Tax package introduced, last day for Group A Budget Estimates

As it was yesterday, in Estimates

• Home Affairs confirmed 6,634 Iranian nationals with fully valid visitor visas have had their travel to Australia frozen since March 2026. Only 480 exemptions have been approved from 752 appeals.
• Home Affairs Secretary Stephanie Foster confirmed that Australian women and children repatriated from Syria's al-Roj camp (accommodating families of dead or captured IS fighters) arrived in Sydney and Melbourne.
• Independent Senator David Pocock pressed Home Affairs on a $200,000 limited-tender contract (aph.gov.au) given to a firm run by Yaron Finkelstein, former top adviser to Scott Morrison - hand-picked by Antisemitism Envoy Jillian Segal, bypassing open tender on "unique expertise" grounds.
• In Environment and Communications, energy and net zero continued to be the main focus.

On to today...

Obviously I'm late with today's edition - to compensate, I can provide the following from this morning's House activities.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) to legislate the highly controversial and sweeping tax measures announced in the Budget. Framed again in the Chamber as a bill "for workers, for first home buyers and for future generations," the Bill confirms:

removal of the long-standing flat 50% CGT discount starting July 1, 2027. It replaces it with a "cost base indexation" system tied to inflation, while establishing a 30% minimum tax rate on all realised capital gains.

the limiting of negative gearing deductions for residential properties strictly to new builds starting in the 2027–28 financial year. Existing investment properties purchased before the May 2027 budget cut-off are fully grandfathered.

a $250-a-year tax rebate for eligible working taxpayers, from the 2027–28 income year.

It lands on difficult terrain. The ABS released quarterly CPI data this morning: annual headline inflation at 4.2%. The Opposition has now framed its narrative against the package as the "communist tax plan".

The NDIS Amendment Bill (aph.gov.au) continued its second reading debate, with crossbench amendments still unresolved.

In Budget Estimates, hearings have just gone live for the Australian Federal Police in the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee (aph.gov.au). AFP Commissioner Barrett's National Security Investigation Teams charged 21 people before the Combating Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Act (aph.gov.au) received Royal Assent. Senators will press on what statutory authority governed NSIT before the Act passed, and what threshold test now distinguishes pre-crime disruption from surveillance of lawful political activity.

Appearing at 6.15pm tonight in the same committee is ASIO where Senators will likely test whether ASIO's lone-actor, minor-radicalisation threat picture is consistent with the AFP's group-disruption NSIT model (the two frameworks point in different directions).

In Finance and Public Administration (aph.gov.au) earlier this afternoon, the Future Fund's own modelling has identified stagflation as its greatest vulnerability. The Strait of Hormuz closure is now that scenario. Senators will press on whether the November 2024 mandate change, adding national priorities alongside returns, is achievable in an environment the Fund itself predicted would be hardest to navigate.

In Rural and Regional Affairs (aph.gov.au), agencies are being tested on the closure of the Strait of Hormuz affecting globally traded fertiliser.

If you're a Statekraft subscriber, your Nest (statekraft.au) feed is tracking the NDIS bill, the tax package, and today's Estimates hearings in real time.

Until tomorrow when I'll do a wrap of the week and lay out next week's schedule.

— Mia: 遅れて申し訳ありません😮‍💨