logo
Greens to continue calls for Labor to end capital gains tax at Economic Reform Roundtable

Greens to continue calls for Labor to end capital gains tax at Economic Reform Roundtable

News.com.au4 days ago
The Greens will continue their campaign to end capital gains tax concessions and negative gearing, as the diminished party looks to rebuild after an electoral disaster which resulted in the loss of former leader Adam Bandt and two other MPs.
The minor party holds just one seat in the House of Representatives, with Ryan MP Elizabeth Warren-Brown clinging onto her Brisbane seat despite a 5.2 per cent swing to Labor, while maintaining 11 seats in the Senate.
However, ahead of Labor's Economic Reform Roundtable in August, new party leader Larissa Waters said the party would continue to advocate for negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions to be scrapped.
The benefits gives property investors to only pay tax on 50 per cent of the profit made from the sale, with the Greens arguing that it increases property demand and 'turbocharges housing inequality'.
The policy was a key plank of the Greens unsuccessful election policy, which saw Mr Bandt, party housing firebrand Max Chandler-Mather and Stephen Bates ousted.
'On housing, we know that there is so much more that the government needs to do in this term and we won't stop pushing for an end to negative gearing and unlimited rent increases,' Senator Waters said.
'Getting changes to CGT discount would demonstrate the government's willingness to fight for renters and first homebuyers, not rich property investors.'
While Anthony Albanese has repeatedly rejected changing the current settings, he faces opposition from rank-and-file members calling on a revision of the tax.
Grassroots advocacy group Labor for Housing has repeated calls for reform, stating the cost of the concession – about $20bn a year – should be redirected to public housing projects.
However the Coalition has seized on Labor after accidental Treasury advice urged Treasurer Jim Chalmers to consider increasing taxes to fix the budget deficit, with Sussan Ley vowing to fight against any new taxation plans.
Alongside scrapping the tax concession, the Greens have also called for tax breaks for new mums re-entering the workforce and the removal of fossil fuel subsidies and tax breaks for gas exporters.
Complicated measures such as the family tax benefit, childcare subsidies and taxes can reduce the amount of take-home pay working mums are able to receive, with women sometimes left worse off when they transition to working to four or five days a week.
Senator Waters said parents should be 'encouraged' to return to work, and not be 'smashed by tax so hard they're essentially working for free'.
'When a second parent goes back into the workforce, they can face an effective marginal tax rate of up to 80 per cent which punished mother for wanting to go back to work and perpetuates gender based economic disadvantage which haunts mothers for life,' she said.
'Right now, the government gives better tax incentives to investors like Clive Palmer or Gina Rinehart than it does to people who actually work for a living'.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Australian Army's new Precision Strike Missile fired at NT's Mount Bundey during Exercise Talisman Sabre
Australian Army's new Precision Strike Missile fired at NT's Mount Bundey during Exercise Talisman Sabre

ABC News

timean hour ago

  • ABC News

Australian Army's new Precision Strike Missile fired at NT's Mount Bundey during Exercise Talisman Sabre

The Australian Army has test fired its newest long-range missile for the first time, launching the weapon from a remote army training base in the Northern Territory. The Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), which can hit distant targets with minimal warning and high accuracy, was fired from the Mount Bundey Training Area, south-east of Darwin, on Friday. It hit its target over 300 kilometres away in four minutes and three seconds, reaching speeds of roughly 4,050 kilometres per hour — more than three times the speed of sound. Fired from US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), the PrSM can strike targets at distances of up to 500 kilometres with precision — a significant leap from the Australian Army's previous long-range strike range of just 30 kilometres. At a press conference at Mount Bundey on Friday, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the new weapon marked the day the "Australian Army enters the missile age". "This is all about extending deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, all about signalling to any potential adversary that pain can be inflicted — all about deterring war through strength," he said. Developed for the United States Army, the PrSM was sent to Australia last month as part of a $310 million deal with the US. The deal locks in Australian access to munitions, technological advancements and the option for future domestic manufacturing and maintenance. The missile launch was conducted as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre, a joint military exercise involving more than 40,000 military personnel from 19 nations, including the US. This year marks the largest iteration of the exercise since it began in 2005 as a way to practice maritime operations, air combat and live-fire exercises with international partners. On Friday, the Secretary of the United States Army, Dan Driscoll, was more forthright in his assessment of where the message of deterrence was aimed at. "President Trump, [the United States Secretary of Defence] Pete Hegseth and the rest of the Pentagon team have been very clear that our pacing threat is China," he said. While the US Army's chief of staff, General Randy George, did not respond directly to questions about an imminent threat, or whether there were enhanced capabilities in China, he said keeping up with technological advancements was "what keeps us up at night". "What we are trying to do is to transform as rapidly as possible," he said. Alex Miller, the US Army's chief technology officer, said the PrSM's high speed halved the amount of warning time given to a potential enemy. He also said while the missile's explosion would not "level a city", its precision, driven by advanced navigation, was what made it lethal. "When you think about having six to seven minutes rather than 15 to 20 minutes, that's a lot less time for [a target] to pack up and roll out if they learn that they are being shot at," he said. In a statement from Mr Conroy's office, a spokesperson said future upgrades to the PrSM could include an extended strike range of over 1,000 kilometres, improved sensors and novel warheads.

‘Brown-noser': Crass statue appears outside Richard Marles electoral office in Geelong
‘Brown-noser': Crass statue appears outside Richard Marles electoral office in Geelong

News.com.au

time2 hours ago

  • News.com.au

‘Brown-noser': Crass statue appears outside Richard Marles electoral office in Geelong

A crass piece of political art has accused Richard Marles of being 'Australia's biggest brown-noser' as the defence minister signed a 50-year treaty alongside his UK counterpart. The installation, outside Mr Marles electoral office in Geelong, depicted a large nose with an apparent fecal smear. Affixed to a light post by chain, the work is attributed to The New Radicals and names Mr Marles. The protest art comes as Mr Marles signed a new five-decade treaty with the United Kingdom to cement the AUKUS submarine pact in his home city. Dubbed 'The Geelong Treaty', the defence minister said the agreement would enable co-operation on the SSN-Aukus submarine. 'In doing this, AUKUS will see 20,000 jobs in Australia. It will see, in building submarines in this country, the biggest industrial endeavour in our nation's history, bigger even than the Snowy Hydro scheme,' Mr Marles said. 'In military terms, what it will deliver is the biggest leap in Australia's military capability, really, since the formation of the navy back in 1913.' The new treaty was announced following the annual AUKMIN talks in Sydney on Friday. Alongside his counterpart, UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey, the two men celebrated the treaty with a beer at a Geelong brewery. Spotted in Geelong's CBD on Saturday afternoon, the piece has vanished by 5pm.

Hong Kong police issue arrest warrants for foreign nationals including Australian citizen Feng Chongyi
Hong Kong police issue arrest warrants for foreign nationals including Australian citizen Feng Chongyi

ABC News

time3 hours ago

  • ABC News

Hong Kong police issue arrest warrants for foreign nationals including Australian citizen Feng Chongyi

An Australian man has discovered he is wanted by Hong Kong authorities via messaging platform WhatsApp. Feng Chongyi is among 19 foreign nationals who Hong Kong police have imposed bounties on, accusing them of national security crimes. According to Hong Kong police, the activists, who also include UK citizens, worked for what the force called a "subversive organisation" named Hong Kong Parliament, a pro-democracy non-government group. A reward of $HK200,000 ($38,000) each has been offered for 15 of the activists, while the four others were already wanted for $HK1 million ($194,038). The 19 arrest warrants for the activists follow political unrest and ongoing, at times violent, protests in Hong Kong, which have quietened since Beijing imposed sweeping national security laws in 2020. Dr Feng, who in 2017 was detained in China for a week and interrogated by authorities, described the arrest warrant as "ridiculous". But he said he did "not take it as a big deal" because he did not plan to return to mainland China or Hong Kong. "This action shows the world the brutality of the Chinese communist regime. It also reminds the world that Hong Kong has been completely controlled by China," he said. "The autonomy is gone, basic liberties protected by law [are] gone, they've completely destroyed a beautiful city — it's so sad." While Dr Feng is not originally from Hong Kong, he has been heavily involved in pro-democracy efforts, with local authorities citing his participation in a Hong Kong electoral organising committee as the reason for his arrest warrant. In an annex by the Hong Kong Police Force, authorities accused him of "intent to overthrow the system of the People's Republic of China". Dr Feng — a friend of imprisoned Australian writer Yang Hengjun, who is awaiting a death sentence in China — said he had joined the organising committee because he has many friends in Hong Kong who want democracy. He said he was relieved Australia's extradition treaty with Hong Kong was currently suspended. Condemnation of the arrest warrants has poured in from politicians. Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to voice her strong objection to the warrants for pro-democracy Australian activists. "Freedom of expression and assembly are essential to our democracy," Senator Wong said. Opposition spokesperson for foreign affairs, Michaelia Cash, said the Coalition had serious concerns about Hong Kong authorities' issuing of arrest warrants. "We fundamentally believe in free speech. It is an essential element of our democracy," she said in a statement. UK Secretary of State David Lammy, who is currently in Australia, said this sort of interference in UK affairs was "totally, totally unacceptable". "We will stand up to it, as you would expect us to," he told a crowd in Sydney, during an address at the Lowy Institute on Saturday. According to reporting by Agence France-Presse, the bounties announced by Hong Kong police are viewed as largely symbolic, as those affected live overseas in nations unlikely to extradite political activists to Hong Kong or China. According to the Hong Kong Police Force's website, as of Friday, there were 34 people wanted by the agency for national security offences, including secession, subversion, or foreign collusion.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store