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Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume accused the government of being “sneaky” in passing the tax legislation and left the door open to a deal with the Greens to expand investigations into the budget legislation.
“Two days [of inquiry] Apparently nothing is enough. These are generational reforms. If these were generational reforms, they should surely have been put to an election, so that the Australian public could decide when appropriate scrutiny would occur. But they didn’t,” Hume told ABC radio this morning.
“So it falls on us in the Senate to do that. Two days is simply not enough. There’s no need to rush these changes because they won’t go into effect until 2028. So, if that’s the case, why the government is trying to hide from scrutiny is beyond me. And frankly, I think it just shows how sneaky they are with the tax changes.”
Asked whether the Coalition would opt for a longer tax inquiry to examine changes to the NDIS in more depth, Hume indicated a deal could be on the table.
“The Coalition has made it clear that we support change to the NDIS. This is a program that is out of control and needs integrity measures in place to ensure it is sustainable in the future,” he said.
“That said, we shouldn’t hide from scrutiny. If that’s what the Greens would want in return for a longer investigation into the tax measures they support, I think it’s worth taking a look at. I think that’s entirely fair.”
