Address to the Investor Discussion Group on Capital Gains Tax

‍Senator Bragg

Labor’s $80 billion Budget tax grabis based on an undemocratic piece of legislation, and being rammed through viaan undemocratic process.

The Government has no bloody ideaabout the distributional impact and the damage these tax policies are going todo to low-income earners, and the massive effects it's going to have on youngerpeople, particularly the millennials and younger generations of Australians.

So, I mean, one of the best thingsabout Australian politics is the Senate Committee system because it allows usto properly evaluate and analyse the good and the bad ideas. And this has beencompletely debased by this Labor Party, which is trying to shoehorn thesechanges through in just a few weeks.

So, I feel very bad for theAustralian people that not only are they stuck with a terrible, dysfunctionalParliament where taxpayers underwrite a huge waste of money, where people gointo the Parliament, they ask these stupid, dorothy dixers to people whoalready know the answers—that's already a huge waste of money.

Now they've f**** up this SenateCommittee system, and that is just another ridiculous position that we now haveto live with in this country, where our democracy is getting worse and worse,and no wonder people want to smash the system up.

I understand the frustration in thecommunity because people feel that all the serious debate has been taken away.The Prime Minister talks to people like they're all children. And the fact isthat we are now living in an age where people have more access to information,they are smarter than ever before, and they don't want to be spoken to likethey're idiots.

So, it's very good you've done thesethings today. I think it's important. It would have been good if we could haveheard you next door. I regret that we can't. But, it's important that the mediais here. I hope you report all the important analysis that's been done, atgreat expense in some cases by these people here.

So, I want to thank you for yourleadership. I'm sorry the country doesn't want to hear from you. We do, andthanks again for doing it.

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