Student debt cuts: Government talks as Opposition steps up attack on super tax plans

West Australian

5 days ago

Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers have avoided ruling out ever taxing unrealised capital gains beyond existing plans for multimillion-dollar superannuation accounts, fuelling accusations Labor has secret plans to go after family homes and trusts.
Legislation for the reduced tax breaks for superannuation balances above $3 million is yet to be re-introduced to Parliament but it was the key lines of attack from an Opposition regrouping after its election loss.
The first question time of the 48th Parliament got off to a slow start as Mr Albanese and new Opposition Leader Sussan Ley took each other's measure.
Coalition strategists had planned to focus on Treasury advice that flagged a need for higher taxes or spending cuts to tackle deficits but ultimately canvassed the superannuation tax plan that has been in Parliament for almost two years.
Ms Ley misfired with a question that failed to mention the word 'superannuation.'
'The name of the tax would be helpful for future questions,' Speaker Milton Dick advised.
It was Nationals leader David Littleproud – under fire internally from would-be rivals – who asked new Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulin a specific question about how the changes would affect farmers in a failed season.
The Prime Minister and Treasurer continued their reluctance to bind themselves to 'never ever' positions ahead of next month's economic roundtable discussions.
'The time to run a scare campaign is just before an election, not after one,' Mr Albanese said when shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien asked if Labor was considering going after capital gains on family trusts and family homes next.
'It's a bit early, on day one … to start the rule-in-rule-out game that they themselves said on Sunday said was juvenile and absurd.'
Mr O'Brien claimed a win, suggesting the Government should be embarrassed about its performance.
'Both the Prime Minister and the Treasurer refused to rule out expanding Labor's tax on unrealised capital gains to include family homes and family trusts. This should send a chill down the spine of every Australian family,' he said.
The super tax was a key revenue measure from the previous term, slated to raise $2.3 billion in its first year in effect from about 80,000 people but it was stalled in the Senate.
Dr Chalmers is hopeful of winning support from the Greens. The minor party wants the threshold lowered to $2 million and indexed, paving the way for a possible compromise.
'This is not his Tinder profile, this is his dream ticket. He's not looking to swipe right, he's looking to swipe out (Mr Littleproud),' Mr Bowen said.
The Government used the political theatre to highlight its almost-fulfilled promise to cut student debts by 20 per cent.
Education Minister Jason Clare said it was 'a lot of help for a lot of people just out of uni, just getting started, help them to buy a home, thinking about starting a family'.
He also put forward measures to strengthen childcare safety regulation in the wake of the allegations that a Melbourne childcare worker committed dozens of instances of child abuse.
Under the bill, care providers could have childcare subsidies – which make up the bulk of their funding – blocked over a single breach of quality standards.
Regulators would also have the power to conduct snap inspections of centres and there would be more transparency around breaches and sanctions.
'This is not about leaving parents stranded without care for their children because of fixable or minor shortcomings at their service. But this legislation is also not an idle threat to services,' Mr Clare said, adding the ultimate aim was to lift standards.
The Coalition had signalled broad support for improving safety at childcare centres but raised concerns about whether the measures went far enough, while the Greens want the Government to bolster its plan by creating a national watchdog.
'I can't think of many issues in my time in this Parliament that have made me feel as physically sick as this one has,' Ms Ley said.
'This is an issue well and truly above politics. We will all work incredibly hard to get this right.'
Late night sittings are already planned for next week to get the vital legislation through swiftly as Parliament gets down to business.