Senate Economics Legislation Committee, , 8:05:06 to 8:09:25
The Minister acknowledges a change in the government's position regarding negative gearing and other tax reforms previously excluded from consideration.
Topics: Law reform, Government spending
Speakers: Hon Katy Gallagher, Senator Dean Smith
Well, um I think you're conflating a number of different things there to suit a political purpose. I understand that. That's what we're doing here.
Um which part of the Treasurer's statement's not correct?
Well, um I don't have the 2019 policies in front of me, but the decisions we've taken in this budget are decisions that were taken in the uh 20 getting all my years I've been here for so tired, in terms of the 26-27 budget. So they would they were decisions of a government for the purposes of the 26-27 budget. The comments I made are that the budget process is extensive. It is an extensive process, and the work that led to the decisions in tax formed part of that. They weren't the whole part of it, but they formed part of it. I don't think that's a surprise to anybody because they were published as part of the.
No, but Minister, the extensive nature of the budget preparation work either includes the Treasurer's statement of 2024 that policies taken to the 2019 election wouldn't be enacted, so therefore wouldn't work wouldn't be done on them, or the extensive nature does include those proposals that are in the budget, which the Treasurer said would not be in the budget. So I'm just trying to understand at what point.
Well, can I just start? The 2019 policies are not the same as the decisions we've taken in this budget. Okay? And I think the Treasurer, the PM and myself have acknowledged that in making some of those decisions, we had changed our position.
You had changed your position.
Yeah, and we've all been very clear on that. The decisions were taken as part of the budget process, which was handed down in May this year.
Thank you. You had changed your position. When did you change your position? Treasury officials, when were you advised there was a change of position?
Well, it's it's not up to it's the government has made decisions in the budget which was published. And we were clear about that, that the the reforms we brought in relation to negative gearing were a change in a in a position that the government had held. Like I don't I don't think that is news to anyone, Senator Smith. We've been talking about that for months.
So Ms. Di Marco, Treasury would have been working on the assumption that the Treasurer's statement of 2024 was a honourable one. We're not contemplating or considering considering resurrecting the policies that we took to the 2019 election. And then at some point the government changed its mind. The Minister has confirmed that the government did change its mind, did change its position. When did the Treasury know that the Treasurer's statement of 2024 about not contemplating or considering resurrecting the policies of the 2019 election was no longer the government's position?
Well, I don't know that it's fair to ask an official about commitments that it the Labour Party had in 2019. Okay. The decisions we have taken are different to those policies, Senator Smith. But we have been up front and very clear in relation to the reform proposals that are outlined in the budget that those decisions were taken as part of the budget process. Treasury provides advice to government through that process.