Shadow Finance Minister Senator Claire Chandler appears on The Kenny Report -June, 2026

[00:00:00]the serious business of the day and we're joined by Shadow Finance Minister Claire Chandler. Thanks for joining us, Claire. Uh focused uh pretty heavily in question time today in the house on the capital gains tax changes and the and and the claim, the assertion that Australia has now the the highest tax rate on capital gains. Tell us about the the the truth or otherwise of this claim, any qualifications on that, and what that can do to investment in this country.

[00:00:30]>> Well, I don't think there's any question, Chris, that the government's CGT changes are going to have a really punitive impact on investment in this country. And that's not just me saying that. That is the countless small businesses that I've met with in previous weeks saying that. It's countless witnesses to the Senate inquiry that we've conducted into this legislation that have been saying that.

[00:00:52]So, I think it's pretty disgusting that the government wants to ram these changes through the Senate before the end of the financial year as they've started they're in the process of doing this week when there are still so many questions and concerns that Australian businesses have. Um first of all, why did this election promise need to be broken? The Prime Minister and the Treasurer promised so many times before the last election that they would go nowhere near changing the CGT scheme, and yet here we are. And then second of all, what are the changes that they are proposing here actually going to mean?

[00:01:26]We are debating legislation in the Parliament this fortnight that will go some of the way to giving effect to these changes, but there will be more legislation required, there will be more regulation required, and just this weekend we've heard that there are now some changes on the way. So, the government is all over the place on this policy. I think they know deep down that they've tried to sell Australians a pup here, and now they're trying to wind some of it back, but it's just a complete mess.

[00:01:52]>> Yeah, and this idea that by depressing the housing market and reducing investment, you're going to somehow help more people into houses. It just doesn't stack up. So, me to get their laws through, they're going to have to get them through the Senate. Obviously, you're going to reject them. One Nation are going to reject them. They're They're looking at doing a deal with the Greens. What sort of compromises have been proffered so far?

[00:02:14]>> Well, I mean, that's really a question for the government and the Greens to answer, and I can, you know, I really only speculate here, but I'm sure that some sort of dodgy deal will be done at some point between now and if not the end of this week, then the end of next week to ensure that these laws are ultimately passed through the parliament. And I think that is a real shame for the Australian businesses that have been crying out over the last 6 weeks since the budget was handed down saying we're not asking for much. We're just asking for a fair playing field and for certainty in our investment environment. But the reality is, if the government's willing to go after capital gains tax changes here, what's the next thing they're going to go after?

[00:02:57]>> Well, they're pretending that they're taking tough decisions in the interest of reform. What they're doing is exactly the opposite, isn't it? What they need to do is reduce spending to take the pressure out of inflation and interest rates and to make the government more sustainable. And if they can lower taxes to encourage more investment and productivity.

[00:03:19]>> Well, that's exactly the point that I've been making, Chris. If you take out the capital gains tax changes, the negative gearing changes, and the the NDIS reforms that the government is in the process of trying to again push through the parliament, the actual changes to the budget bottom line across the forwards is is pretty negligible. And that is because this government has a spending problem. And I strongly suspect that when it comes to the negative gearing changes and the CGT changes, the only reason the government is doing this is because it is a tax grab. Their own budget papers say that 35,000 fewer homes will be built as a result of these changes. Now, that says to you that the tax changes aren't actually making it easier for young Australians to get into their own home. The only thing that's making it easier for young Australians to get into their own home is the government's infrastructure fund, which is basically just copying the coalition's election policy from last year. That's the only reason that they're building more houses. The reason they are they are introducing these taxes is because they don't have their spending under control and they need to come after Australians' money to fund their spending addiction.

[00:04:25]>> Let me just segue to another issue that you've been a strong campaigner on for a number of years and that relates to women's rights, the rights of girls and women, especially in response to the push for chan- transgender rights. And the ABC has rejected an opinion piece written by Sall Grover, who of course has lost her famous Tickle versus Giggle case, where she was not allowed the the the the High Court has found the court has found that she's not allowed to reserve a space on social media only for biological women. She's having that that case she's appealing that further. But what does it say about public debate on these issues when the ABC, which runs the transgender agenda all the time, repeatedly, often in a very biased and jaundiced way, won't even publish an informed opinion piece from the very person at the heart of the debate?

[00:05:24]>> Oh, it's incredibly disappointing and I think it completely fails the pub test of what Australians should expect of their national broadcaster. And correct me if I'm wrong, Chris, but I I think the opinion piece that Sall had written here was actually in response to an opinion piece that had already been published on the ABC that was quite favorable of of Roxane Tickle's legal argument. So, surely the fair and reasonable and unbiased thing to do for the ABC to do would be to publish the alternate argument, to publish Sall Grover's perspective here. But, they've seemingly refused to do that. Now, I've known for many, many years now that the ABC is utterly ideologically captured on all of these issues. They refuse to give airtime to the common sense argument that women's spaces and sports and facilities should be preserved for biological females. So, I'm sadly not surprised, but it really does um clearly demonstrate just how bad their ideological bias is that they cannot bring themselves to publish an opinion piece in direct response to one that they've already put up on their website by Sall Grover merely mounting her case.

[00:06:34]>> Uh in this piece, apparently Sall Grover makes, I think, the cut-through point. I hadn't heard it expressed this way before, but she said the only people, the only people who are not allowed to have the rights of transgender women are actual women, are biological women.

[00:06:50]>> Well, that that that's exactly right.

[00:06:52]That is And that is what this fight has become all about. It's about ensuring that women and girls have the right to access their own sports and their own services and their own spaces without being at some fear of a legal repercussion if they do so. And I've known Sall for quite a long time now. She's an absolute fighter and she is fighting the good fight on this issue. And I think the overwhelming majority of Australians are with her.

[00:07:20]And so, that's why it just puzzles me that the ABC, our national broadcaster, can't see that.

[00:07:26]>> Thanks for joining us again, Senator. I appreciate it. Clear channel there, the Shadow Finance Minister. It's just another case of the ABC being completely in breach of its charter. Now, its charter's in the law. So, the ABC is in breach of the law.

[00:07:41]But, when will any government do anything about it?

[00:07:45]There's no one in charge at the ABC.

[00:07:49]Now, back on to the tax