Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
It's a Lot is recorded on Gadigal land. We pay our respects to the traditional custodians of this land and to elders past and present. We also would love to extend our respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people listening today and remind you all that sovereignty was never ceded and it always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
It's a lot.
Everyone, thank God we've got Larissa Waters, the leader of the Greens, on the podcast.
Hi, Larissa. Hello, Abby.
Thank you for making time for me.
You're so welcome.
I've been seeing this budget and seeing the coverage of this budget and being so confused and concerned about the spin and the way that it's being digested and also confused about the reality of it. So I wanted to get you on to go through the budget with me because I love you and you know what's going on.
I'll do my very best not to bore anyone to tears.
No, I don't think it is boring. I think it's deeply concerning and it actually is very riveting stuff when you look at what's going on and then how it's been spun and then the reality of what we actually want and what would actually help. So let's just start off maybe some top lines of is there anything you were happy to see in the budget?
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Chapter 2: What are the key issues with the 2026-27 Federal Budget?
They don't want to offend any of their wealthy donors or the people that have managed to amass 50, 100, 200 investment properties and And so what they've done is try to please everyone but actually they've pleased no one except the 1% who did not need the help.
Not at all. And you also aren't really doing, they're not part of society. They're not here with all of us understanding what the fuck is going on. They're not in a cost of living crisis. Absolutely not.
So basically I wanted to, I wanted to go through kind of major topics, including the housing crisis, obviously first and foremost, NDIS, small businesses, frontline services, and also have a little chat about One Nation at the end. Because since we spoke last, which was what, like a year ago, was it? Maybe it was like six months. I've lost all sense of time. I don't
I feel like everything's just spiralling. It was in January just after the invasion day. So it's only five months ago. Yeah. I really do feel like the political landscape has changed and the media landscape has changed. With the media's reporting on this, because, you know, like you're saying, the changes to the capital gains tax and negative gearing aren't what you would want.
They're not what I would want either. No. but they're also not what the media is presenting forward. So what have you seen being presented forward and what's driving you the most nuts while you watch it?
Because I lose my mind. It's like we're in a parallel universe, aren't we? Because the forces of capital and the owners of those newspapers, the billionaires, are trying to claim that this budget is like communism and it's like redistribution of wealth. And we're like, we wish it was redistribution of wealth.
Actually, you're just letting those rich people keep their perks and you're doing nothing to help renters or young people. So the spin has been so confusing and infuriating because there's no reason for those rich people to be angry at this budget. No.
Like the young people should be angry at this budget because there is literally nothing in there for renters and these property perks have been retained for everyone that's already had them that have seen house prices absolutely skyrocket.
And so the fact that the big business folk and other billionaires and wealthy people are now getting cross that maybe their capital gains might be slightly tweaked. I'm like, get some perspective, people. There's folk who are homeless. No one can afford to fill the grocery trolley anymore. People's student debt just went up a billion dollars today thanks to indexation.
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Chapter 3: What reforms did Senator Larissa Waters hope to see in the budget?
And now the 1% are cranky because maybe a little bit of their capital gain might change. I'm like, cry me a river.
And it's also interesting that they're trying to spin it to say, and we're looking out for the, suddenly mainstream media and the billionaires are looking out for young people. Suddenly they've really... They've never had a better friend. They go, guys, what about the young people trying to get into the housing market?
And they're all saying it in this way that I was saying to you before we recorded. I was with my girlfriends on the weekend and we were talking about the budget. I was like, oh, I'm talking to Larissa. And they were like, oh, can you ask her to explain what's happening with capital gains?
Because they were worried that if they bought a primary residence to live in, that it would be affected by capital gains tax. No. That's not the case. They were worried that their rent was going to increase because their landlord would have to pay more every week because of negative gearing. That's not the case. Their rent might increase, but that's because of people's greed.
Yes, that's because landlords seeing an opportunity to say, oh, well, the media landscape, the society is thinking this is going to happen. It's expected of us.
And their rents might increase because we don't have a rent freeze nationally, like the Greens have been calling for for years. Back before COVID days, we've seen rents absolutely skyrocket. And every time there's a rate rise, you see rents go up. And the rents never go down. Like house prices go up, rents go up, but sometimes house prices come down, rents never come down.
And again, nothing in this budget to help renters in that situation. It's like the government is just completely ignoring 30% of the country, most of whom are young people.
So let's go through capital gains and what's actually happening because I think people don't understand what it is. Understandably, like how often ā if you're a young person, you're not thinking about capital gains tax. You're thinking if you can afford your rent. That's right. So can you explain what the rules were before and what's actually changed?
I can try. So it's deliberately complicated and it really won't apply to any normal person. This is about people who have an absolute ton of assets. They've got homes, they've got shares, they've got land, they're doing really well for themselves and the tax person, the tax man's been helping them so far.
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Chapter 4: How does the budget address the housing crisis?
I can't even comprehend what they think is going on. It's just headlines saying it's bad.
It's bad. A lot of fear.
Do you know what people are thinking and then what the reality is?
Well, it is hard to discern the reality from the scare campaigns. So the opposition who are technically still the opposition have finally found something to campaign against. So they're really amping up this fear element. As far as I've seen, young people are looking at this budget going, what's in this for me? I'm a renter. There's nothing in here for me. I've got a student debt. There's
Um, there's nothing in here that, you know, in any way materially makes my life more affordable or more enjoyable. So there is a lot of concern that the budget like isn't actually fixing anything. And I think that's right. It could have, but the government didn't have the courage to do that, which is really, really, really sad. You know, like they should have the courage to do that.
And if they don't get out of the way and let someone who does have the courage, have a go. Like if we had the reins of this budget, we could have dental and mental into Medicare. We could have affordable housing. We could have free public transport and actually build some public transport where there isn't any at the moment.
We can have proper climate action, which we know brings people's energy bills down and helps protect nature and the future for all of us. We could have all of these things, but instead $53 billion to Donald Trump for more weapons and like baking in these property investor tax perks? No, that's not vision. That's wimping out.
Yeah, on both sides, unfortunately. I was saying before we recorded that I saw a TikTok this morning. I can't remember who it was. If it was you, DM me. I'll be on my stories.
But someone said, you know, it's funny the way that Labor are presenting this budget in which there aren't really very many changes, but they're saying it's radical, it's radical to try to make people on the left and young people agree with it.
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Chapter 5: What changes were made to capital gains tax and how do they affect ordinary Australians?
Like things are a little bit chaotic right now, but we hold true to those values of looking after people, looking after the planet and using the wealth that we all share in this country to actually invest in communities. So it's fucked.
Yeah.
Well, no, it's not, you know, like at the moment, yes, but it won't always be that way. And it doesn't have to be that way. And we can change it. And people are powerful. If we all get together, that's like 99% of us that can take on the 1%. And that's what we will do. Like people have to believe that change is possible and have that hope and demand it. Yeah. Otherwise, nothing will ever change.
See, I worry about the inheritance of wealth because I fear that it will actually have more of a stronghold. Yes. Solidify like a class system.
The haves and the have-nots. Yeah. Which is probably what your questioner is getting at and I got distracted by having my own hope. That was beautiful. Thank you. Yeah, it was beautiful. Yeah, I'm worried too that the only way that people will ever have a home is that their parents have managed to buy one and that they'll hand it down to them when they pass on.
Now, that's not any kind of housing system, is it? And as you say, that has the risk of entrenching inequality, particularly where you've got someone who's got a bajillion homes. Like once enough, guys, you know, and if you've got a few more, fine, but you don't get taxpayer help for that.
And yeah, we need to make sure that everyone can have a roof over their heads because housing is a human right. It shouldn't be an investment class. It shouldn't be this hard. It shouldn't be like this. Yeah, well, it needn't be like this. It needn't be and it won't always be, but we've got to work to change it.
The next question is about renters. We've got two questions. We'll ask them both in a row because they're both kind of connected. It says, what does this budget mean for renters? Is there a risk that landlords will be raising the rent more often or selling their houses and then leaving renters without anywhere to live? And then someone said, where does the narrative of raising rent come from?
Does it have any merit?
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