Division Description Changes — Bills — Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 2) Bill 2022; Second Reading — 26th Sep 2022

Change	Division
representatives vote 2022-09-26#1 Edited by mackay staff on 2022-09-30 12:28:38	Title Bills — Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 2) Bill 2022; Second Reading Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 2) Bill 2022 - Second Reading - Inequality Description ~~<p class="speaker">Adam Bandt</p>~~ <p>I rise to speak on this bill, the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 2) Bill 2022, and in particular the very important amendment moved by the member for Griffith. We are in a cost-of-living crisis. Wages are going backwards in real terms for millions of people in this country. We've seen energy bills—because of the reliance on expensive and outdated fossil fuels, and their unregulated nature around many parts of this country—going through the roof. We've seen rents rise by seven times as much as wages, putting people in a massive, massive housing crisis to the point where we now have, in this wealthy country of ours, people sleeping with their kids in cars because they can't get a place to rent—let alone buy a house, which is now out of reach, potentially, for a whole generation. The massive cost-of-living crisis that is hitting people right now is something that governments can do something about. The government can't keep saying, 'It's up to the so-called independent Reserve Bank. They set the interest rates; there's nothing we can do about it.' It can't keep saying, 'It's up to the Fair Work Commission because they set the rate of minimum wages.' It can't keep saying, 'Housing is all in the private market and that's up to the landlords.' There are things the government can do about it and can do about it right now to deal with the crisis that we are facing. We know that because during the pandemic, when we were faced with another crisis, we saw governments in places like Victoria step in and say, 'We are going to freeze rent.' We saw governments step in and say, 'We are going to do things to make sure that no-one in this wealthy country of ours lives in poverty in the crisis.' The crisis we are facing now is making a massive difference to many people's lives and making many people's lives unliveable. We can and we should do something about it right now.</p> *The majority voted in favour of disagreeing* with an [*amendment](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/debate/?id=2022-09-08.38.2) to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bill be read a second time". To read a bill a [second time](https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/bills-and-laws/making-a-law-in-the-australian-parliament/) is to agree with its main idea. The amendment was introduced by Griffith MP [Max Chandler-Mather](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/representatives/griffith/max_chandler-mather) (Greens). ### Motion text* *> That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substitu*ting the following words: > *> "whilst not declin*ing to give the bill a second reading, the House: > *>> (1) notes this bill delivers a Liberal Party election commitment adopted by the Labor Party, namely the downsizer contribution, adding** to the list of Liberal Party economic policies adopted by the Labor Party, such as the stage three tax cuts; and* >> *>> (2) calls on the Labor government to stop adopting taxation measures that will increase inequality and instead ease cost of living pressures by getting dental into Medicare,** making childcare free, wiping student debt and freezing rents".* <p>The government could step in and put dental care into Medicare. The average Australian household spends about $900 a year on dental bills. Medicare makes it affordable for many people to go and get health care in a way that they otherwise wouldn't. One of the great things about this country is that we have the system of Medicare, which means people can go to the doctor—if you can get an appointment, and in many places that is difficult. But we have a country where, unlike in the US, if you get sick they don't check your credit card. If you have a Medicare card you can get the health care you deserve. But dental care is not in Medicare, and that means many people are putting off the treatment they need. When the average cost to a household is about $900 a year and we are dealing with wages going backwards and the rising cost of energy and the rising cost of housing, one thing the government could do now that would make a difference to people's lives and help them deal with the cost-of-living crisis is put dental into Medicare.</p> <p>The government could also make child care free. We could make child care free in this country and start thinking about child care the way that we think about primary school or secondary school. You should be able to send your child there and know that they are going to be able to be there as long as they need to be and that you can do it without it hitting your hip pocket. The Greens have long campaigned against those so-called voluntary fees in public schools, and we need to do more to stop the rising out-of-pocket costs in public schools. But child care is massively expensive. The government says, to its credit, that it's an area that needs reform. So why not go the whole hog and start thinking about child care and early childhood education the way that we think about primary and secondary schools and make it free.</p> <p>If we did those things—made child care free, brought dental into Medicare plus built affordable housing—it would make a huge difference to everyday people during the cost-of-living crisis we are facing at the moment. Why isn't the government doing that? It's because they are taking $244 billion dollars out of the budget to spend on tax cuts for politicians and billionaires, instead of doing things that would make everyday people's lives easier, like making child care free, getting dental into Medicare and building affordable housing. It's going to cost the public $244 billion to give tax cuts to politicians and billionaires, who frankly don't need it and don't deserve it. Nine thousand dollars a year is how much politicians and billionaires are going to be better off as a result of Labor's stage 3 tax cuts—$9,000 a year! While everyday people in this country are struggling to put a roof over their head or afford health care or child care, Labor's priority is to give a $9,000-a-year tax cut to politicians and billionaires. It has to stop.</p> <p>This bill before us today is about amending a number of tax measures and about dealing with some financial matters. The most important thing that this government could do is deal with the financial crisis that is facing so many people around this country and ditch the unfair stage 3 tax cuts. With these stage 3 tax cuts, the top one per cent of income earners in this country will get as much as the bottom 65 per cent combined. It is going to turbocharge inequality. Australia is already at risk of going down the road of becoming a US style society, where the gap between the haves and the have-nots grows. The stage III tax cuts will turbocharge that. It will make gender inequality in this country worse, because men will get twice as much of the benefit as women. Men will get twice as much of this $244 billion as women, and the average tax cut for men will be twice as much as that for women. So, on the one hand, the government is saying that it wants to bring in legislation to this place to close the gender pay gap—which is an ambition that needs to be supported—but, on the other hand, is saying, 'We can rip $244 billion out of the budget to make the gender pay gap worse by giving twice as much to men as we will to women.'</p> <p>There is no excuse for not making child care free and getting dental into Medicare because, when the government says, 'Where are you going to get the money to pay for it,' the answer is simple: don't give tax cuts to politicians and billionaires. Don't spend $244 billion when that amount of money would fund free child care, get dental into Medicare and build affordable homes in this country. The money is there, if we have the courage to stand up to the powerful, to the billionaires, and say, 'You don't need more money, but the average person in this country needs better services.</p> <p>It comes back to the central point of the member for Griffith's amendment, which is that, when the government says to you, 'All of this is in the hands of the market, all of this is in the hands of others; there's nothing we can do about the massive pressures that you are under,' that is simply not true. There are things the government could do right now that would make a difference to people's lives. We know that the Medicare system works. We have already got line items in there for dental care. Let's just put dental in as part of it so you can use your Medicaid card when you go to the dentist. We know that we can have free child care in this country, because we had it during the pandemic. We've got a system in place for funding child care and early childhood education in this country. Let's make child care free on an ongoing basis. How are we going to fund it? Well, don't give Clive Palmer a tax cut and don't give politicians a tax cut. If you ask most people in this country, 'Do you think it is fair that Labor wants to give $9,000 a year to billionaires and politicians but nothing to someone on the minimum wage?' most people will say, 'No, there are better things to spend the money on than that.' We have an opportunity here to address the cost-of-living crisis and make this country more equal, and we can fund that by not giving tax cuts to politicians and billionaires. I support the member for Griffith's amendment.</p> ~~<p class='motion-notice motion-notice-truncated'>Long debate text truncated.</p>~~

~~Adam Bandt~~
I rise to speak on this bill, the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 2) Bill 2022, and in particular the very important amendment moved by the member for Griffith. We are in a cost-of-living crisis. Wages are going backwards in real terms for millions of people in this country. We've seen energy bills—because of the reliance on expensive and outdated fossil fuels, and their unregulated nature around many parts of this country—going through the roof. We've seen rents rise by seven times as much as wages, putting people in a massive, massive housing crisis to the point where we now have, in this wealthy country of ours, people sleeping with their kids in cars because they can't get a place to rent—let alone buy a house, which is now out of reach, potentially, for a whole generation. The massive cost-of-living crisis that is hitting people right now is something that governments can do something about. The government can't keep saying, 'It's up to the so-called independent Reserve Bank. They set the interest rates; there's nothing we can do about it.' It can't keep saying, 'It's up to the Fair Work Commission because they set the rate of minimum wages.' It can't keep saying, 'Housing is all in the private market and that's up to the landlords.' There are things the government can do about it and can do about it right now to deal with the crisis that we are facing. We know that because during the pandemic, when we were faced with another crisis, we saw governments in places like Victoria step in and say, 'We are going to freeze rent.' We saw governments step in and say, 'We are going to do things to make sure that no-one in this wealthy country of ours lives in poverty in the crisis.' The crisis we are facing now is making a massive difference to many people's lives and making many people's lives unliveable. We can and we should do something about it right now.
The majority voted in favour of *disagreeing* with an [amendment](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/debate/?id=2022-09-08.38.2) to the usual second reading motion, which is "*that the bill be read a second time*". To read a bill a [second time](https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/bills-and-laws/making-a-law-in-the-australian-parliament/) is to agree with its main idea.
The amendment was introduced by Griffith MP [Max Chandler-Mather](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/representatives/griffith/max_chandler-mather) (Greens).
### Motion text
> *That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:*
>
> *"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:*
>
>> *(1) notes this bill delivers a Liberal Party election commitment adopted by the Labor Party, namely the downsizer contribution, adding to the list of Liberal Party economic policies adopted by the Labor Party, such as the stage three tax cuts; and*
>>
>> *(2) calls on the Labor government to stop adopting taxation measures that will increase inequality and instead ease cost of living pressures by getting dental into Medicare, making childcare free, wiping student debt and freezing rents".*
The government could step in and put dental care into Medicare. The average Australian household spends about $900 a year on dental bills. Medicare makes it affordable for many people to go and get health care in a way that they otherwise wouldn't. One of the great things about this country is that we have the system of Medicare, which means people can go to the doctor—if you can get an appointment, and in many places that is difficult. But we have a country where, unlike in the US, if you get sick they don't check your credit card. If you have a Medicare card you can get the health care you deserve. But dental care is not in Medicare, and that means many people are putting off the treatment they need. When the average cost to a household is about $900 a year and we are dealing with wages going backwards and the rising cost of energy and the rising cost of housing, one thing the government could do now that would make a difference to people's lives and help them deal with the cost-of-living crisis is put dental into Medicare.
The government could also make child care free. We could make child care free in this country and start thinking about child care the way that we think about primary school or secondary school. You should be able to send your child there and know that they are going to be able to be there as long as they need to be and that you can do it without it hitting your hip pocket. The Greens have long campaigned against those so-called voluntary fees in public schools, and we need to do more to stop the rising out-of-pocket costs in public schools. But child care is massively expensive. The government says, to its credit, that it's an area that needs reform. So why not go the whole hog and start thinking about child care and early childhood education the way that we think about primary and secondary schools and make it free.
If we did those things—made child care free, brought dental into Medicare plus built affordable housing—it would make a huge difference to everyday people during the cost-of-living crisis we are facing at the moment. Why isn't the government doing that? It's because they are taking $244 billion dollars out of the budget to spend on tax cuts for politicians and billionaires, instead of doing things that would make everyday people's lives easier, like making child care free, getting dental into Medicare and building affordable housing. It's going to cost the public $244 billion to give tax cuts to politicians and billionaires, who frankly don't need it and don't deserve it. Nine thousand dollars a year is how much politicians and billionaires are going to be better off as a result of Labor's stage 3 tax cuts—$9,000 a year! While everyday people in this country are struggling to put a roof over their head or afford health care or child care, Labor's priority is to give a $9,000-a-year tax cut to politicians and billionaires. It has to stop.
This bill before us today is about amending a number of tax measures and about dealing with some financial matters. The most important thing that this government could do is deal with the financial crisis that is facing so many people around this country and ditch the unfair stage 3 tax cuts. With these stage 3 tax cuts, the top one per cent of income earners in this country will get as much as the bottom 65 per cent combined. It is going to turbocharge inequality. Australia is already at risk of going down the road of becoming a US style society, where the gap between the haves and the have-nots grows. The stage III tax cuts will turbocharge that. It will make gender inequality in this country worse, because men will get twice as much of the benefit as women. Men will get twice as much of this $244 billion as women, and the average tax cut for men will be twice as much as that for women. So, on the one hand, the government is saying that it wants to bring in legislation to this place to close the gender pay gap—which is an ambition that needs to be supported—but, on the other hand, is saying, 'We can rip $244 billion out of the budget to make the gender pay gap worse by giving twice as much to men as we will to women.'
There is no excuse for not making child care free and getting dental into Medicare because, when the government says, 'Where are you going to get the money to pay for it,' the answer is simple: don't give tax cuts to politicians and billionaires. Don't spend $244 billion when that amount of money would fund free child care, get dental into Medicare and build affordable homes in this country. The money is there, if we have the courage to stand up to the powerful, to the billionaires, and say, 'You don't need more money, but the average person in this country needs better services.
It comes back to the central point of the member for Griffith's amendment, which is that, when the government says to you, 'All of this is in the hands of the market, all of this is in the hands of others; there's nothing we can do about the massive pressures that you are under,' that is simply not true. There are things the government could do right now that would make a difference to people's lives. We know that the Medicare system works. We have already got line items in there for dental care. Let's just put dental in as part of it so you can use your Medicaid card when you go to the dentist. We know that we can have free child care in this country, because we had it during the pandemic. We've got a system in place for funding child care and early childhood education in this country. Let's make child care free on an ongoing basis. How are we going to fund it? Well, don't give Clive Palmer a tax cut and don't give politicians a tax cut. If you ask most people in this country, 'Do you think it is fair that Labor wants to give $9,000 a year to billionaires and politicians but nothing to someone on the minimum wage?' most people will say, 'No, there are better things to spend the money on than that.' We have an opportunity here to address the cost-of-living crisis and make this country more equal, and we can fund that by not giving tax cuts to politicians and billionaires. I support the member for Griffith's amendment.
~~Long debate text truncated.~~