We’re back for the first sittings since the Budget, and as you can imagine housing was top of the agenda. A lot happened, let’s get into it.

Here's the 5&5

BEST

Helping young people get ahead on housing
Cost of living wins
Better care for women’s health
State of Origin
Reforming Australia’s employment services

WORST

Largest Commonwealth legal action in history
Page from his own book
Not your average science lesson
Tehan has a tanty
It’s her birthday and she’ll skip work if she wants to

1. For too long the idea of owning your own home has become a distant dream for young people. That’s why Clare O’Neil told the House on Wednesday: “We’re levelling the playing field for first home buyers, building on the work that we have done to get a quarter of a million Australians the keys to their own home, and we're damn proud to have done it. We're committing another $2 billion of investment in last mile infrastructure to unlock another 65,000 homes.” Our caucus knows the status quo is no longer acceptable. There were heaps of great speeches across the week backing in our changes including some from Luke Gosling, Jo Briskey, Sally Sitou, Josh Burns and Rowan Holzberger. On Thursday Jim Chalmers introduced our landmark reforms to negative gearing and capital gains tax — a fair go for young people who want to own their own home. It’s about intergenerational fairness, plain and simple, and it handed the Opposition a simple choice: back a tax cut that helps Australians into their first home, or vote it down. Mary Doyle had a message for Angus Taylor: “My message to the opposition leader is simple. If he genuinely supports young Australians achieving homeownership, then he should back these reforms instead of cynically and shamefully exploiting division for his own political gain.” Worth the watch.

2. It was good to see that inflation is down. Then came the news that power prices are set to fall, with Chris Bowen confirming to the House reductions in every jurisdiction the default market offer covers. As he put it: “It’s no coincidence that, at the time we’ve hit 50 per cent renewables in our grid, we are seeing energy prices come down.” The 414,000 home batteries are doing the heavy lifting. The $600 billion nuclear fantasy the other lot remain obsessed about, less so.

3. On Monday the Albanese Labor Government launched a new national campaign to make sure women can access clear, trusted and evidence-based information about perimenopause and menopause. Meryl Swanson drew on her own personal experience and delivered an excellent statement to the house. “This is about helping women recognise what's happening to their bodies, feel confident seeking support and know that they're not alone. It sits alongside broader women's health reforms from our government, including cheaper menopausal hormone therapies, better clinical guidelines and more support through Medicare. Women deserve to be heard, taken seriously and properly supported, and that's exactly what we're doing. We've been more, we've seen more, we've had more and we are more than we've been given credit for. We're hotter, we're sharper and we're in demand. And, yes, that's the menopause talking!”

4. Madonna Jarrett went full State of Origin in her 90-second statement on Wednesday. The Prime Minister takes the first carry on tax cuts, the Treasurer throws the cut-out pass on savings, and Albo scores under the posts on housing — while the Blues sit in the shed, bench injured, captain still looking for a coach, repeal of the tax cuts ruled a knock-on by the Australian people. The Maroons up by 52 seats. I like the idea, but my good friend Madonna may want to check the actual scores from Wednesday night before running this metaphor again.

5. This week we set out a once-in-a-generation overhaul of employment services, scrapping the one-size-fits-all model, backing a redesign of mutual obligations, earlier identification of barriers, and a new employment planning process to better support Australians looking for work. As Amanda Rishworth announced in the Chamber on Wednesday “Our government is embarking on the largest reforms of our employment service system in 30 years—reforms that will help jobseekers get the right support at the right time and reforms that will deliver improved value for money by directing resources to where they are needed the most.”

1. This week the Commonwealth launched the largest legal claim in its history with action against 3M over PFAS contamination at 28 Defence bases. It matters because the company allegedly told us its firefighting foam was biodegradable, non-toxic and safe, and taxpayers have worn over $1 billion cleaning it up. In QT on Thursday, Meryl Swanson, who’s fought on this for a decade, asked in the House what the action meant and Attorney-General Michelle Rowland after acknowledging the great work of Peter Khalil was clear: “Australians rightly expect their government to stand up for them and hold companies accountable when communities and the environment are impacted, and that is why we are bringing this action.”

2. Tim Wilson really has had a shocker this week. He just can’t seem to grasp the need for the tax reforms we announced, at least that’s what he wanted us to think. Jim Chalmers was explaining how we're levelling the playing field in the housing market and referenced an unexpected source, the Shadow Treasurer’s own book. Jim quoted, “‘Today it's time to be honest: the tax system is screwing over young Australians. Instead, it favours well-off, established interests against those trying to get ahead … people who can predominantly live off of income from their assets can pay very little tax and get discounts on capital gains from increases in asset values.’ This is what he said. I'm quoting: ‘Young Australians need to demand a fairer tax system, where they aren't the only ones carrying the burden to cover the cost of Australia.’ Well said!”

3. On Tuesday, Jerome Laxale schooled the Opposition in a lesson about how their 30-year-old mistake locked out a generation of first home buyers. “Like some pimpled adolescent science students at school mixing vinegar and bicarb soda, the Liberals mixed negative gearing with a 50 per cent capital gains tax discount on existing homes in 1999, and that little experiment blew up the housing market. That mistake, which was designed to get more people to invest in shares, backfired. In fact, fewer people invested in shares, and it locked out a generation from owning their first home. On budget night, it took Labor to fix that mistake.” A tough act to follow, next up was Liberal MP Aaron Violi. Stumbling over his words, he managed to get out that our tax reforms were “not going to make the situation worse”. That might not have been what he meant to say but he’s not wrong. As Jerome said, “When you partner our reforms with our five per cent home deposit scheme and more supply, we are clearly here to turn things around for young people.”

4. Dan Tehan’s obsession with the microphones continued this week when on Tuesday it broadened into a crack at Broadcasting itself. The Manager of Opposition Business spent question time relitigating who turns the mics on, who turns them off, and at whose direction — a procedural saga the Speaker Milton Dick eventually had to walk him through like a Year 7 civics class: “It is not Broadcasting’s call; it is my call as to when the call is assigned.” Meryl Swanson, waiting to ask her question, said what we were all thinking: patience is a virtue.

All Senators across the Parliament have been busy this week with estimates – well except Pauline Hanson of course. She thought it was more important to celebrate her birthday with her best mate Clive Palmer than be present in Canberra. Senator Murray Watt took to social media to remind everyone just where her priorities lie. “Happy Birthday Pauline. While you’re partying with another billionaire buddy, the rest of us showed up to Parliament to work for Australians.”

In Parliament, when someone moves a motion, they give their speech immediately, and whenever they finish, they sit down. Both Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie, for reasons only known to themselves, said ‘I move the resolution’ and sat down, then ‘I second the resolution’ and sat down. Years ago, governments would have to move that the member be no longer heard to stop a speech. These characters managed to gag themselves, although, from the stunned-mullet look on their faces, they had absolutely no idea what they’d done.

Parliament is back next Tuesday for the second sitting of the fortnight.

‘til then,

Tony

PS. In honour of Jerome Laxale’s science experiment metaphor this week and the continued fear campaigns from the Coalition, the song of the week has to be Science of Fear by The Temper Trap.

5&5: Brick by Brick