Interview with Bern Young, ABC Radio Gold Coast

Topics: Capital Gains Tax and housing impact, immigration, One Nation and Pauline Hanson National Press Club speech.

E&OE…

BERN YOUNG

Stan Harrison and Steve Elson with both a tenor and a baritone sax appearing in that song. Why am I talking saxophones? Because I’m joined in the studio by a local saxophone player, although you do know her better as the Federal Member for Moncrieff, Angie Bell. Hello, Angie.

ANGIE BELL

Fantastic to be with you, Bern.

BERN YOUNG

And apologies for a slight interruption to David Bowie as well, that was me, I pressed buttons I’ve never pressed before, and I couldn’t unpress them as they happened.

We’re going to chew over some of the bigger topics of the week. It’s actually been fairly quiet, I mean, of course, it hasn’t been quiet because of the National Press Club address by Pauline Hanson, but just in terms of issues, the biggest, of course, being the back flip, really, although I saw that Jim Chalmers sort of avoided that question when he, you know, that it wasn’t a back flip that they’re carving out and making concessions. I can see that you already, you know, I mean, I think everybody around the Labor Party who aren’t in it are saying it’s a back flip,

ANGIE BELL

It’s a back flip, it’s a train wreck, call it gymnastics, whatever you want to call it, Labor have got this wrong, and now they’re backpedalling, and this is often what they do, they put a policy out there that tells everyone how they’re going to suffer, and then they come in and change it all to make everybody feel better about what they’re doing. This is an attack and an assault on aspiration, and nowhere is aspiration greater than on the Gold Coast.

BERN YOUNG

Capital gains taxes, the changes that we’re talking about, the most significant will be an increase to increase the annual turnover threshold for small businesses, so they’re appealing to those voters and those in the community, so for the existing capital gains tax concessions, it’ll go from $2 million to $10 million, there was that meme, all the memes that were going on. I don’t think they anticipated that kind of backlash after the budget from entrepreneurs, so they’ve tried to appease them as well with changes to this, and also winding back some of the treasurer’s discretionary powers. This could get the Greens on board. Have you made a statement from the Liberal Party yet?

ANGIE BELL

This is a bad bill, is our statement. It’s rushed. There hasn’t been enough consultation. There was a two-day sham inquiry where only less than 10% of submissions were allowed to be viewed. They haven’t even gone through all of the submissions at this point in time, because there are thousands and thousands of them. This is an assault on aspiration, an attack on the Gold Coast small business community, and what we have said as a Coalition is we will repeal it. Because what it’s doing is lifting the ladder for the next generation of young Australians. And just this week, Bern, I’ve had the Chambers of Commerce in my office, I’ve had YP Gold Coast and the Junior Chamber of Commerce, and they are all livid that they don’t have the same opportunities that their parents and their grandparents have had to build their wealth, and a lot of young people have bought shares, they’ve bought crypto, and now they’re going to have to pay this 30% minimum capital gain on those investments that have been there to help them save for a deposit for a house.

BERN YOUNG

You’ve got people on one side, though, who are wanting to try and build wealth, no matter what age they are. And then you’ve got, we’ve got a generation, if not more than one generation now, who cannot get into the housing market, and that’s almost a fundamental human right to have a roof over your head, whether that’s purchased or whether that’s rented, and supposedly these changes to the tax system will help that. So, how do you argue against that? Because you’re going to hear from another part of the community who says we’ve got to get into housing.

ANGIE BELL

Well easily, because Labor’s own budget papers say that these changes are going to deliver 35,000 less homes, not 35,000 more homes. In their own budget papers have also outlined that this will push rents up, they say by $2 a week. However, some of the external modelling has shown $8 a week. So, let’s see what happens from all of this, but it comes down to supply Bern, and for those people listening, for your listeners, it is all about building more houses and delivering more supply, and Labor’s own budget papers have said 35,000 less homes.

BERN YOUNG

Angie Bell joining you, Federal Member for Moncrieff, you say you’ll repeal them, but you’ve got to get into power to do that, and the latest polls have you being wiped out by One Nation, and when I said it had been a quiet week of politics, it really hadn’t been, because, of course, Pauline Hanson stepping into somewhat of a lion’s den, which is the National Press Club, which she’d never done before. I won’t pick on everything, there’s just too much to discuss as to what came out of that, but I do know that you’ve gone to many citizenship ceremonies in your time, I see it on your Insta feed all the time, which is how I also know you were playing the saxophone recently at a public event. This is what she had to say, of course, about multiculturalism.

*CLIP OF PAULINE HANSON*

At the centre of this crisis is the utterly flawed policy of multiculturalism. We cannot be a multicultural society, we are a multiracial society, but we must be monocultural. Australians must live under the one cultural umbrella.

BERN YOUNG

What’s your response to that?

ANGIE BELL

We are a multicultural melting pot in Australia. We have a diversity of backgrounds and citizenship ceremonies, as you said, are full of dozens and dozens of countries. I’ve got four citizenship ceremonies just this week alone, where we have new citizens here on the Gold Coast, and we welcome those citizens to the Gold Coast. What I will say on immigration, which is really what Senator Hanson is talking about – is that the numbers, well,

BERN YOUNG

Is she? In her speech she said we must be a monoculture that is not actually about immigration, that’s actually about even if you came, even if you’re here and you come from another multicultural background, you must be one culture, that’s not immigration.

ANGIE BELL

We are one country with many cultures. We have a diverse nation, and we are the most successful multicultural country on earth, and so what I would say about that is it comes down to what she’s talking about is really immigration. And what we have done, what Angus Taylor has announced at his Budget in Reply a few weeks ago is that we’ll tie immigration numbers to housing numbers to make sure that we can house our own citizens, and I think that’s just common sense. But what Senator Hanson was talking about at her press club address was a bit short on policy. There weren’t any details around any of the policies or any costings, indeed, on any of the policies or any of the subjects that Senator Hanson was talking about at the National Press Club.

BERN YOUNG

Yeah, and a lot of people are critical of One Nation for that. At this stage, we’re still a couple of years away from an election, and so much can happen, but we are seeing the rise of right-wing parties around the world, and perhaps we will continue to see that legitimize itself into the into the Federal Parliament and further into the Senate as well. You know, I always say to you, I’m not sure how candid you’re going to be with me, but what do you make of those polls that say you are going to be wiped out by one nation?

ANGIE BELL

Well, I think polls are a point in time, obviously, and the Liberal Party and the Liberal National Party understand that Australians are upset and angry with the major parties right now. So I think it’s important that we respect those Australians who at this point in time have said, well, I’m parking my vote there, that’s how I feel, I agree, I’m aggrieved, I’m upset about certainly what the Prime Minister is doing when two out of three Australians have gone off the Prime Minister in the latest poll. But also not happy with the Liberal Party and its recent performance. So we have started to roll out our policies for Australians. It’s up to us to gain their trust to outline our vision for the country in the next two years. I don’t think the Prime Minister will go to an early election, it’s not my feeling at this point in time, Bern. I think he will go the full term if possible. He’s in all kinds of strife at the moment, and the polls also at this point in time are showing that. And so what I would say is, two years is a long time in politics. Two minutes is a long time in politics. Sometimes many, many things can change between now and then, but we do need to respect those Australians who are feeling frustrated, angry, and upset, and I believe that is where the polls have seen those numbers.

BERN YOUNG

Do you think that there’s a genuine shift, and we’re watching it on so many levels of society, and much of it is played out in the social media, you know, space, but you know, the ‘lame stream media’, for instance, I’m apparently part of the lame stream media, you’re part of the ‘two-party political system’ that people have had, you know, had it up to here with what’s the way forward, though? If you do need more than you know simple slogans, and you know, we’re not multicultural, we’re monocultural, and just throwing lines out with our policy. How do you genuinely see this playing out? Because it appears to be getting worse, not better, in terms of its impact on democracy.

ANGIE BELL

Well, we do have the best form of democracy, and that is what we have here in Australia, in the Westminster system. It’s not perfect, and we have had a two-party preferred system for a very long time. I think that our Westminster system has served our country very, very well. We did have four decades of continual growth until this God-awful Labor government came to power four years ago, and Australians are paying for it. Where our living standards have gone backwards by more than 10% real wages have gone backwards, interest rates have gone up 15 times, and families are really struggling, and they’re angry.

BERN YOUNG

I know, but you, you as the Liberal Party and as a Coalition, didn’t meet the challenge to have a way to get beyond that in the last election, and we’re, you know, close to wipe out, so I’ll give you a free kick to say they’re the worst government, and you see again, this is another thing you see on social media, this is the worst government ever. Sometimes I wonder if that is the thing that is playing into the hands of people who are hating this two-party political system. The lamestream media don’t listen to anything they say, and I don’t know if the way the game’s being played up until now is serving the people, because if it was, I don’t know if they’d be turning to extremes one way or the other, whether that’s to the left or to the right, that’s probably a conversation for a bigger conversation for another day, but we’re seeing a shift, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out between now and the next election.

ANGIE BELL

Well, it’s up to us to work very hard to outline our vision for the country under Angus Taylor and Jane Hume’s leadership, and to roll out our policies to show the Australian people that the Liberal National Party is the best alternative government and the best opposition right now to stop this Labor government.

BERNADETTE YOUNG

Angie Bell is the member for Moncrieff and local saxophone player. Well done at the CEO sleepout out last night. You’re one of many. Lots of money raised for those who are struggling, and many are. Thanks so much for coming in.

ANGIE BELL

Thanks, Bern.