Labor Has Fired the Starting Gun on Intergenerational Warfare

Program: Politics Now, Sky News
Interviewer: Andrew Clennell
Interviewee: Leon Rebello MP
Date: 18 May 2026

Andrew Clennell: Joining me live is the LNP MP for McPherson, Leon Rebello. Leon Rebello, thanks for joining us on Politics Now for the first time. Are you surprised by how this budget’s been received, particularly by young people in the Newspoll?

Leon Rebello: Thanks, Andrew. Look, no, I’m not. I think what it shows is that young people understand what’s truly happening here. We’ve seen a Treasurer and a Prime Minister who have effectively fired the starting gun on intergenerational warfare, and they’re not even making life easier for young people. They’re not making it easier for them to buy a home, and what we’re seeing in the Newspoll is young people recognising that.

Andrew Clennell: What’s been the feedback in your seat?

Leon Rebello: Well, I have so many small businesses – and we see this all across social media as well – reaching out, and they are so surprised to hear that the Prime Minister has effectively come on board as an investor and an owner while doing absolutely no work, yet prepared to take the 47 per cent tax benefit at the end. Look, Andrew, we’re seeing so many people struggling under this government, and now we have battle lines drawn for the next election. We have a high-tax agenda from this government, and an Opposition that has come out very clearly saying we will fight tooth and nail against these new changes. This is a government that has no idea how to grow the economy or generate wealth. So what they’re doing – as Labor governments traditionally do – is coming after the people who have worked, saved, done the right thing, invested, and built businesses. That is not how you grow the economy.

Andrew Clennell: Before this budget we had the Farrer by-election, and One Nation was regularly ahead of the Liberal Party in the published polling. Has Jim Chalmers effectively given the Liberal Party the opportunity to survive here by giving you this fight?

Leon Rebello: Well, credit where credit’s due to One Nation – they’ve been very effective at prosecuting the issue of migration, and you’ve seen Angus Taylor come out very strongly on that. What we’ve seen over the last week with Jim Chalmers and Anthony Albanese’s budget is that Australians are now looking at the economy again, and this is where we need to throw everything we can at this government. The feedback I get in my community – I’m based on the southern Gold Coast – is that people just want to see the end of Labor. They want to see the end of this incompetent government. And I think people are starting to realise there is an opportunity. This is our job as members of the Liberal and National parties: to effectively prosecute the case for why an alternative government under us would be better than Labor. We’re doing that by showing we will stand strongly against these tax changes and work to grow the economy.

Andrew Clennell: That’s the point, isn’t it? You were sliding – you must have felt it there on the Gold Coast – but now it’s like the brakes have been put on and you’ve got an opportunity.

Leon Rebello: Yeah, absolutely. Over the last 10 months or so we’ve had a terrible time as a party, quite frankly. We’ve gone through a lot of turbulence. But I think last week provided a reset. I think Angus Taylor’s leadership over the last couple of months has also helped provide that reset. Now we have an agenda, and it’s our job to say to Australians that if they want to see the end of Albanese and Chalmers and their vision for where this country should go, then the only way to do that is through the LNP – the only party capable of forming an alternative government. And we need to avoid fracturing the conservative vote and ending up with another Labor government, as we’ve seen in South Australia.

Andrew Clennell: Is there any part of their tax package where you can at least see what they’re trying to do – trying to help younger Australians into first homes – or do you just reject the whole premise?

Leon Rebello: Well, I think what they’re trying to do is say to young Australians: “There are older Australians, investors, people who have become comfortable because of these tax arrangements, and it’s because of them that you can’t afford a home.” I think that’s entirely misguided, and so no, I think we will go very hard against this government on their tax reform.

Andrew Clennell: The argument by the government against your tax cut package, Angus Taylor’s, is that it’s unfunded and inflationary. What do you say to that?

Leon Rebello: Well, I think firstly, it’s very rich coming from this government, which has fuelled inflation due to its reckless spending. Secondly, as is the course with every Opposition, we will provide our costings close to the election. Angus has already spoken about this. Angus didn’t just announce a measure of expenditure and tax cuts. Not to mention, the way we’re going to deal with bracket creep will give every single working Australian a tax cut every single year for the rest of their life. What we’ve also announced is a package for how we will reduce government expenditure. We’ve spoken about welfare. I think most Australians would be absolutely shocked to know that we’re giving welfare to non-Australians. Angus has talked about how we’re going to wind that back, which is exactly what Australians in McPherson are telling me they want to hear. We’ve spoken about changes to the NDIS, and I’ve been very vocal about the NDIS and the rorting we’ve seen. So it’s not inflationary when you look at the context in which our policies are being presented, and all of our costings will be released prior to the election.

Andrew Clennell: What effect do you think the government’s capital gains tax changes will have on start-ups if they’re not altered from what’s been announced?

Leon Rebello: Andrew, I’m so lucky on the Gold Coast because we’re the home of start-ups. We have an incredible incubator and start-up community. They’re already telling me they are thinking of going elsewhere, and this is scary at a time when we need investment in this country. We need young Australians who are creating the jobs of the future and the tax of the future as well. We need them to stay in this country. The effect, I think, is that we’ll see Australians saying, “It’s too hard to do business here, we’ll go elsewhere.”

Andrew Clennell: Well, I’ve actually heard that myself. Do you have an anecdote of a start-up founder who’s saying they might move to Singapore, Dubai, New Zealand or elsewhere?

Leon Rebello: I honestly have so many. During the budget speech, I got a text message from a friend who is a small business owner. It’s a start-up company based out of Mudgeeraba, and they sent me a text message saying, “Hashtag heading overseas.”

Andrew Clennell: I wanted to ask about this immigration policy of Angus Taylor. Now, you’re a first-generation Australian of Indian heritage. How do you view these changes not giving the age pension to someone if they’re not a citizen?

Leon Rebello: Firstly, what we are doing is grandfathering the changes, so it won’t actually affect those who are already here. But look, I think it is common sense. Most Australians, including people who have migrated here, would say it’s common sense. We don’t want people coming to this country thinking they are coming here not to be part of the country or the culture, but because of the benefits they can receive. We want people coming here to be contributing members of Australian society. I think it is absolutely common sense. It’s something I’ve been very supportive of, and it’s something we’ll continue to prosecute.

Andrew Clennell: Are your parents citizens?

Leon Rebello: Absolutely. And not only that, Andrew, but I’d say my parents raised me – I happen to be born here – after they migrated here from India. It’s an Indian-Portuguese heritage, and they raised me to be proud to be Australian. They are first and foremost Australians. We do the right thing. They always said, “You are here because of the opportunity this country has given you.” It is incumbent upon every single one of us who has been given that opportunity to make sure we contribute to this country. We do that in a way that doesn’t mean we rely on the country unless we absolutely have to.

Andrew Clennell: I understand there’s some anger in the Indian community around this, though. Do you think that’s the case? Will there be a backlash in Chinese and Indian communities?

Leon Rebello: I think it’s a mistake to assume the whole community would have the same view. But what I would say is that most migrants I speak to – and I speak to so many across the country – actually say they understand why there is a need. We saw some of the March for Australia rallies and other things, and there were people from different backgrounds. It wasn’t just a particular demographic. That’s because people have come here from other countries because they’ve fled countries or moved away from countries where they don’t have the privileges and rights we have in Australia. So we do need to protect that. I think our culture, our way of life and our values – as Angus said on Thursday night, Australia is worth fighting for. And I’d say most migrants to Australia would agree with me.

Andrew Clennell: Just finally, Angus Taylor is also talking about a massive cut to net migration. I teased out on Sunday that net migration could come down to 150,000 from around 300,000 at the moment. How are we going to get enough workers under this policy? On the Gold Coast, businesses must be crying out for workers. How do you do that without migration?

Leon Rebello: This is why we’re not saying we want a future Australia without migration. What we are saying is, as Angus has constantly said, the numbers are too high and the standards are too low. We need to make sure we get more of the right types of migrants – in the right skill sectors where we have shortages, and people who are prepared to buy into the Australian way of life and our values. We’ve announced part of our migration policy. There’s a lot more to come. But what needs to happen now is that, as a party, we need to speak to those various sectors. I have a lot of pubs, clubs, hotels and restaurants that depend on migrants. We know a lot of farms depend on it as well. We need to make sure that whatever numbers we come to in the end, and whatever we announce, we have taken those sectors into account. There are a lot of parts of our program that contribute to our net overseas migration number that we can look to reduce in favour of having migrants who are going to fill our skilled shortages.

Andrew Clennell: Leon Rebello, thanks so much for your time.

 

Leon Rebello: Thanks, Andrew.