News and politics live updates: Anthony Albanese capital gains tax claim questioned by Treasury Secretary

The Chair of a Senate committee has reminded participants that their microphones “remain live” after he was caught swearing during official parliamentary proceedings on Wednesday.

Labor Senator Raff Ciccone, who heads the Senate’s Foreign Affairs and Defence committee, was recorded saying: “we’re going to break for lunch and I’ll see everyone back in one hour” before whispering “thank f..k for that”.

LANGUAGE WARNING

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During the opening of the committee’s hearings on Thursday, Senator Ciccone warned fellow parliamentarians and witnesses that microphones were operating at all times.

“(I’d) also like to also remind senators and witnesses in the hearing room as we discovered earlier in the week that microphones remain live at all times unless I instruct otherwise.”

“For example a suspension, adjournment or when we do break for lunch, that did obviously not happen this week,” the Chair added, prompting laughs from those in the room.

Australia’s domestic intelligence agency ASIO and its Five Eyes partners are warning that Chinese spies are offering lucrative payments to government and military personnel as they attempt to steal sensitive secrets from the US and its allies.

In a rare joint bulletin, the intelligence agencies of Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, and New Zealand said Beijing was increasingly using professional networking sites and job platforms, including LinkedIn and Indeed, to gain access to classified information.

The statement said that China’s spies “ultimately seek to acquire privileged military, political and economic intelligence that can provide China with a strategic and tactical advantage over the Five Eyes.”

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We mentioned earlier that One Nation MP David Farley missed all the votes on second reading amendments to the tax bills, along with a vote on whether to move debate on to the next stage.

He started joining the ongoing divisions around midday.

Mr Farley has told this masthead he had prior meetings as part of his induction process as a new MP.

“The preceding divisions were Mickey’s. I apologise for my absence, but it is only my third day, (I’ve) swallowed my party-administered medicine,” he said.

The first of the two tax bills has now passed the lower house.

This was the core one that contains the changes to capital gains tax discounts, negative gearing, the working Australian tax offset and the standard deduction.

MPs are now voting on amendments to a secondary bill that makes changes to tax rates to impose the 30 per cent minimum on the taxable portion of capital gains.

The bells have been ringing across Parliament House for the best part of 90 minutes now, calling MPs to a lengthy string of votes related to the tax legislation.

It’s being pushed through the lower house after just two days of debate because the government wants to get it to the Senate when that chamber returns a the next sittings later in June.

This is the bill that replaces the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount with one based on inflation, limits negative gearing to new builds, and creates the $250 annual working Australian tax offset and $1000 standard deduction.

So far, they’ve voted on second reading amendments (which say things like, this House calls on the government to pass laws to end bracket creep, but don’t actually change the legislation) from Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and independents Dai Le, Monique Ryan, Zali Steggall and Kate Chaney.

The vote to move on to the next stage of debate won the support of crossbenchers Andrew Wilkie, Sophie Scamps, Monique Ryan, Zali Steggall and Helen Haines, voting with the Government.

Andrew Gee, Barnaby Joyce, Dai Le, Rebekha Sharkie, Kate Chaney and Allegra Spender joined the Coalition to oppose the bill.

New One Nation MP David Farley, on his third day in the job, apparently couldn’t be found to add his voice.

Treasury Secretary Jenny Wilkinson has admitted that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s claims on the capital gains tax returning to a pre-1999 model are misleading.

The Labor Budget is proposing to replace the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount with a minimum 30 per cent tax on inflation-adjusted capital gains.

Mr Albanese last week told Parliament: “We are also changing the capital gains tax regime to go back to 1999.”

But under questioning from Liberal Senator Claire Chandler, Ms Wilkinson admitted Labor’s Budget plan didn’t include the pre-1999 model of allowing capital gains to be averaged out over five years.

“So, Senator, that has not been part of the announcements that the Government’s made in relation to the tax package”, she said.

“That was not announced in the Budget.”

Ms Wilkinson also confirmed the capital gains tax from 1985 to 1999 did not impose a minimum 30 per cent tax on inflation-adjusted gains.

“No, it didn’t, Senator,” she said.

Australia’s domestic intelligence agency ASIO has joined its Five Eyes partners in warning that Chinese spies are attempting to recruit and compromise government and military personnel to gain a tactical advantage over the US and its allies.

In a rare joint bulletin, the intelligence agencies of Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, and New Zealand warned that Beijing is increasingly using professional networking sites and job platforms — including LinkedIn and Indeed — to gain access to classified information.

The statement said that China’s spies “ultimately seek to acquire privileged military, political and economic intelligence that can provide China with a strategic and tactical advantage over the Five Eyes.”

It warns Chinese intelligence officers and their accomplices pose as consultants, human resources professionals, or think tank staff, placing online job advertisements for roles including foreign policy and defence analysts.

Safeguarding our secrets.

Treasury chief Jenny Wilkinson has conceded Labor’s changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions would mean 35,000 fewer homes than otherwise.

“We have done that modelling to the best of our abilities and I think we’ve been open and transparent in that box about what our assessment is,” she told the Senate economics committee on Thursday.

“What we have made clear in that box is that the direct impact of the tax changes might reduce supply by a bit but that would be more than offset by what we estimate to be the impact on supply of the additional infrastructure measures which were also announced in the Budget.”

The Treasury Budget papers admitted weaker house price growth would mean 35,000 fewer homes over the coming decade as a result of Labor’s plan to restrict negative gearing to brand new homes from July 2027, and replace the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount with a minimum 30 per cent tax on inflation-adjusted gains for existing properties.

“Lower house price growth will have a modest impact on housing supply, with the increase in supply over the next decade expected to be only around 35,000 dwellings fewer compared to no tax policy change, equivalent to around a quarter of a per cent of the current dwelling stock,” it said.

The Budget papers also forecast Australia having 75,000 more owner-occupiers in the housing market during that time.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has accused a Liberal senator of being patronising after she pointed out Labor’s capital gains tax changes aren’t a complete reversion to what existed before September 1999.

Liberal senator Claire Chandler noted the original capital gains tax, in place from 1985 to 1999 before a 50 per cent CGT discount, didn’t have a minimum 30 per cent tax and cited Prime Minister Anthony Albanese telling Parliament on May 26 that “we are also changing the capital gains tax regime to go back to 1999”.

Senator Gallagher defended this statement, arguing the Budget proposals do include a reversion to an indexation model on capital gains before Liberal PM John Howard’s CGT concessions.

“I don’t have all the transcripts that you’re reading from but the Government has been very clear, when making statements like that, that it’s relating to how you treat gains as opposed to the changes that were brought in by prime minister Howard and reverting back to the system that existed before that, adjusting for indexation and taxing real gains,” the Finance Minister told the Senate economics committee on Thursday.

“It’s a bit early to start the patronising - we’ve got a long day ahead of us. The Prime Minister has been clear about the changes that we have brought in.”

Penny Wong has stressed that Australia must be “active in shaping” the alliance with the United States, as Donald Trump “envisions a different role for the United States and the world”.

Appearing before a Senate Estimates hearing on Wednesday, the Foreign Minister spoke of the need for Australia to act as a sovereign, independent nation in the face of US actions globally.

“We have always understood that President Trump envisions a different role for the United States and the world,” Senator Wong said.

“Nevertheless, the United States remains the world’s largest economic military power with daily influence on international events that have consequences for Australia.

“This fact reinforces why being active in shaping our alliance is in Australia’s national interest. “For decades, this alliance and America’s network of partnerships with many of our neighbours has made our region more stable and deterred potential aggressors.

“As with all our partners, there have been times over the 75 years of our alliance with the United States when we’ve had differences of view and differences of approach.

“We’ve always exercised our own agency, asserted our sovereignty, and made decisions in Australia’s interest in all our foreign policy.”