Gina Rinehart reveals how Australia should tackle the housing crisis - and ... trends now
Billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart says taxes and immigration are way too high under Labor during a housing crisis.
Australia’s richest woman has slammed the $300 electricity rebate announced in last week’s Budget, which isn’t means tested, and called for a cut to fuel excise.
She said rather than taxing Australians only to give it back to them, some taxes should be reduced in the first place.
'I have advocated strongly for the government to directly reduce costs of living for Australians by cutting their fuel excise taxes, which would spread not only to car users, but all products that require transport,' she told news.com.au.
'I have also advocated for cutting other taxes, payroll tax, stamp duty and license fees, that not only would bring down the cost of living, but were supposed to have been cut when GST was introduced decades ago.'
Gina Rinehart is Australia's richest person with a $37billion fortune through her mining empire
Ms Rinehart said cutting fuel excise would be better than collecting and redistributing the extra tax such as in Anthony Albanese's (pictured with Jodie Haydon) $300 electricity rebate
Ms Rinehart said cutting taxes would be more efficient - and better distributed to those who need it the most - over 'recycling' taxes by collecting and redistributing them to be used for a specific purpose, such as electricity rebates.
The mining magnate said some vulnerable group such as pensioners, veterans and students faced very high levels of tax if they work above a threshold of hours set by the government.
She said letting Australians work 'who want to work' would be a far batter option than raising immigration to boost workers levels.
Ms Rinehart backed Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's plan to address the housing crisis and agreed with the Institute of Public Affairs, a conservative think tank, that high immigration was failing to address labour shortages after a record 548,800 foreigners arrived in the year to September.
'Such hugely increased immigration not only adds to housing and rent costs, and increased hospital burdens and treatment delays, and more traffic on the roads, but also has according to the IPA meant an increase in 40,000 workers only from one million immigrants, hence putting a greater burden and expense on welfare expenditure,' she said.
Mr Dutton wants Australia to reduce its permanent migration intake by 25 per cent if the coalition wins the next election, arguing the cut would improve housing affordability
