ALP fights to spread wealth to Generation Zs

Unions and delegates from the PM’s Left-faction will push a radical national conference agenda focused on redistributing wealth.

Anthony Albanese is facing pressure from Left-faction unions and delegates ahead of the ALP national conference to overhaul tax, health and housing policies to protect millennials and Generation Z. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Unions and delegates from Anthony Albanese’s Left-faction will push a radical new youth-focused policy agenda at national conference that redistributes intergenerational wealth, removes health levies and pauses indexation on higher education loans.

Labor for Housing, the CFMEU and Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union are working together to win support for a raft of left-wing tax, health and housing policies ahead of the three-day national conference, which begins on Thursday.

They will push to abolish HECS indexation and seek to end levies on Australians who don’t take out private health insurance.

The Australian understands the CFMEU will break ranks if the Left faction doesn’t back its 40 per cent super profits tax on big companies, which they want to use to plug a projected shortfall of 760,000 social and affordable homes.

The super profits tax would slug companies with a turnover of more than $100m, raising more than $500bn over two decades to fund the construction of almost one million houses.

The clash over Labor’s housing, health and tax agendas will follow a national cabinet meeting in Brisbane on Wednesday, where the Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers will finalise a national housing strategy harmonising planning reforms and unlocking supply.

On Monday, Mr Albanese said changes to state and territory planning regulations are needed to help alleviate a housing shortfall.

“We need changes to planning and all of the state and territory governments … are coming in on that and we will be having further discussions about that on Wednesday,” Mr Albanese said.

The national cabinet meeting, which will likely determine whether the Greens block Mr Albanese’s signature $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund, is not expected to commit to a national rent freeze demanded by Adam Bandt.

Union leaders and conference delegates, who support new taxes on property investors, have been told that crackdowns on negative gearing and capital gains tax will not be included in the ALP policy platform.

Unable to slug property owners more, they will pursue three new policies designed to redistribute “wealth among the asset class and the non-asset class in the country”.

The Left faction will meet on Wednesday and Thursday to finalise its motions and policy priorities.

Labor for Housing convener and Victorian Socialist Left delegate Julijana Todorovic will fight for policies benefiting Millennials and Generation Z, although she would not comment on motions The Australian understands she is sponsoring.

Conceding there was no easy fix, Ms Todorovic said while the HAFF and build-to-rent schemes were a “a great start” the ALP must do more to help younger Australians.

“The build-to-rent scheme will help. But we fundamentally think there needs to be a redistribution of wealth among the asset class and the non-asset class in this country,” Ms Todorovic said.

The AMWU and Labor for Housing are sponsoring a motion to remove private health insurance taxation rules they say unfairly target younger Australians.

This could include reviewing the loading fee for people who do not have private health insurance before they turn 31, as well as the 2 per cent Medicare levy for middle income earners who do not have insurance.

Supporters of the motion want the government to stop “punishing” young adults who don’t use the private health system.

In a separate motion, the AMWU will push for HECS indexation to be abolished, while Labor for Housing will push a resolution urging the federal government to use “all policy levers” to make housing more affordable including through tax reform, direct investment and legislative reform.

As senior Labor figures scramble to minimise clashes over AUKUS, Palestine, migration and climate change, Mr Albanese’s national platform foreword says the government is working “instinctively to ensure that no-one is limited by the circumstances of their birth”.

“That no-one is held back and no-one is left behind,” Mr Albanese writes. “We’ve been powered every step of the way by the same instinct that drives all Labor governments: The instinct to improve the lives of our fellow Australians, to make a positive difference that lasts.”

CFMEU construction division national secretary Zach Smith is pushing for a super profits tax slugging companies with turnovers above $100m to build almost 1 million homes. Picture: Aaron Francis

Mr Albanese also commits to AUKUS and ensuring that Australia is a “serious player on the world stage by engaging meaningfully with multilateral bodies including ASEAN, the G20, and the Quad”.

“We are taking carefully thought-out steps forward with AUKUS to strengthen Australia’s sovereignty and our region’s security.”

Industry leaders expect Wednesday’s national cabinet meeting will remove supply constraints agreed under Labor’s housing accord announced last year, which would slash the cost of building homes and simplify regulations.

Writing for The Australian, Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn criticised those “demonising migration” and warned that rental controls could stoke the housing crisis.

With building activity and approvals down, rents on the rise and supply pressures worsening, Ms Wawn urged national cabinet leaders to resist the “temptation of Band-Aid solutions”.

Representing 32,000 building and construction members across the $200bn sector, Ms Wawn said temporary measures like rent caps will “prolong the pain of rising housing costs”.

“Rental controls, while well-intentioned … prolong the problem and will not solve the housing crisis. These measures fail to consider the complex dynamics of the market and the unintended consequences they can bring,” Ms Wawn, writing for The Australian, said.

“We need to get as many low-cost rental premises into the market as possible and avoid interventions that restrict housing quality and supply. For those who rely on affordable rental … these homes can make a substantial difference in their quality of life.

“Demonising migration when the country is crying out for more workers, around half a million new workers in building and construction alone, will not solve the housing crisis.”

The ALP draft platform proposes “taxation reforms to affect market changes and increase supply”.

Amid concerns raised by superannuation funds about investment returns on residential housing, the platform says Labor will reduce “regulatory barriers” to ensure super capital plays a “greater role in financing Australia’s housing expansion”.