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February 2, 2024
Anthony Albanese has ruled out trading with other parties to win support for tax cut changes, rejecting a deal with the Greens to increase the jobseeker rate alongside the stage-three plan.
It comes as two Liberal MPs reportedly urged the Coalition not to oppose Labor’s changes. Bridget Archer and Karen Andrews have said they did not believe the Liberal party should block the changes on principle.
As the government seeks support from the Coalition or Greens for the legislation to be introduced when parliament resumes next week, the prime minister claimed politicians not backing the changes would be voting “to leave people behind”.
The Coalition is still to come to a position on Labor’s changes to the Morrison-era stage-three tax cuts, but may attempt to restore the large benefits which were to flow to wealthy Australians. The government has sought to pre-empt such legislative amendments by pointing to a multibillion-dollar cost, and commissioning analysis showing working-class Coalition-held electorates stand to gain the most.
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, indicated the party may put a rise to the tax-free threshold, a rise in the jobseeker welfare payment, or adding dental into the Medicare system, on the negotiating table as it considers supporting the government’s changes.
“Labor are still spending $84bn giving politicians and the wealthy a $4,500 a year tax cut, while people on income support don’t get any further support. Do you think politicians and the super wealthy should be getting a tax cut at all? And if so, what should we use that money on instead?” Bandt said on Wednesday.
He raised concerns about how the tax cuts would “help those living through the worst of this renting, inequality and cost-of-living crisis”.
Asked whether the government would entertain amendments, Albanese appeared to shoot down the prospect.
“We will put this plan forward on its merits. People in the House of Representatives and the Senate can determine their view as to whether they want to provide increased support to low and middle income earners or not,” he told a press conference on Thursday.
“We will always look at budget measures, but what we will not be doing is trading across different issues. We are focused on this, this stands on its merits.”
“People can decide whether they want to leave people behind.”
On Radio National, Albanese said bluntly: “we’re not going to trade, if you’d like, across a whole range of issues.”
“At the end of the day, the minor parties as well as the Coalition are going to have to decide, is our package better than the package which was previously there?”
He said a jobseeker rise would be considered in every budget. The economic inclusion advisory committee, a panel of economic and social experts, is mandated to give advice to the government before every budget on whether the rate should be increased; before last year’s budget, it recommended “a substantial increase in the base rates of the JobSeeker Payment”.
The Coalition is likely to consider the tax changes at its party room meeting in Canberra next week. Opposition leader Peter Dutton said they would not come to a position this week.
Bridget Archer was last week reserving her position on Labor’s tax plan, but said she was “open to discussing changes where circumstances may have changed”. On Thursday, both she and fellow Liberal Karen Andrews told news.com.au their party should not stand in the way of the changes. Andrews and Archer have been contacted for comment.
Liberal senator James Paterson told Sky News the opposition was “carefully considering” its position and wouldn’t be “rushed”, saying they had commissioned their own modelling on the changes.
“The principles we will be guided by are the fact that the Liberal and National parties always seek to lower taxes for all Australians at every opportunity,” he said.
“We also think you should keep your election commitments, and we think that policy in this country needs to be fiscally responsible, and that will be the three things which will guide our response.”
