New secret documents that show the NSW Premier refused to act on NSW Treasury advice

CHRIS BOWEN, SHADOW TREASURER: Thanks for coming everybody.

 Well here we go again. More evidence that the Liberal Party just doesn’t get it when it comes to housing affordability and negative gearing. I’m delighted to be joined today by my friend and colleague the New South Wales Treasurer, Ryan Park, because today we have the revelation that Premier Berejiklian was advised by the NSW Treasury to lobby the Federal Government to review negative gearing to help with housing affordability. This comes on the back of course of the revelation earlier in the week that the Commonwealth Treasury gave the Treasurer very clear advice that what he was saying about negative gearing reform and Labor’s policies was wrong. And he continued to utter the lies. And even after that, the acting Treasurer Kelly O’Dwyer has been continuing the lies about negative gearing.

 

All of this is evidence that the Liberals just don’t get it, just don’t care when it comes to housing affordability. They care about politics, not about people who are trying to get into the housing market.

 

So here is yet another opportunity for Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, indeed for Premier Berejiklian, to lead and to listen to the expert advice they’re receiving and to something about negative gearing and housing affordability. I don’t think they will, so it will fall to a Labor Government to reform negative gearing, and of course, potentially, for a Federal Shorten Labor Government to work hand-in-hand with a Foley State Labor Government on housing affordability.

 

Just before I hand to Ryan and we take your questions, two other brief issues.

 

Firstly I see again, the acting Treasurer Kelly O’Dwyer doubling down on the need to give a company tax cut from the Government’s point of view. Now let me be very clear, Labor does not and will not support a $65 billion corporate tax cut. Australia cannot afford it. We have other priorities for the Budget and other priorities for the Australian people and we are more than happy to take this fight up to the Liberals right up until the next election. They have their priorities which is giving away a $65 billion company tax cut, we have others.

 

The other issue I will just briefly deal with is the Government’s clumsy handling of the bilateral relationship with China. We see the latest iteration with Minister Fierravanti-Wells condemning China’s foreign aid program in the Pacific. Now the relationship with China is a very important one, it requires careful management and nuance and expertise. There are times of disagreement with China and that will be the case under governments of both persuasion. This sort of megaphone diplomacy being engaged in by the Federal Government and Ministers, complaining that China is spending too much on aid in the Pacific, is particularly galling when this Government has overseen $11 billion in cuts to aid.

 

Now just left the hypocrisy sink in for a moment. The Government which cuts money from foreign aid and of course our program is rightly focused on Asia-Pacific and then complains that China is actually getting some credit in the Pacific for continuing with their foreign aid. So Minister Fierravanti-Wells needs to take a good look at herself but the Government needs to take a good look at themselves in terms of its management of the bilateral relationship with our largest trading partner.

 

I'm going to ask Ryan to say a few words and then we will take your questions.

 

RYAN PARK, NEW SOUTH WALES SHADOW TREASURER: Thanks Chris and it's clear today that first homebuyers particularly here in Sydney have three big enemies: the Prime Minister of this country, the Treasurer of this country and the Premier of the largest state in this country. Because those three individuals now have the undisputed advice, of being informed, of being told that the negative gearing and capital gains tax reform proposed by Chris Bowen, Bill Shorten and Labor had a big impact and could have a big impact on improving housing affordability here in New South Wales.

 

But what did they do? They did what they do so often, they sat on their hands. They talked big in Macquarie Street but did very little when it came to advocating and agitating on behalf of the thousands of residents, the thousands of first homebuyers who are struggling to get into the market here in Sydney. And let's make this very very clear: Labor was saying for a sustained period of time that it was now the time to put politics aside and to make sure that we don't have a generation who are locked out of the housing market forever.

 

But what we had in the Federal Prime Minister, in the Federal Treasurer and in the Premier of the state, those three individuals who not only refused to listen to the men and women of this country the first homebuyers who was struggling to get into the market weekend after weekend, but their own officials, their own public servants, those men and women who are meant to give their frank and fearless advice were saying to them this needs reforming and they refused to listen. And they did worse than that, they hid that advice from the community.

 

Chris Bowen and I will always make sure that housing affordability remains a top priority and that's why we will continue to work together to make sure residents, particularly here in New South Wales but right across the country, make sure that they have access and a chance to put a foot in the door like so many other generations have previously.

BOWEN: Happy to take questions of either Ryan or I of course.

 

JOURNALIST: How can you continue to oppose corporate tax cuts when even the OECD says that it has a broader benefit not just for the rich, that it actually benefits more than just the rich?

BOWEN: Well of course, the OECD of course makes its contributions – its valuable contributions about matters of principle across the board. These are about priorities. Many investments have benefits across the community. We believe in investing in schools. We believe in investing in vocational education and training. We believe in investing in infrastructure. We believe in that proper NBN would have a flow on beneficial effect on the country. But Budgets are about priorities. And this Government says its priority is to throw Budget repair out the window and to give $65 billion worth of corporate tax cuts in the hope that it flows through, that it trickles down. That on a whim of a prayer, that $65 billion will be well spent. Well, we say no. We prioritise Budget repair, and we prioritise investments in schools, vocational education and training. We have a different set of priorities.

JOURNALIST: So is there any level of corporate tax cut that you will support?

BOWEN: We said that we will support corporate tax cuts for businesses with a turnover of less than $2 million. We said that we would work through those that have already been legislated. I’ve seen the Treasurer banging his chest about corporate tax, saying that he’ll introduce corporate tax legislation early in the parliamentary sitting. Bring it on. We’ll be voting against it. This is a Treasurer who said he’s focusing his attention on the Labor Party. I think he should focus his attention on his job. And he hasn’t even made a public comment about the advice he received on negative gearing, but he’s out there talking about corporate tax cuts. This tells us his priorities.

JOURNALIST: Given the US has passed tax cuts, are we out of step with our major trading partners?

BOWEN: Well of course, you’ve got to look at tax rates as a whole. Now we have dividend imputation in Australia. We are one of very few countries that have. So, no dividend imputation in the United States – there is in Australia. By that, I mean a domestic investor gets their corporate tax back in effect. So if you want to compare the tax systems, sure, but let’s do it on an apples-for-apples basis as our tax systems are very different.

JOURNALIST: The Premier last year did introduce a housing affordability package. Are you saying that’s not enough?

BOWEN: I’ll let Ryan answer that.

PARK: Well no, we said that it was too little, too late. And that’s proven to be the case. We now have one of the worst housing affordability crisis right across the globe. Yet she sat on advice – and did worse than that – she refused to act on that advice that was saying she should be agitating and advocating to her federal counterparts and colleagues. That particularly here in NSW the reform that Chris and Bill proposed would have made a big, big difference in trying to make sure that we put those purchasing their first property above those purchasing their fourth or fifth or sixth property.

BOWEN: Okay, anything else?

 

All good, thanks for coming out guys.