{"id":38898,"date":"2026-05-13T06:04:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T20:04:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=38898"},"modified":"2026-05-13T06:04:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T20:04:39","slug":"labors-budget-backs-corporate-profits-the-1-over-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/labors-budget-backs-corporate-profits-the-1-over-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Labor\u2019s budget backs corporate profits &amp; the 1% over people"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In their first budget of the term, Labor has chosen corporate profits over people, by delivering real cuts to services while allowing corporate profits to grow unchecked.<br><br>Labor\u2019s fifth budget fails to include a tax on gas exports, which would have been worth at least $17b in revenue to the bottom line. Instead, Labor has chosen to gut critical services including the NDIS, climate, clean energy manufacturing, and to keep people on poverty level income support.<br><br>The changes to tax breaks for wealthy property investors tinker at the margins, when the housing crisis is compounding in urgency and requires significant reform. The Labor government has quarantined all of the tax handouts for existing property investments. This is a capitulation to the 1% and a missed opportunity that is unlikely to ease the housing crisis.<br><br>Labor\u2019s self-proclaimed biggest cost of living relief measure in this budget, the Working Australians Tax Offset, equates to $4.81 a week and won\u2019t hit people\u2019s pockets until 2028.<br><br>While people are bearing the cost of inflation they didn\u2019t cause, big corporations push up the cost of living and get special treatment from Labor.<br><br><strong>People will be set back by Labor\u2019s budget by:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The \u201cbiggest cost of living relief measure in this budget\u201d, the $250 WATO, equates to $4.81 a week and people won\u2019t see a cent of this until 2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>$37.8 billion in cuts to the NDIS, which will see at least 160,000 people lose critical disability supports<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nothing for renters or people experiencing homelessness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No new money to actually build housing, except for $110m for defence housing for US and UK troops under AUKUS<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>$4 billion in deep cuts to climate transition &#8211; the biggest rollback since the Morrison government, including:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>$1.7b from electric vehicles<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>$2.2b of cuts to climate and the environment:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>$255m cut from ARENA<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cuts to the domestic manufacturing of solar, batteries and hydrogen<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No increase to any income support payments &#8211; Jobseeker, Youth Allowance, Age Pension or any other payment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No funding for the National Anti Racism Framework<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Whereas Labor has backed big corporations and the 1% by:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Refusing to tax the exports of gas corporations, forgoing at least $17 billion in revenue<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Over the last decade, corporate profits in Australia have grown at almost double the rate of wages<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leaving intact tens of billions in existing tax handouts for wealthy property investors through grandfathering, and including tax minimisation loopholes for property investment going forward<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>$53 billion in additional defence spending, a significant amount of which will go to AUKUS<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>$46 billion over the forwards for fossil fuel subsidies and $5 million this year to support new gas projects<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Almost $1b on offshore processing last year, nearly $400m than previously budgeted, and a further $600m budgeted for the coming year, all to brutalise around 100 people<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Leader said:<\/strong><br>\u201cTinkering around the edges of a broken system and spending billions for corporations and the 1%: that will be the legacy of the Albanese-Labor government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLabor should have used this budget to claw back the obscene profits of big corporations to pay for the things we all need. Instead they\u2019re leaving $17 billion a year in the pockets of big gas corporations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis budget contains nothing for renters, no new money to build housing except for US and UK troops, and their biggest cost of living measure will add up to $4.81 a week that you\u2019ll see in 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd because Labor blinked on taxing big corporations and the wealthiest 1%, at least 160,000 people will lose access to critical, lifesaving disability support through the NDIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis budget should have taxed gas exports. Instead they\u2019ve cut $4 billion from the climate transition, and allocated $46 billion to fossil fuel subsidies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe government\u2019s planned changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax discount look like little more than tinkering around the edges of a broken system. These changes will still give tens of billions of dollars in handouts to wealthy property investors to outbid renters at auctions around the country every weekend. This should have been a significant reform but instead it\u2019s a damp squib.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWith this Budget, Labor have made their priorities clear. Instead of delivering for people, Labor has been captured by big corporations and the wealthiest 1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOnly the Greens are fighting for people over profits. Only the Greens will put the interests of renters, first homebuyers and mortgage holders, disabled people and people on income support, and the climate first, while Labor continues to deliver for the profits of their corporate donors and the wealthiest 1%.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Senator Nick McKim, Greens Economic Justice spokesperson said:<\/strong><br>\u201cLabor has chosen to back big corporations and the 1% over everyday Australians and young people who are being ripped off by the tax system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cJim Chalmers clearly has a different definition of \u2018ambitious\u2019 than millions of Australians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn the face of a generational opportunity to respond to inequality and the housing crisis, Labor\u2019s changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount are abjectly lacking in courage and ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis budget betrays the overwhelming majority of Australians. By refusing to impose a gas export tax to fund essential services, Labor will fuel people\u2019s anger at a system that isn\u2019t working for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe had a rare political opportunity to fix property investor tax breaks, capture massive gas export profits and rebuild a fairer country, but Labor\u2019s corporate donors have won out once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s getting harder to get ahead in Australia, but if you\u2019re one of Australia\u2019s 161 billionaires who are making $29 million a day, you\u2019re having a great time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhile most of us work harder trying to get ahead, the ultra-wealthy buy up assets, and their wealth grows in their sleep. This budget keeps on growing the gap between the 1% and the 99%.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Senator Barbara Pocock, Greens Finance, Housing and Homelessness spokesperson said:<\/strong><br>\u201cThis budget does nothing for ordinary people &#8211; renters, first-home buyers and mortgage holders &#8211; who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. It does nothing for the homeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe housing tax changes grandfather inequality. They protect the unfair wealth hoarding of wealthy multi-property investors and the 1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOnce again, Labor has over-promised and under-delivered on housing for young people, for renters, and for first-home buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis budget contains nothing for people on income support, and no new money to build housing except $110m for defence housing for US and UK troops under AUKUS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn this budget, Labor\u2019s chosen to make ordinary people bear the brunt of the economic and housing crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCorporate profits are driving up inflation and the cost of living, but Labor hasn\u2019t taxed them &#8211; instead, they\u2019re giving corporations tax breaks if their profits go backwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis budget reveals Labor\u2019s mindset. Protect wealthy property investors, even if that leaves everyone else worse off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Greens will fight against Labor\u2019s cuts to essential services, public service jobs and the NDIS &#8211; people shouldn\u2019t have to pay for inflation while big corporations continue to make obscene profits.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In their first budget of the term, Labor has chosen corporate profits over people, by delivering real cuts to services while allowing corporate profits to grow unchecked. Labor\u2019s fifth budget fails to include a tax on gas exports, which would have been worth at least $17b in revenue to the bottom line. Instead, Labor has &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/05\/13\/labors-budget-backs-corporate-profits-the-1-over-people\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Labor\u2019s budget backs corporate profits &amp; the 1% over people&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38898"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38899,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38898\/revisions\/38899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}