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May 12, 2026
SARAH ABO: Welcome back. Well, Australians will pay some of the highest tax rates in the world on Capital Gains if the Albanese government axes the 50% discount in this evening's budget. Joining us to discuss today's headlines is Independent MP Monique Ryan and Shadow Minister for Defence, James Paterson. Good morning to you both. Monique, we love broken promises, don't we? And this isn't just about housing as it's being touted by the government. This could impact shares and other investments. Is it a bit of a cash grab?
MONIQUE RYAN MP: We've got a bit of a problem here. The major parties are struggling to get trust from the Australian consumer and the Australian voters, and what we're seeing is the government continue to break promises. We need investment in small business. We need venture capital and start-ups to get the tax support that they need, not to be given new tax burdens with the cutting of the CGT discount. So, I'm hoping that the government will not address any changes on the CGT discounts to small businesses and to venture capital this week. That would be a really bad, regressive step, I think, on its behalf.
SARAH ABO: I mean, it's going to happen, right? It's been leaked left, right and centre for a couple of weeks now, and it will take tax rates to 33% to 47%. I mean, James, are we about to become the least attractive place in the world for investors?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Yes. And Sarah, this was all supposed to be about making housing more affordable. How does smashing tech startups and punishing them with higher taxes make housing more affordable? I mean, the broken promise is bad enough. I mean, they looked Australians in the eye dozens of times before the last election and said they wouldn't do this, and now they're doing it. I think that does breach faith for the Australian people. But how can we trust that it will end here? Next time when they say they won't get rid of grandfathering for negative gearing, they won't tax the family home, they won't introduce death duties. How can we take them seriously, given that they lied about this and so often?
SARAH ABO: Well, I think you're right, because obviously there's a debt too that needs to be repaid. We don't want to get to a situation like we're seeing in Victoria, but James, what would the Coalition do? I mean, you'd need to cut spending somewhere, right?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: We've outlined a couple of areas already where we think there is wasteful spending. We don't think that high-income earners need a tax discount to buy an electric vehicle that is more generous than a low-income-earner is getting for that same electric vehicle or a cheaper electric vehicle. And we think there are savings there. But we'll outline other savings in Angus Taylor's budget reply on Thursday night, as well as our own positive plans to get the Australian economy moving again and to take the burden off working people. You know, wage-earning working people in this country are paying higher and higher taxes under Labor, just as inflation eats away at their living standards, and they urgently need assistance. They don't need higher taxes.
SARAH ABO: Monique, do you see anything positive coming out of tonight's budget?
MONIQUE RYAN MP: Well, I'm certainly looking for more money for medical research in this budget, Sarah, and that's something I've been pushing a lot for for a very long time. I am still hoping that the government will tax our oil and gas exports appropriately. The whole country wants it to do that. And we do need tax breaks for young Australians who are losing hope of ever owning their own home. We're looking to see those today with changes to Negative Gearing and to the Capital Gains Tax discount.
SARAH ABO: Well, they've said no to things in the past, but that doesn't mean anything at the moment. All right, let's move along now. And Pauline Hanson's ambition is growing. She's demanding the Coalition guarantee support for a One Nation led government if her party wins more seats at the next election. One down, dozens more to go, James. That stoush you had with the One Nation volunteer in the lead up to the Farrer by-election didn't hurt their chances.
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well look, full credit to David Farley, he won fair and square in the Farrer by-election, but winning one seat in the House of Representatives in 30 years of One Nation history doesn't quite entitle you to form a government yet.
SARAH ABO: It's just the start though.
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well speaking for the Liberal Party, we have a Coalition partner in the National Party that we're very happy with, and we're not seeking any more.
SARAH ABO: Well, Barnaby has ruled out that when we asked him about it yesterday. I mean, do you have a choice, though? It might be something you have to contemplate.
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Well, if we don't win enough seats at the next election to form government in our own right, well then we will not have succeeded in persuading the Australian people that we're ready to govern in the national interest. And that's the task that I have, and all my colleagues have, and we accept that. We're not looking to shortcut a route to government by forming government with other parties, with independents, with crossbenchers. We want to form a majority Coalition government because that has what has served Australia best for the last 80 years of our history in Coalition, and that's what we're seeking to do after the next election.
SARAH ABO: You only have to look overseas, though. This sort of ragtag assembly that creates government. I mean, it's prominent in Germany, for example, and has been for a while. Monique, were you worried about the orange wave in Farrer? I mean, if it wasn't for those preferences, the Teal could have won.
MONIQUE RYAN MP: Well, I think the Liberal Party has staked its position with how it behaved in Farrer, and James' behaviour was pretty typical of that. What we're seeing is that the conservative side of politics is utterly fractured in Australia, and even since the Farrer by-election, we are seeing that neither Tim Wilson nor Jane Hume will rule out forming a Coalition with One Nation. For voters in the electorate that I represent, I think that that's a terminal blow to any chance of them ever wanting to see a conservative government in this country again. They don't want to see a government that is dominated by One Nation.
SARAH ABO: Mmm, we'll see how that plays out. We've got the state elections coming up before the federal one. Alright, well, finally, there are some fresh calls for Communications and Sports Minister Anika Wells to stand aside after a minister refused to corroborate her claim, the pair held an informal meeting on the same night as a birthday party in Adelaide. Monique, should she go?
MONIQUE RYAN MP: Australian voters are losing trust in political parties. One of the reasons they're doing that is that they see politicians rorting their benefits and spending too much time with lobbyists, not enough time with their constituents. If we want to win back the trust of Australian voters, we have to behave with integrity. I think many people have been very disappointed with how Anika has managed her expenses recently, and I think she is in a very difficult position.
SARAH ABO: Yeah, there are demands to pay it back, which I think she says she will. James, do you have your house in order before calling for scalps?
SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Yes, we do. And Anika Wells' argument is that it was parliamentary business for her to go to the birthday party of her friend in a different state and meet with that friend's husband, who also happens to be a Labor politician. Having a drink and a chat on the side of a birthday party is not parliamentary business. It should not be funded by taxpayers. And Monique is right, no wonder people are disillusioned with the government and major parties if people think that they can behave like this and get away with it. There must be consequences for behaviour like this.
SARAH ABO: Trust is integral. All right, Monique, James, thanks so much for joining me this morning. Appreciate it.
ENDS