Andrew McKellar interview on 2GB with Ben Fordham about CGT changes
Transcript: 28 May 2026
Ben Fordham:
Andrew McKellar is the CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Andrew, good morning.
Andrew McKellar:
Good morning, Ben. Great to be with you.
Ben Fordham:
What do you want to hear today from the Treasurer?
Andrew McKellar:
I think to start with what we're hearing is every day more and more businesses are coming to us contacting us saying, "We don't understand these changes. They're complex changes." Government hasn't made the case. If it wants to fix a housing affordability problem, why is it putting more tax on business investment and running a business, starting a business, trying to grow the business, trying to create more opportunity and employ more people. So I think really what we're looking for today, we want to see the Senate do its work. We want to see the Senate put in place a public inquiry, ask the government to come forward and explain why it is that it needs to put this extra tax on businesses and on business investment, which we need if we're going to address the productivity challenges that we have to try to solve what it said was a housing affordability problem.
So I think that's the number one thing we want to see coming out of the parliament today.
Ben Fordham:
Well, we've even heard from a professor Andrew Wilks, a top scientist in the blood cancer space. He developed a molecule and sold this to a pharmaceutical giant for nearly $3 billion. He says, look, you won't have people starting up businesses like that in the health space if these capital gains tax changes go ahead.
Andrew McKellar:
Well, I think that's the risk. So it is very much an increased tax on innovation, on productivity, on ambition, and then aspiration. And those are the things that we need in Australia. I think here the model that the government seems to be putting forward and preferring is to say, well, we should all be wage and salary earners. So we should be maybe joining the public service and having a safe life. But we need people in Australia who are prepared to take a risk, who are prepared to say, I want to create something new. I want to take a bit of a risk, start a business, maybe grow that business. And if I'm successful, I want to be able to share that with the people that backed me, maybe with the employees, get them involved in the business, give them some equity. And all of this pushes in the wrong direction.
It kills that incentive. And that's the last thing we need in the Australian economy.
Ben Fordham:
Just lastly, I know you've been having some discussions behind the scenes. Is there an appetite here for a backdown from Jim Chalmers and Anthony Albanese?
Andrew McKellar:
Oh, I certainly wouldn't say that. I think there's some tough discussions that need to be had. We are having some of those discussions and I think that's very welcome, but I think we're a long way from having a good outcome on this. We've got to continue to push that forward. And I think today the Senate has also got to stand up. We really do urge the opposition and the cross bench senators insist on an inquiry into this, make the government come and justify the changes that it's seeking to make, because I really don't think they've explained them clearly to the public and certainly not to the business community.
Ben Fordham:
Nice to talk to you Andrew. Good luck and thank you.
Andrew McKellar:
Great, Ben. Thanks very much.