A visibly emotional Anthony Albanese has launched an impassioned defence of Labor’s proposed changes to negative gearing, the capital gains tax discount and family trusts, saying he will “not allow Australia to become a country where aspiration is only for some”.
The prime minister has faced sustained criticism to the reforms, which include limiting negative gearing to new-builds while grandfathering existing properties, changing how CGT is calculated and imposing a new 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts.
Guardian Australia has reported some of his own MPs are wary scare campaigns could “get out of hand” unless Albanese and the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, begin providing a clearer explanation of the tax changes.
At Victorian Labor’s state conference on Saturday, Albanese said the reforms were “the right thing to do, not the easy thing” and would rebalance the housing market toward first home buyers instead of property investors.
He said every Saturday, young people were “missing out” at auctions because they were bidding against investors who had the “Australian taxpayer on their side”.
“Because of the tax breaks that are there, it’s not an equal process,” Albanese said.
“Because if it’s a matter of an extra $20,000 to bid or $30,000 to bid, they know that they can do that in the comfort that that will be an increase in their tax deduction, that all of you and every Australian taxpayer is their partner here.
“But if you’re trying to buy your own home, you don’t have that, and that is why, put it simply, we are reforming negative gearing and capital gains.”
It was at this point in the speech party members and unions gave Albanese a standing ovation, with the prime minister appearing to well up at the response.
He went on to say “Labor is the party of aspiration” – a direct rebuke of criticism, including from the shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, that the budget was a “war on the self-starters and small businesses”.
“We will not allow Australia to become a country where aspiration is only for some. Our reforms are about backing aspiration for all, bringing the great Australian dream of home ownership back in reach for a new generation,” Albanese said.
“Our changes are pro-aspiration, and pro-supply, so we can help people get into a home of their own.”
Albanese said the changes “add up to a better tax system”, particularly for people who “work their guts out for a wage” and “will never be able to access a trust”.
“They have never sat around the kitchen table and thought of setting up a trust. I mean, seriously,” he said.
“The biggest investment that the majority of Australians ever make, and the biggest hope that they ever have, is to work hard and buy a home of their own … when you know that the next generation is doing it tougher than my generation, then you’ve got to do something about it, that’s why we’re rebalancing the way that working Australians pay tax.”
Earlier this week, Labor MPs told Guardian Australia while they were confident the negative gearing and CGT changes were ultimately good and important, the government needed to do a better job of explaining and “selling” the reforms.
Another Labor politician worried the government had failed to effectively explain the complex tax changes, lamenting: “I feel like we don’t necessarily have a clear strategy on complicated issues.”
Across town in Caulfield, the federal opposition leader, Angus Taylor, addressed the Victorian Liberal state council meeting, where he described the budget as “an attack on young Australians” and “an assault on aspiration”.
“It will crush the ‘reward for hard work’ spirit that underpins our nation’s success,” Taylor said, as he reaffirmed his commitment to repeal the proposed reforms if elected.
