Pauline Hanson launched a fiery crusade against tax hikes, Labor’s $250 income offset and the “Canberra bubble” before having her budget reply speech cut off mid-sentence for exhausting her allocated speaking time.
The One Nation leader delivered her official response to the federal budget on Thursday evening, after Opposition Leader Angus Taylor proposed sweeping cuts to migration and Nationals leader Matt Canavan rose to his feet in the Senate to declare the Albanese government had “flown the white flag” on higher prices.
In her speech, Hanson pointed out that Labor’s latest tax relief measure would not kick in until 2027 – an election year – and argued the working Australians’ tax offset would be “completely rubbed out by bracket creep”. She also said the government had no interest in reducing immigration, and attacked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s overhaul of negative gearing and capital gains tax.
“Young people are not struggling because older generations succeed,” Hanson said. “They are falling behind because governments have chosen subsidies and wealth redistribution over allowing free enterprise to flourish.
“We don’t need Labor to protect Australians. We need to protect Australians from Labor.”
Outlining her different approach, the One Nation leader said her party would slash GST on building materials for homes up to the value of $1 million for the next five years and called on state governments to drop stamp duty.
“We will allow age pensioners and veterans to work as much as they want without losing any of their pensions or healthcare benefits.”
She repeated past promises to ditch net zero, exit the Paris Agreement and back coal, gas and nuclear power projects. The senator also said she would reveal a “bold, new gas policy” next week.
“It is perverse that a government and an opposition … believes it can change the weather and is prepared to waste, ultimately, hundreds of billions to do it.”
But as she began reading out her closing remarks around the 15-minute mark, Hanson was cut short, with the Senate adjourned for the evening. The One Nation leader was not granted leave to finish.
Earlier on Thursday evening, Taylor – under pressure from One Nation in the wake of the Farrer byelection – vowed to deliver the “biggest migration cut in Australian history”. He also pledged a $22 billion tax-back guarantee to tackle bracket creep.
Taylor told Nine’s Today show on Friday morning that the Coalition could “absolutely” pay for the tax relief despite the current budget deficit.
“Labor has built up a series of wasteful programs. The savings across all of that – those wasteful programs – are savings that can more than pay for ensuring that Australians don’t see the tax hikes that Labor is proposing.”
The opposition leader also refused to provide an exact figure for his proposed reduction in net overseas migration after ducking the question on the ABC’s 7.30 program on Thursday evening. Taylor once again insisted the targets would be tied to housing construction.
“What we’ve seen under Labor is that they’ve set migration targets without regard for housing construction. This has been insanity. It’s been madness,” he told the Today show.
Hanson said Taylor’s budget reply was “replete” with One Nation policies.
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Broede Carmody is a health reporter for The Age. Previously, he was a state political reporter for The Age and the national news blogger for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
Emily Kaine is a national news blogger at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
