Treasurer accuses the Coalition of preparing tax reform ‘stunt’

Going back to Hanson, who has been making headlines all day. 

The One Nation Leader told 3AW she has had 1500 people express interest in becoming a candidate for her party at the next federal election - including people from the Coalition.

“But guess what, I’m not having them,” she said.

“It’s very important this party will not become a leg of the Coalition government.”

Hanson’s very own MP Barnaby Joyce defected from the Nationals to join One Nation but she said he did so before her party enjoyed a record rise in the polls.

Chalmers said the “big con” from the Coalition and One Nation is that they are trying to benefit politically from people’s legitimate concerns rather than doing anything about them in response to a question about recent polling showing One Nation ahead of Labor.

“People have legitimate concerns about where they sit in the economy,” he said.

“The big risk, when you look around the world, is we want to make sure that Australia doesn’t become like other countries that people have this sense that they are disconnected from the economy and disregarded from our society.

“The difference between us and the three-wing circus on the right of politics is that we are doing something about those legitimate concerns that people have, including whether or not our kids or grandkids will have the same type of opportunities that we have had.”

Chalmers declared that Labor is the “last ones standing in the centre of politics”. 

Chalmers was questioned about extending the temporary fuel excise tax cut, which ends on June 30, and said he would keep it under review.

“We’re expecting, we’re anticipating, the fuel excise tax cut will end at the end of this month,” he said.

“But we keep it at, more or less, a weekly review.”

Chalmers said the government made the deliberate decision to make the tax cut temporary, but reiterated that it will be reviewed.

The fuel excise tax cut has helped bring down skyrocketing fuel prices, which peaked at more than $4 a litre in parts of Australia. 

Chalmers has rejected the suggestion his changes to the capital gains tax and negative gearing have led to auction clearance rates dropping to about 50 per cent.

He said the Reserve Bank’s interest rate decisions and broad economic conditions are also at play.

“Some of those clearance rates were coming down already and the budget is not the only factor when people are thinking about those participating in those auctions,” he said.

“But if we are making it easier for first home buyers to have a crack at auctions, then that’s a good thing.

“We’ve only seen the preliminary numbers for Saturday, some of those preliminary numbers have come up a bit in other markets, they’ve come down a bit. We’ll see the final numbers in due course.”

There are rumours the Coalition is preparing a stunt for when Labor’s tax reform comes before parliament this week for debate.

That’s according to Chalmers, at least.

“We’ve heard that the Coalition is preparing some kind of stunt when it comes to coming up with an excuse not to vote for Labor’s tax cuts,” he said.

“We remind everyone that the opposition has already committed to $110 billion of uncosted and unfunded commitments over the forward estimates and more than half a trillion dollars of unfunded, uncosted commitments over the medium term as well

“Theirs is a recipe for a much bigger deficit, much more debt and higher inflation.

“So when you see this stunt from them when the legislation comes before the parliament, remember that they’ve already got well over $100 billion in a budget black hole.”

Parliament resumes from tomorrow to Thursday.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has appealed to the Coalition to support his tax reform when it is debated in parliament this week.

“In the first term, they voted against housing, they voted against tax cuts, they’re showing every sign of having not learned a thing or changed a bit since the first term when they made those mistakes,” he told reporters in Brisbane.

“We call on the Coalition not to vote against tax cuts like they did in the first term.”

Labor needs either the Greens or the Coalition to back their tax reform for it to pass parliament.

The Coalition has ruled out support with Opposition Leader Angus Taylor saying he will repeal them if elected.

The Greens have said the changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing do not go far enough.

Pauline Hanson has brushed off concerns about her age and whether she would be too old to be in parliament at the next election after turning 72 last week.

“It will come down to my health. I’ve got nothing wrong with me. I take no medication, nothing. I’ve got more energy in me than a lot of these other people,” she told 2GB radio.

“My staff are flat out keeping up with me from eight o’clock in the morning till 10, 11 o’clock at night. I can still run down the halls of parliament in my heels when I have to get to the chamber.

“So don’t underestimate me.”

Hanson added that she has instructed her staff to push her to move on if she became “like a Joe Biden”.

Bob Katter is currently the oldest member of parliament at 81 years old.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is 63 years old while Opposition Leader Angus Taylor is 59 years old.

New research has shown that Sydney and Melbourne property prices are coming to a standstill as the national housing market begins to cool off but it’s not because of the federal budget.

The nation’s two largest housing markets are bearing the brunt of a gradual price slowdown across all capital cities, according to new figures from Cotality.

The property research firm found dwelling values in Sydney dropped by 0.9 per cent in May – a fall of 2.1 per cent over the last quarter. The median Sydney property price is $1,282,000.

Melbourne prices dipped by 0.8 per cent over the past month, to be down by 2.3 per cent during the past three months. The median property price in the city is $812,621.

Cotality research director Tim Lawless said while the performance of capital cities have diverged markedly over the past five years, the overriding trend is one of steady price decline.

The slowdown in prices started ahead of the interest rate rises and before the Iran war and taxation changes announced in the federal budget.

Read the full story here.

Former Nationals leader David Littleproud said the polling results that suggest One Nation is ahead of Labor and the Coalition show voters are “lashing out because they’re broke and they’ve lost hope”.

“I think it shows the red-hot anger that’s out there in the population of Australia. They’re hurting and they’ve lost hope,” he told reporters.

“They’re going broke and they have a government that’s continuing to send them broke.”

Littleproud refused to be drawn into speculation about what the recent polling could mean for One Nation at the next federal election. 

“I don’t crystal ball and I think it’s important not to crystal ball,” he said.

“These polls are simply showing the red-hot anger out there at Anthony Albanese.”

Asked why the Coalition’s tax plan to tackle bracket creep has not improved its position in the polls, Littleproud said it takes a while to explain the changes to voters.  

“Not everyone in voterland will particularly understand off the bat,” he said.