Sussan Ley does her first point of order which is not a point of order! We are really ticking off the bingo card here.

Ley:

The Prime Minister is not addressing the particular tax that he knows the I am asking about the superannuation tax. The tax that we referred to in the question is not being addressed by the Prime Minister.

Milton Dick tells her it is not a point of order as the prime minister is talking about tax and she can’t bring in new information.

Albanese:

I was talking about tax policy and that was what I was asked about and our tax policy was clear. We want people to earn more and keep more of what they earn. That’s our tax policy.

Those opposite, the Liberal and National Party went to the election on May 3 calling for higher taxes and bigger deficits. That is what their platform was at the election.

And no wonder there’s a vacancy down there, Mr Speaker, because those opposite were rejected because Australians do want to earn more and they want to keep more of what they earn and that is what we will deliver.

Anthony Albanese answered the super tax question by pointing out there has been an election since it was introduced:

Well, tax was an issue at the last election. It was an issue on May 3. In the budget brought down by the Treasurer in March, we had not one tax cut but two tax cuts, and we brought forward the legislation before this Parliament and we passed it on the Wednesday and then it went through the Senate as well later that day.

So, as a direct result of the actions that we have taken, we will see income tax cuts for all 14 million taxpayers following up from the income tax cuts that we delivered last July for all 14 million taxpayers, delivered on July 1 next year and then a further tax cut the year after, on July 1 the year after.

Now, that is action that we took, and today, of course, Parliament has begun.

We have had our first piece of legislation, was to assist people, assist people, by putting more dollars in their pockets with the 20 per cent cut in student debt, delivering benefits on average of $5,500.

But had we not been successful on May 3, we know what the first piece of legislation was going to be.

Because, remarkably, those opposite went to an election saying that they would actually introduce legislation to increase income taxes, for every single Australian taxpayer by increasing that first marginal tax rate not once but twice.

Senior economist Matt Grudnoff is also not impressed:

Susan Ley’s first question in the new Parliament is complaining about people with $3 million super balances having to pay a bit more tax. Wow. It’s good to see the Coalition is interested in the issues of everyday Australians.

Sussan Ley is back.  This time she asks:

Under Labor’s superannuation tax policy, Australians are forced to find cash they don’t have to pay tax for income they haven’t earned Prime Minister, it takes a lot to unite Paul Keating and John Howard but both are totally against this unfair tax.

Will the Prime Minister abandon his plans to work with the Greens and instead join me, the crossbench, Paul Keating and John Howard to reject this unfair tax?

This is sigggghhhhhhh. 

As Greg Jericho has pointed out numerous times:

We have a system where it is considered right that the poorest people in Australia are penalised if their assets go above $314,000 but where parts of the media come out against a proposal that if someone’s super goes up $314,000 in a year from $3m they should pay $4,462 (1.4%) in tax Please. The only reason there is so much outrage over this is if the rich and vested interested are annoyed people might realise just how big of a rort they have going.

Currently these massive unrealised capital gains in super can keep going up and people pay no tax on them (unrealised, you see!) and then when they are retired they can sell them (ie realise them), and then pay … errr zero tax.

Under these changes they would have to pay 15% on the share of earnings above $3m.Yeah, end of times.

Heck even normal capital gains outside of super gets a great deal.

If you have held an asset for over a year you will get a 50% tax discount on the profit.

Earn $250,000 in capital gains, you get $125,000 tax free.Earn $250,000 in income, you get $18,200 tax free.

Little wonder the rich love capital gains. The 0.2% of taxpayers who make $1m each year account for 41% of all capital gains:

We have a general rule of not reporting on dixers (questions written by the government for government ministers) but given it is the first one of this parliament, it is always important to look at who gets it.

Ali France is given the honour.

You can usually tell who the government wants to be asking the first questions in QT, because they also get the first speech slots as well (you can’t ask a question or speak in the parliament until you have done your first speech)

Sussan Ley is straight up and has her first question as leader – on housing.

Q: The Liberal Party I lead will always champion policies to help more Australians into a home of their own. But under Labor the homeownership dream has never been further out of reach. The Prime Minister promised to deliver 1.2 million homes but he has let down young Australians by delivering just 17. With leaked Treasury advice confirming this is a broken promise, will the Prime Minister abandon his failing policies and work constructively with the Coalition to address Labor’s housing crisis?

Clare O’Neil interjects and Milton Dick puts on his Dugald face (Milton is his middle name) and tells her to NOT TRY HIM

The Minister for Housing, it is the first question of this term. Trust me. Do not interject before a Minister, including the Prime Minister, has begun their answer.

Anthony Albanese takes the question:

Well, there is a housing Minister for the LNP from Queensland called Sam O’Connor. This is what he had to say. ‘A major milestone’s been reached with construction under way on one of the Gold Coast’s largest social and affordable housing projects. The high-rise supportive housing project is being delivered by the Australian government’s housing Australia future fund.” He went on to say, ‘Importantly, this project will provide 200 vulnerable Gold Coast households with much more than a safe and secure roof over their heads. ‘

The Master Builders Australia support our programs, the 1.2 million homes we say is achievable. For the first time we have seen a federal government actually recognise that they’ve got a leadership role in resolving this problem. Up until the Albanese government, we have seen federal governments say no. It’s a problem of the states, it’s a problem of local government. Who might they have been speaking about? The former government that, over the nine long years didn’t bother to have a housing minister for half of the time, had complete contempt for public housing, provided no incentives for…

It goes on, but we have heard it all before. Sussan Ley tries to interject but is also told to NOT TRY DUGALD

The chamber is into member statements – which means we are getting closer to the first question time.

Go touch some grass, or feel the sunshine on your face. Get a sweet treat. Do something to affirm life.

It is about to be drained from you.

LNP senator Matt Canavan who used to love cosplaying as a miner while resources minister, has remembered he is, in fact, an economist.

He has a bit of a chat about the senate motion he has put forward for debate tomorrow –

The current health and future of the Australian metals manufacturing industry including the alumina, aluminium, lead, zinc, copper and nickel industries, with reference to:
(a) the impact of increasing energy costs, technological change, industrial relation regimes, workforce challenges and the
broader regulatory environment;
(b) distortions in global supply chains that impact the viability of Australian metals manufacturing;
(c) the cost of metals manufacturing businesses meeting climate change targets;
(d) the viability of government interventions to sustain Australian metals manufacturing;
(e) the potential for energy investments to help reduce costs for Australian metals manufacturing;
(f) the viability of further public-private partnerships;
(g) the impact on regions, our national security and economy if metals manufacturing declines in Australia; and
(h) any other related matter

(The motion is basically just ‘net zero is killing us, let’s have a committee about it’ in a sheep suit)

But then some questions start getting a little tricky and Canavan ends the press conference, with all the Nationals filing in behind him. If you have ever seen a sheep change direction and take the flock with it, that’s the image they seem to be going for.

The question that ended it all? If the Liberals decide they want net zero, then where is the future for the Coalition to remain a Coalition?

Canavan:

I don’t talk in hypotheticals. I think, I think, look, my position, my position, is very well known, of course. I mean, I think what would be good post election is we all have those conversations in the joint party room, and hopefully that will happen at some point. We’ve had difficult issues like this before in the last decade in my time here, and they’re always the sky’s Chicken Little sky falling in type conclusions made. But we find a way. We find a way. We find a way.

The Nationals who are against net zero are now holding a press conference where Bridget McKenzie is very, very exercised over all the people in country communities who are apparently having their lives ruined by renewables.

The Nationals are now also very concerned over the nickel industry and smelters.

McKenzie:

This isn’t some political argument, it is real people, real communities, who want to keep doing what they’re doing, and it is this government’s policies that have put all of these jobs at risk, which is why the union movement itself has a problem with this government’s policies.

So I would love you to ask the Industry Minister Tim Ayres about what he is doing to save these jobs, what the industrial relations minister is doing to save these jobs, what the Regional Development Minister is doing to save these jobs. Because right now, literally right now, nothing, and we’re shoveling money out, hand over fist.

Ahead of the first question time (where Sussan Ley will be leading the tactics committee asking the opposition questions, alongside…Alex Hawke) here is something that will make just as much sense as what we are about to hear in QT: