The Coalition has accused the Albanese government of engaging in a taxpayer-funded 'spin' campaign after it emerged that Labor MPs were asked to redirect unspent communications allowances to promote controversial tax reforms. Opposition Senate leader Michaelia Cash voiced strong criticism on Wednesday, following a report that Labor MPs had been contacted and urged to allocate leftover funds from their annual communications allowance to support a promotional drive for changes to capital gains tax (CGT) and negative gearing.
Details of the campaign funding request
According to The Australian Financial Review, Labor MPs were approached on Tuesday and asked to dedicate any unspent money from their communications allowance to help fund a campaign backing the government's tax overhaul. Unused funds do not carry over into the next financial year, meaning MPs must use the remainder of their taxpayer-funded allowances by the end of the month.
Cash's response on Sunrise
Speaking on Seven's Sunrise program alongside Housing Minister Clare O'Neil, Senator Cash said the communications campaign was an attempt to 'spin' the Australian public into supporting the changes, which have proven deeply unpopular in polls, including among young people. 'I don't think any Australian is now believing the crap that you are trying to spin them,' she said. 'Now, this is what happens when you lie to the Australian people 50 times before an election. The Australian people wake up, they're struggling with their mortgage, they're struggling with their grocery bill, they're struggling with their power bill, and now they wake up and find that the Australian government is using taxpayers' money to flog to them a product that they have said no to.'
Government defends standard practice
Ms O'Neil defended the reallocation of communication funds as standard political practice. 'It's a really normal practice in politics for us to pool our resources to talk to voters about different things,' she said. 'Michaela (Cash) and her party do that, Pauline Hanson and One Nation probably do that. The important thing is really about the message that we're sharing with people here, and again, our government stands for higher wages, for lower taxes, and for a fair go for first-home buyers. And we're really looking forward to getting home to our communities to talk to our voters about that.'
The tax changes in detail
The CGT changes will scrap the existing 50 per cent discount, which was introduced in 1999, in favour of an inflation indexation model that will apply to all asset classes, including investment properties, shares, and businesses. A 30 per cent minimum tax rate will also apply. Treasurer Jim Chalmers introduced Labor's tax package, which includes the controversial CGT and negative gearing reforms, as an omnibus Bill to the House of Representatives on Thursday. Mr Chalmers noted the government's ongoing consultation with start-ups where 'indexation is applied to a low or zero cost base'. He said any subsequent carve-outs would be finalised in additional legislation and described it as a 'standard approach'.
