Topics: Labor’s tax laws, Latest polls

SHARRI MARKSON: Now, as you know, Labor has rammed its budget bill through the lower house to hike capital gains tax and curb negative gearing, but it does face a fight in the Senate. And the Coalition is now reportedly in talks with the Greens to try to force a longer inquiry. The Fin Review reports tonight that there were formal discussions on Wednesday that involved the Greens supporting a longer inquiry into the budget measures in return for for the Coalition doing the same for a separate bill to cut the cost of the NDIS by $37 billion over the next 4 years. Let's bring in now Liberal Senator Dave Sharma. Dave, the Coalition going to do a with the Greens in order to block Labor's tax laws?

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DAVE SHARMA: Well, Sharri, we'll work with whoever we can in the Parliament to knock out Labor's toxic taxes. That's our fundamental principle. If the Greens are prepared to work with us to do that, great. If defecting Labor MPs are going to do that, great. If any of the crossbench are willing to do that, we'll also take their support. Because for us, the biggest thing to defeat here is Labor's toxic taxes, for which they don't have a mandate, which are to do immense damage to the economy, which are going to hurt enterprise and aspiration, and they're to set our nation backwards.

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SHARRI MARKSON: So currently Labor set aside 2 days for an inquiry. How long would the new inquiry be? into Labor's tax changes under the discussions the Coalition's having with the Greens?

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DAVE SHARMA: Look, 2 days is, it's clearly not a genuine inquiry, right? I mean, we're already hearing from business groups and industry groups and affected families, family trust members, all that sort of— I mean, all these people rightfully want to be heard because this has been— this is an ambush. There was no groundwork prepared, there was no warning given, there was no election commitment taken, nothing. And I think for a genuine inquiry that allows people to actually, express their views and to be listened and heard. And for some of the unintended and quite severe consequences of these changes to be properly litigated, I think you need at least several weeks would be my view. 6 to 8 weeks would be normal for something like this with at least, 5 to 6 days of public hearings and plenty of time for people to make submissions and for the parliamentarians who are sitting on this committee to actually read the submissions and engage in, In good faith. doesn't want give you something.

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SHARRI MARKSON: That's what you're putting to the Greens, an inquiry around 6 to 8 weeks with 5 days of public hearings.

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DAVE SHARMA: Look, I'm not part of those negotiations, so don't want to mislead your viewers or you, but I think for something of this nature and that's this involved and this complicated, that would be a normal parliamentary procedure and that's what we should be having at the very least for these dramatic and wide-ranging changes.

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SHARRI MARKSON: The South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, I mean, he's now the third Labor premier to come out and have a swipe at Albanese today. said that his own government is keeping its promise not to spring unexpected taxes on voters. Have a look.

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[CLIP STARTS]

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PETER MALINASUKAS: We are honouring our commitment to not create new taxes to justify expenditure because we've been restrained in our expenditure. We're not having to increase taxes in a way that was unexpected by anybody. That's an important principle, not politically, but as a matter or policy.

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[CLIP ENDS]

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SHARRI MARKSON: Yeah, Dave, pretty clear swipe there.

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DAVE SHARMA: It is a pretty clear swipe there. And, it's you said, it's the third Labor Prime Minister now after Premier Chris Minns and the— then the— sorry, Premier— and the WA Premier too. And I think the point he makes is quite clear. I he's saying here they're honouring their commitments because it's, it's, partly about keeping faith with the voters, politics, but it's also about policy. It's about allowing business and investors to plan and make arrangements with certainty. Whereas if n Australia, or you're someone who runs your small business through a family trust, or you bought an asset with a view to saving money and accumulating wealth, you've had the rug pulled out from under you because of this government's tax changes in this budget.

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SHARRI MAKRSON: Dave, just to take you back to an unhappy period in your life— sorry to do that again— but when you lost the seat for Wentworth, part of that move was because female voters were deserting the Coalition. Well, really fascinating analysis and report in the Herald today that shows women are backing One Nation. This is a pretty interesting trend. What do you put it down to?

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DAVE SHARMA: Look, I've seen that. mean, like everyone else, all I can do is make some guesses here and whatnot. But we have seen a reaction against the major parties. We as the Liberals, I accept, and Angus Taylor the leader has accepted, that we've  lost some goodwill and some trust to the public that we need to rebuild. An as a result, we've lost voters and they're finding homes in all different places. But One Nation is obviously one of those places. Now, my view is not— is that that is not a permanent occupancy. This is a temporary arrangement, but it is incumbent on us as Liberals and Nationals and the Coalition to rebuild our credibility and our stock so people recognize that we are a genuine alternative to a bad Labor government.

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SHARRI MARKSON: There's, look, there's a lot of discussion about how One Nation and the Coalition should do some sort of formal— come to a formal arrangement, whether it's preferences or a more formal governing arrangement, so that they can overthrow the Albanese government. But it has also been put to me by moderate Liberals that if this were to be the case, it would make it even more difficult to win back the so-called teal seats. What's your view?

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DAVE SHARMA: Well, look, my view is that we e should be seeking to govern in our own right as a coalition, as we have always done. And I think, you know, the people who are out there speculating about these sorts of things, then, commentators and opinion makers, and that's fine. They've got a living to earn and they've got these ideas to offer. But that's not the game that we're in, and nor should we be entertaining that as Liberals. I mean, it's like saying, oh, we're to go out and play on the football field, but let's bet against ourselves so we hedge our losses. I mean, that's not how you conduct politics. We should be out there contesting to win., and to govern in our own right. And I firmly believe that we have an opportunity because this Labor government has shown its true hand and its true colours, a high-taxing, high-spending government that will break all its promises, that will run the economy into the ground, will bring a form of socialism to Australia. That is our opportunity and we need to seize it and we can capitalise on it.

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SHARRI MARKSON: All right, Dave Sharma, great to see you as always.

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[ENDS]