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Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor has said the Coalition would introduce a bill to make Australia a financial centre, keep the First Home Guarantee, and make LMI-backed mortgages cheaper.
The shadow treasurer has outlined the Coalition’s priorities should it win the upcoming federal election in May, including a move to “pursue a clear ambition to make Australia a financial centre for our region”.
Speaking on Wednesday (2 April), Taylor said the Liberal-National Coalition will introduce the Securing Australia as a Financial Centre Bill within 100 days following the election.
Taylor said: “This Bill will legislate key financial services reforms that Labor has failed to prioritise – ranging from payments system reforms, digital assets regulation, and restoring our financial advice profession.
“Our financial system is the nervous system of our economy. At its best, it supports Australians to fulfil their dreams and realise their aspirations.
“This will unlock our financial sector and make it easier for Australians to afford a home, plan their retirement, and start a business.”
He said that other policies the Coalition would undertake include:
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Reforming the Corporations Act to simplify financial services law and “unleash our corporate bond market”.
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Establishing a taskforce to develop a Foreign Investment Fast Track for “trusted investors” from key security partners.
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Reforming capital markets to “strike the balance between financial stability and affordability of getting into a home, getting insurance, and starting a business”.
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Enacting the Productivity Commission’s 2018 recommendation to boost competition in our financial services by putting the ACCC on the Council of Financial Regulators.
Housing measures
The shadow treasurer has also said the Coalition is targeting housing, saying on Tuesday (1 April) that the Coalition government would “continue to support of the First Home Guarantee” (missing from the Albanese government’s recent budget).
Speaking at the National Press Club on Tuesday (1 April), he said: “A collapse in home ownership has profound implications not just for our aspirational character, but the costs of our retirement system.
“The challenge requires every lever to be pulled with a focus on three in particular: security, serviceability, and supply.”
As such, he reiterated the commitment to “restore the original promise of super to support first home ownership, and work with APRA to get our first homeowners a fairer go, making it easier for Australians to secure a home”.
He also said the Coalition would “work with APRA to give LMI-backed mortgages fairer pricing and make it easier for Australians to afford to retain their homes by reducing the overly cautious serviceability buffer”.
The opposition also wants to “sustainably [beat] inflation”, which he said would “put downward pressure on interest rates”.
To fix housing undersupply, the shadow treasurer said a Coalition government would “freeze the national construction code, restore law and order on our building sites and rebuild our construction trades to bring down the cost of building new supply”.
“We’ll cut migration and invest in breaking infrastructure bottlenecks to unlock over 500,000 more homes for Australians,” he said.
“The great Australian dream of seeking to own a home or start a business is fading for many.
“Inflation, interest rates, and rising taxes are making opportunity seem like a foreign concept. Stubborn inflation has seen interest rates go up 12 times, and down just once under Labor. Indeed a typical family with a mortgage has paid out $50,000 they weren’t expecting to pay three years ago, turning a dream into a nightmare.”
SME support
The shadow treasurer said that the Dutton government would also look to cut red tape for small businesses, reiterating the commitment to make the instant asset write-off permanent. (The instant asset write-off was not mentioned in the Albanese government’s recent budget.)
“A permanent and higher Instant Asset Write Off and Simpler Meal Tax Deductions will support small businesses recovery and give 98 per cent of Australian businesses a tax cut when they invest in productive assets,” he said.
Other moves include increasing competition and access for small business lending, simplifying meal deductions, saving FBT compliance costs, and making it easier for small businesses to hire staff.
“Michaelia Cash, Sussan Ley and I have finalised a comprehensive small business policy package that will be unveiled over coming weeks,” he told the Press Club.
“We want more Australians to take the leap to be their own boss, to grow their businesses, and employ Australians.
“A dynamic small business sector and thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem will be a bedrock of our economic strategy and a priority for me as Treasurer.
”Backing our small businesses is essential to delivering a low inflation, strong economy.
“Because when small businesses grow, Australia grows.
“This is why small business is central to our tax policy at this election.”
Overall, Taylor said a Coalition government would work to:
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Beat inflation sustainably.
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“Repair our housing and energy markets”.
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Revive growth through investment and backing small business.
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Deliver targeted, timely tax relief.
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“Restore the Budget to protect our nation”.
“This requires unleashing the enterprise and energy of the great Australian people,” he said.
“And most important, it means attracting the investment that will drive growth, productivity and prosperity.”
Taylor’s comments come as the two political parties ramp up their election campaigning. Earlier this week, the Coalition said it would instruct the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to consider the impact of its rules on access to housing, if elected.
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