Leaders locked in negotiations on NDIS, tax overhauls

Zac de Silva and Tess Ikonomou | June 22, 2026

Twin fights over tax and disability support will dominate parliament in the coming days as the government tries to ram through reforms before MPs leave Canberra for the long winter break.

Labor is attempting to hash out a deal with the Greens to pass controversial changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing, in exchange for extending an inquiry into a planned overhaul of the NDIS.

The Greens are pushing for the tax changes to apply to all properties instead of the current proposed grandfathering arrangements.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the tax changes should be scrapped and accused Labor of shifting to the “crazy left” to do an agreement with the minor party.

“That dirty deal between Labor and the Greens is, I think, something every Australian should be deeply concerned about,” he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

Mr Taylor said he wanted more scrutiny of the NDIS reforms but indicated he would work with the government to make the scheme more financially sustainable.

Greens leader Larissa Waters demanded the NDIS changes be withdrawn, arguing the changes would leave disabled Australians worse-off.

“We are using everything we’ve got to make sure that these cuts actually are stopped completely, but at the very least inquired into even further,” she told ABC Radio.

Senator Waters said grandfathering changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount was a missed opportunity to properly address Australia’s housing crisis, but added talks with the government were ongoing.

A Labor-led committee investigating the tax proposal handed down its final report on Friday, recommending legislation proposing changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax be passed.

On the same day, a separate parliamentary inquiry into the overhaul of the NDIS delayed its report for a second time, pushing the deadline back to Tuesday.

More than 30 business groups have banded together to urge parliamentarians to reject Labor’s proposed changes to the capital gains tax.

Critics attacked Labor’s initial proposal of removing the existing 50 per cent capital gains tax discount and replacing it with inflation indexation and a minimum 30 per cent rate.

In the joint letter, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned the changes will deter business investment and weaken economic activity.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is also meeting with state and territory leaders on Monday to discuss fuel security, after announcing fuel excise cuts will be extended for another month at a lower discount.

The change means the current 32-cent-a-litre discount on petrol will be halved to 16 cents a litre from July.

As support for One Nation surges, the coalition will look to dig into the party’s policy detail to expose its vulnerabilities to voters.

For the first time, Pauline Hanson is being backed in polls as the preferred prime minister.

In her National Press Club address on Wednesday, Senator Hanson rejected multiculturalism.

But Toowoomba-based Liberal MP Garth Hamilton, who faces a likely strong One Nation challenge for his seat, questioned her “monoculture” vision.

He said the coalition needed to be “cool, calm and confident” in presenting voters with strong policies.

“We can’t dismiss the areas of concern that people are speaking to,” Mr Hamilton said.

“We also can’t shy away from the differences between us and One Nation.”