PM defends budget consultation, fuel security, and tax reform

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the government's decision not to consult more widely with industry on budget measures.

The government's changes to capital gains tax and trusts have attracted resistance from the tech, start-up and small business sector, including on social media.

Albanese says the government couldn't inform industry about the changes ahead of budget night in detail because it could have caused "insider knowledge".

"That's called insider knowledge and because changes are dated from capital gains and from negative gearing from budget night. That is why you can't have [that] level of consultation," Albanese says.

Anthony Albanese spent the morning speaking with his state and territory counterparts via national cabinet.

A reporter asks if any of the premiers raised the impact the housing tax changes would have on the state's stamp duty arrangements. Albanese says they didn't.

The prime minister has been asked whether Australians will be paying more or less tax under the budget measures Labor will be introducing to parliament on Thursday.

Labor will introduce legislation for the Working Australians Tax Offset (WATO), work expense deductions, negative gearing and capital gains tax changes.

Albanese has sidestepped the question and largely spoken about what impact the government's measures will have on housing supply.

The PM says the measures is "tax reform with clear objectives".

"The main objective is not to lock out this and future generations of Australians from ever getting a roof over their head," Albanese says.

The prime minister has been asked if farmers will be fully exempt from the government's changes to the taxation of discretionary trusts.

Labor will introduce a minimum 30 per cent tax on discretionary trusts from July 1, 2028, with some exceptions.

The measures include exemptions for primary production income of farms and income relating to vulnerable young people.

Albanese says the government is consulting with the National Farmers Federation (NFF).

"That's why we have a consultation process. The NFF are a part of that," Albanese says.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed a $250 tax offset for workers will be tied to the government's proposed changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax.

The legislation is due to be introduced to the lower house on Thursday, and be up for debate next week, before going before the Senate in June.

Albanese confirmed the legislation will include:

The $250 Working Australia Tax Offset (WATO)

$1000 standard deduction for work expenses

The capital gains tax

Negative gearing

He's setting a wedge for the opposition, challenging them to vote against the offset if they also want to vote against the CGT and negative gearing changes.

Questions are away and the PM has been asked whether he's of the view that any carve outs for the capital gain tax changes should be confined to the tech sector.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the federal government is consulting with different sectors about the budget measures.

He says a first tranche of legislation will be introduced to parliament on Thursday, that will include tax cuts, deductions, capital gains tax and negative gearing.

Albanese says a second tranche of legislation will be introduced later to deal with details and implementation.

"That's the normal way that tax policy been implemented for a long period of time. Treasury are going about consulting not just in tech," Albanese says.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen is pretty pleased at the amount of diesel Australia currently has in its stockpile.

"As the prime minister said, 38 days worth of diesel. That's actually the highest diesel stock holding the country has had since the minimum stock obligation came in in 2023," he says.

The minimum stock obligation is just the amount of supply the fuel companies need to keep in reserve.

Bowen says there are currently 48 ships on the way to Australia, with 3.4 billion litres contracted to be delivered over the next month -- including 1.8 billion litres worth of diesel.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just stepped up for a press conference with Energy Minister Chris Bowen in Canberra.

They've just wrapped a virtual national cabinet meeting on fuel security with state and territory representatives.

The prime minister says there's 43 days of petrol, 38 days worth of diesel and 31 days of jet fuel secured for Australia.

He says supply is looking secure for Australia until July.

Albanese says the economic conflict from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz won't end at the conclusion of the conflict.

"We know though this is volatile and uncertain times, and I want to make it clear that when the conflict ends, that doesn't mean that the economic tail concludes there will be a period of time before ships are able to go through the Strait of Hormuz," Albanese says.

Independent MP Zali Steggall says "staying still is not how you keep winning" when asked about the potential for the creation of a new party.

The Warringah MP has today confirmed she is open to forming a new political party but hasn't said how far talks have progressed.

Steggall says the models of the current major political parties are "flawed".

"I look at the Labor Party where they have caucus rules, which means no one can cross the floor. They cannot speak outside of the party room. They are bound to those decisions, often against the wishes of their community," Steggall says.

Wentworth MP Allegra Spender says she is worried about some parts of the country, including WA and SA, which she says has no effective opposition.

"I think that there's an opportunity to say, 'Look, is it an evolution of what we do? Is it more community independents? Is there some different way of working together that can create more options?'

"Well, then I'm certainly open to looking," Spender says.

In other news, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese chaired a virtual meeting of national cabinet this morning.

He'll be standing up for a press conference at Parliament House shortly.

As always, I'll bring you all the details live as they come through.

Independent MP Zali Steggall has just stepped up for a press conference with fellow Sydney-based independent Allegra Spender here at parliament.

They're talking about the federal government's changes to the capital gains tax discount.

The 50 per cent flat discount will be replaced with a discount based on inflation, and investors will pay a 30 per cent tax on real gains.

Steggall has warned that the government's changes could have unintended consequences, and has proposed splitting any legislation.

She says it would be a mistake for the government to provide a carve-out for the tech industry alone.

"These changes have really blindsided a lot of people and are not consistent with the government's position," Steggall says.

"The prime minister, the treasurer, have been out saying that this is about intergenerational equity, but in fact, many of these changes are going to hurt the aspirations of many young people and millennials," she says.

Spender, who represents the electorate of Wentworth, has urged the government to "take a breath" and not rush the legislation through parliament.

"If they get it right, then this could be something that genuinely sets us up for the future," she says.

Mackellar MP Sophie Scamps is leaving the door open to what she calls a "stronger alliance" among teal independents.

While others, such as Monique Ryan and Kate Chaney, counted themselves out, Scamps is keeping her options open.

"People have been coming to me with ideas for some time about the potential for a stronger alliance — one that complements the community independent movement," Scamps said in a statement.

"These conversations have been accelerated by new electoral campaign laws that will make it difficult for independent candidates, particularly new ones, to run -- along with the seismic political shift that has seen the Liberals lurching further to the far right."

She says she will consult with her community before "making any major decisions".

"I've always engaged my community in open and honest dialogue on the issues that affect them, and this is no different."

Senate estimates is off to an exciting start this week (if you can believe it), with your favourite unexpected duo Greens’ David Shoebridge and Liberals’ Michaelia Cash teaming up to grill the Attorney General department over its Freedom of Information requests.

The Canberra Times revealed the department delayed the publication of an FOI request until a minute before the last senate estimates, meaning senators couldn’t ask questions about it.

The issue was over an email sent by the FOI team, asking for the publication of documents to be delayed until the day of estimates.

Department officials today said they’d only found out about the issue on Friday, but couldn't provide much information about what steps they'd taken next.

Shoebridge was very displeased with this, grilling them not only for the delay directive, but for not asking enough questions of the people involved.

Cash didn’t let them off easy either, questioning why the Attorney General’s department, which is meant to be the “gold standard” for FOI requests, was purposefully delaying publication.

Department representatives say they work hard to ensure best practise is upheld, that they have a full commitment to comply with time frames, and that estimates aren’t taken into account when deciding on the publication of documents.

And another one bites the dust. West Australian Kate Chaney, who represents the seat of Curtin, has also distanced herself from joining any teal party.

In a statement, Chaney said she'd remain as an independent.

"Our political poles are shifting. The Liberal Party is moving further to the right. The big issues impacting the lives of everyday Australians no longer fit on the convenient left-right political spectrum," she said.

"In this context, I have had many conversations with my fellow community independents about the challenges Australia faces, and have thought deeply about how I can best contribute to a healthy democracy.

"I am interested in working more collaboratively with other crossbenchers on policy – many of our communities have similar values – but right now I do not think that requires me to be a member of a political party."

So Monique Ryan has ruled herself out of joining Allegra Spender and Zali Steggall's proposed new party but what about the rest of the crossbench?

Helen Haines channeled Bob Katter as she counted herself out.

"Let 1000 blossoms bloom! If people want to talk about forming more formal allegiances through a party, go your hardest ... it's not something for me but it may be something for other people," Haines said.

Katter, who was previously a member of the Nationals, said he was in no rush to join another party.

"I came out of the party system and the last thing in the world I want to do is go back into it, I can assure you," he said.

Andrew Gee, who also traded a spot in the Nationals party room for the crossbench, said his independence had been "hard won".

"So I am remaining a true country independent," he said.

Mayo MP Rebekah Sharkie agreed it wasn't for her.

"I think I did suggest this to Zali back in 2022. There's a lot of similarities across the teals, they're referred to as the teals so if they want to create a party, good for them," she said.

A poll published late on Friday showed One Nation would win as many as 59 seats if an election were held today, pushing Labor deep into minority government and wiping out the Coalition in all but three states and territories.

That's the worst-case scenario for the major parties in a large-scale analysis of voter intentions conducted by Redbridge Group and Accent Research that underlines the shift in Australian politics since the last election.

There is so much hypothesising about why this surge in populist supply has occurred, but the evidence is staring at us and it is crystal clear. In fact, the Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, told us and it was blunt. She said Australians were poorer because of the ripple effect on prices from the conflict in the Middle East.

If Australians are poorer, and they know they are poorer, why would they keep supporting the status quo? What if the cumulative impact of the depletion of their living standards is making them think something else has to be the solution?

A conflict on the other side of the world pushing up essential items on our supermarket shelves, the government unable to offer a quick fix or outline when this will pass and a population still whip-lashed by COVID. It is easy to understand why people are running out of patience with major parties and feel let down by Canberra.

Angus Taylor has laughed off concerns some of his moderate Liberal colleagues could jump ship to join the teals.

The opposition leader told reporters the group of independents have "acted like a party for years".

"I don't know what's new. They act like a political party. But I tell you what, we are the one party, or Coalition, that is fighting the Labor Party every day," he says.

Taylor was also asked about a poll published in the Australian Financial Review over the weekend that suggested One Nation could win up to 53 seats at the next election.

"I am out there every day fighting the Labor Party. That is our one focus. Becaus