors backed by tax breaks like negative gearing, which also happens to be helping drive up the price of homes. This can't go on. A whole generation is being left behind. That's why we're acting. We're levelling the playing field for first home buyers by changing the capital gains tax and negative gearing. Another thing we're doing is making housing more affordable by building more homes, and that's why we're helping fund some of the essential infrastructure like water, power and roads.”
“This government is committed to helping Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn. We're delivering another tax cut for 13 million Australian taxpayers from 1 July this year. That's on top of the one from last year, and there'll be the third one in July next year. We're taking an extra $250 off working Australians' tax bills permanently, and there's the $1,000 instant tax deduction without receipts. That, of course, comes on top of cutting fuel taxes to save many when they fill up at the bowser. One of the most important reforms of this Labor government's tax package is rebalancing tax payments so that the system is fairer for everyone, especially young people. What I hear when I talk to our community in Brisbane is 'We're working hard. It's tough to get ahead. The system is not working for us'—and guess what? They're right.”
“It's why we've taken strong decisions to introduce big reforms that start to address intergenerational inequalities, especially when it comes to housing, to make our tax system fairer. It's why we've designed this budget to make our economy more resilient. At the same time, we're building a responsible and a stronger budget with lower deficits and less debt, which will help take pressure off inflation and build our fiscal buffers during these times of global uncertainty. Responsible economic management is a defining feature of this government, and this budget is our most responsible yet. Decisions in this budget mean we're saving more and we're spending less compared to the midyear update. And, as a proportion of the economy, debt is below what we inherited from those opposite. This is strong economic management by our Labor government.”
“3 is enabling almost 250,000 first home buyers into a home of their own and building 5,000 social and affordable homes for those in need. These reforms have made a real difference to every worker and their families. Let's not forget that those opposite opposed all of these measures. There is so much going on in the world around us at the moment—a war in the Middle East, oil price shocks and natural disasters. This Labor government can't control these events, but we can support Australians who are impacted and who continue to do it tough. That's why, in this '26 budget, we continue to roll out responsible cost-of-living relief for people across Brisbane and Australia.”
“Despite the comments from those opposite, I am actually very proud to stand here today as a member of the Labor government that has been delivering on commitments to all Australians. We've delivered on so many. Here are three of the best. No. 1 is making health care cheaper and more accessible, with more free doctor visits following record investments in bulk-billing, $25 PBS scripts, free Medicare urgent care clinics, including the great new one in Kelvin Grove in my electorate, and the free walk-in Medicare mental health centres, including one in Lutwyche in Brisbane. No. 2 is supporting wage increases for our lowest paid workers, including aged-care workers and those who service at our local pubs. Low-paid workers will see an increase of between 4.75 per cent and six per cent in their pay packets in about three weeks. No.”
“As leaders, we have a responsibility to ensure the next generation can live a life that they're proud of—that they can build a life they aspire to. But it requires us, as a government, to set the building blocks for opportunity—the same opportunities as, or better than, we had. This budget lays down the foundations to deliver just that. It's about building aspiration. It's a budget about hope. It's a budget providing an ability to build a safe and stable home and a community for people across my electorate and across Australia. I commend the bill to the House.”
“A fair tax system is one where everyone contributes according to their capacity and where opportunity is not determined by whether your parents owned a property before the boom. It's one that rewards effort as much as wealth, and that's not the case now. Labor's vision is straightforward: tax relief for working Australians, support for first home buyers, investment in housing supply and an economy that works not only for those who already have assets but those who are aspirational, who are still striving to build a future, because the strength of Australia has never come from the privileged few; it has always come from ordinary working people. And that's who these reforms are designed to support.”
“This is astounding, not just because of the increased cost to taxpayers but because their now shadow treasurer actually understands this. He admitted in his book that the current CGT concessions are entrenching wealth and exacerbating intergenerational inequality, and the tax discounts on assets tend to favour well-off and established interests against those trying to get ahead. I want to say to young people across Australia and in the Brisbane electorate: We get that the system is broken. We could have done the easy thing, and just kept going on with the same old same old. But we, this Labor government, want to support you, to give you the best opportunities in life—to give you a fair crack. That's the Australian way. And we will always fight for you. A fair tax system is not one where everybody pays the same amount.”
“The current system is skewed against everyday workers: bankers, electricians, plumbers, cleaners, nurses, teachers and more. And what the government can do is to be brave—take brave steps to fix what is broken and make the system fairer. By opposing these reforms, those opposite want to keep down younger Australians trying to get ahead. They will continue locking them out of the housing market. They're okay with a system that unfairly favours the wealthy over mums, dads, students and others who work hard every day just to make ends meet. They show their true colours by voting against our cost-of-living measures, including our tax cuts. They have said, over and over, that they will vote against these reforms and that, if the reforms get passed by parliament, they will repeal them, should they end up in government.”
“As outlined in the budget, the government is consulting with stakeholders on the treatment of capital gains of small and start-up businesses, where indexation is applied to a low or zero cost base. A modern economy grows when capital flows into businesses, innovation, manufacturing, renewable energy, technology and housing construction, not when tax settings overwhelmingly favour the accumulation of existing assets. These reforms are really about intergenerational fairness. Many Australians are working harder than ever, studying longer than previous generations and carry larger debts, yet they feel further away from the dream of owning their own home—further away than their parents ever did. There's a reason for this.”
“This is sensible commentary from those who understand that these changes are fundamentally about fairness. We are presenting the elements in these bills together not just because they're related, but because one part helps fund the other. Changes to capital gains and negative gearing will help pay for the tax cuts for all Australian workers. This is the first tranche of legislation. There'll be more on specific implementation details in other parts of our tax-reform package. Legislating significant reforms in tranches is a standard approach, consistent with how other governments have undertaken tax reform, and it's appropriate to ensure core policy features that apply broadly to most taxpayers are in place first.”
“If you think 30 per cent is closer to the right balance then you should be applauding the government's budget Deputy Speaker, you would also have seen many posts going around the internet saying that with these changes the government is becoming a lazy partner in business. But ask a simple question: compared with who? Compared with a nurse or an engineer, whose income is taxed before it even hits their bank account, or compared with their own employees, many of whom will pay more tax than the business owner? The truth is that people like Dr Tim Hird have done very well out of the current system. As he said: We have played by the rules. But we should not confuse playing by the rules with the rules being economically sensible—let alone fair.”
“The Barefoot Investor has offered some commentary on the reforms, saying, 'The system lets wealthy families with good accountants pay less tax than nurses and tradies.' To me, that just doesn't pass the pub test. Dr Tom Hird, an economist and founder of CEG Asia-Pacific, said in a recent article: Of course, business owners take risks. I did. Businesses fail, clients disappear, employees have to be paid before owners are paid. But risk is not a magic word that justifies any level of tax concession. The question is not whether the tax system should have concessions for entrepreneurs that salaried employees don't receive. I happen to think that it should. But does 12 to 20 per cent tax on $1 million strike the right balance?”
“Labor is seeking to redirect investment towards new housing construction rather than speculative bidding wars over existing homes. By encouraging investment in new builds, these reforms can support housing supply while easing pressure on first home buyers. Critics may say that these reforms will punish success. They don't. On this side of the House we do believe that success should be rewarded, that entrepreneurs should be rewarded, that small businesses should be rewarded, that people who take risks and create jobs should be rewarded. These changes still reward success, but not at a rate that far outstrips those who get a pay packet every week and not at the expense of rewarding productive investment.”
“They've gone from four to eight times people's income over the past 20 years, and ownership is down by seven per cent for young people. In Brisbane alone, the median house price has risen by $173,500 in 12 months. That's almost three times the average Queenslander's take-home pay. So it's no surprise that just 44 per cent of Australians aged 25 to 34 own a home of their own. Our reforms are designed to help level the playing field for first home buyers and encourage investment flows to where it's most productive, including new housing supply. There are so many stories of young people lining up to buy their first home only to be pushed out by investors that have a tax advantage on their side. Where's the fairness in that?”
“If a worker pays taxes on their wages earned through effort and productivity, why should someone else who is making a financial gain from appreciating assets receive a larger tax preference? Labor's reforms are about balance. They are about ensuring that the tax system serves the entire nation, not just those fortunate enough to already own multiple investment assets. The proposed changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing are also, though, about housing affordability. Right now it's too hard for many Australians to get into the housing market and get ahead. As I said, I hear this daily from young people, mums, dads and grandparents. House prices have risen by 400 per cent over the last two decades or so.”
“Australia cannot solve the cost-of-living crisis or the housing crisis without addressing the way our tax system has deliberately encouraged investment to flow into existing assets rather than towards productive economic activity. For decades, generous capital gains tax concessions have distorted wealth creation and investment. We've heard it in this House. The current system allows investors to receive a 50 per cent discount on capital gains regardless of whether those gains come from genuine economic growth or are simply arising because asset prices have risen due to inflation. Labor's reforms seek to restore the original principle: tax real gains, not inflationary gains. Under the model, capital gains will be adjusted for inflation, rather than adopting a blanket discount. This is not radical. This is common sense.”
“Every one of us in this chamber should be motivated to provide at least the same opportunities and aspirations to the younger generations as we had, to deliver fairness and the dream of owning your own home. That's what these bills are about. I talk to so many people across the Brisbane community: parents, students, young professionals and many more, and all want to see a better future for themselves, the next generation. But what I also hear is, 'We are working hard, it's tough to get ahead, and the system is not working for us.' And they're right. The status quo is not working, especially regarding the big Australian dream to own your own home.”