Great to have your company this morning. After a blistering social media campaign against the budget’s capital gains tax, there’s growing tension in the Labor Party this morning. Multiple MPs have publicly conceded that the tax hits on small businesses need to be wound back.
To discuss, let’s bring in today’s talkers: Liberal Senator Paul Scarr and our very own Lizzie Pearl. Good morning to you both. Scarry, let’s start with you. One Nation seems to be the big winner from this budget. They’re gaining ground across the board at the moment, and the party is now inching ahead in the polling. Is the Coalition capitalising on this budget backlash?
PAUL SCARR:
I think Angus Taylor has been doing a great job in demonstrating just how bad this budget is, and we’re now seeing Labor MPs breaking ranks. They’re clearly getting the same message that we’re hearing as Coalition members and senators—that this budget is an attack on small business.
It’s a kick in the guts for small business owners who are already doing it tough. It’s also an attack on aspiration. We want young Australians to start new businesses. We want them to be entrepreneurial, and we want them to be rewarded for their efforts and creativity—but this budget does exactly the opposite.
So the Coalition will be fighting these tax changes tooth and nail in the upcoming parliamentary session.
HOST:
It still has to get through Parliament—but Lizzie, do you think the tide is starting to turn on Labor? The reaction to the budget doesn’t feel great for them.
LIZZIE PEARL:
No, it doesn’t. And the MPs speaking out are clearly the ones worried about losing their seats at the next election.
I think the Treasurer and the Prime Minister believed this was a good time to introduce bold policies and make sweeping changes. With an opposition in disarray and a couple of years until the next election, it probably seemed like a safe time to do the hard things.
However, the spanner in the works has been One Nation, and it may just backfire on the government. They thought they had time to build support for these policies, but now we’re seeing the emergence of a dark horse in One Nation—and who knows what will happen next.
HOST:
Yeah, they are really gaining some momentum, aren’t they? The Orange Party.
Look, with State of Origin approaching, here’s a fascinating story. A Queensland woman, Yvonne Wilson, has revealed she had the phone—a former phone—of ex–New South Wales coach Brad Fittler. She says she was receiving text messages about the Blues’ strategy while Fittler was coaching—and she’s a Maroons fan.
Paul, as a Queenslander yourself, would you have passed that information on to Billy Slater, or whoever was coaching at the time, given he faced a few different Queensland coaches?
PAUL SCARR:
Well, the thing about Queenslanders is not only are we winners, but we also play fair. And Yvonne is a great example of that.
But can I also say I’m very pleased she had one of Freddie Fittler’s old phones—not one of mine.
HOST:
Anything you want to reveal this morning, Paul?
PAUL SCARR:
No, we’d be getting calls from all sorts of politicians and plenty of boring people. Freddie Fittler’s phone, though—that’s bound to have something more interesting!
HOST:
Good cover—great cover story.
Lizzie, you’re a Blue. If the roles were reversed—if you had, say, Kevin Walters’ old phone and were receiving messages—what would you have done?
LIZZIE PEARL:
Well, as a fine, upstanding member of the community, of course I’d do what Yvonne did—be honest and let people know I was not, in fact, Freddie Fittler.
As Paul said, you want to win fair and square. If you win because you’ve got inside information, the victory isn’t as sweet.
HOST:
All’s fair in love and war—and you’re a Queenslander—so I’d want to know she passed the information on! Maybe that’s why Billy Slater won his first two series against Freddie Fittler—that’s all I’m saying.
I want to know what else came through on that phone. Let’s hope it wasn’t anything non-footy-related.
