Stan Grant Q+A: Labor MP Michelle Ananda-Rajah accused of being ‘patronising’ by audience member

A Labor MP from a wealthy electorate was coerced by outgoing ABC Q+A presenter Stan Grant into talking about owning seven investment properties – before angering an audience member by praising the benefits of a budget surplus.

Michelle Ananda-Rajah, who surprisingly won Higgins’ central Melbourne seat in last year’s federal election with the Greens’ preferences, suggested that a government spending plan now in the black was good for younger generations.

“If we deliver a small, modest budget surplus, that would effectively mean $83 billion less debt on young shoulders over the next 12 years,” she said.

This irate audience member Amy Brown talking about Dr. Ananda-Rajah spoke up and yelled “stop it” repeatedly during an episode that ended with Grant’s emotional farewell after racially trolling.

“This is really patronizing. I’m so sorry, you’re patronizing me,” she said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers this month announced a budget surplus of $4.2 billion for 2022-23 – the first for a federal Labor government since 1989 and the first for Australia since 2007.

But Ms. Brown, a self-described millennial, was unimpressed, comparing the budget surplus to the big banks making big profits after 11 Reserve Bank rate hikes – drawing applause from the ABC program’s left-wing audience.

‘Do you want to know why the budget surplus, everyone is so angry about that?

‘Do you want to know why it’s so on the nose?

‘Because it is exactly the same as the banks that have their surplus thanks to interest rate rises.’

Dr. Ananda-Rajah, who owns seven investment properties in Melbourne, Brisbane and regional Tasmania, had previously said the program to remove tax breaks for negative geared investors would do nothing to increase the supply of rental properties.

“It doesn’t solve the supply problem,” she said.

Under pressure from host Grant, Dr Ananda-Rajah admitted she was one of 84 federal MPs, out of 227 in parliament, to own more than three investment properties.

“Of course, and the senators from the Greens,” she said, without mentioning Senator Mehreen Faruqi who owns two investment properties in New South Wales and one in Pakistan.

Dr. Ananda-Rajah’s defense of the Labor government’s budget surplus angered audience member Amy Brown, who spoke of Dr. Ananda-Rajah spoke, shouting ‘stop it’ repeatedly.

Former Labor leader Bill Shorten had lost the 2019 election and vowed to scrap negative gearing for future investment property purchases.

Ms Brown, an accountant, also fell out with Ms Ananda-Rajah for defending her Labor party’s support for the former coalition government’s third phase of tax cuts, introduced into law in 2019.

The Labor backbencher, who was an infectious diseases doctor at Alfred Health before winning a former Liberal blue ribbon seat in May 2022, said the government had to honor an election promise.

“We’ve legislated these and we’ve made a commitment that we won’t withdraw them,” she said.

The defense of the phase three tax cuts — which will give $9,075 in relief to those earning $200,000 as of July 1, 2024 — further infuriated Ms. Brown after Dr. Ananda-Rajah said she could see her distress.

“It’s not sadness, it’s anger,” Ms Brown said.

Michelle Ananda-Rajah surprisingly won the Melbourne inner city seat last year with Greens preferences, suggesting a spending plan in the black was good for younger generations (she’s pictured right campaigning with Anthony Albanese in May 2022, shortly before she won the election.)

The defense of the stage three tax cuts — which give $9,075 in relief to those earning $200,000 as of July 1, 2024 — further infuriated Ms. Brown after Dr. Ananda-Rajah said she could see her distress

Her anger intensified after Dr Ananda-Rajah suggested the parliamentary budget office had overestimated the cost of the phase three tax cuts – last year at $243 billion over ten years.

Dr. Chalmers this month estimated the cost at $69 billion over four years.

Ms. Brown went on another rampage before moving from stage three of tax cuts to budget surplus.

“It’s so wild how you keep making things about individuals,” she said.

‘I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about my generation.’

Despite claiming to be an accountant, Ms Brown falsely suggested that the tax brackets had not been adjusted since 2008, when they were last adjusted in the 2020-21 fiscal year.

“It’s really interesting that you mention the creep — I’m an accountant,” she said.

“Bracket creep affects low and middle income earners, it doesn’t affect the top, rich people.

“The last time we adjusted those brackets was before the global financial crisis, in 2008.”

Her claim was false, as the upper limit of the 19 percent tax bracket rose to $45,000, up from $37,000 in 2020-21, benefiting part-time workers earning less than minimum wage.

Average income earners also benefited with the 32.5 percent threshold raised to $120,000, up from $90,000.

They were announced in the 2019 budget, but sped up by two fiscal years to 2020-21 during the October 2020 pandemic.

Dr. Ananda-Rajah, whose parents fled Sri Lanka from the protracted civil war, was one of three federal Labor MPs who last month signed a petition with the Australian Council of Social Service calling for a significant increase in JobSeeker’s unemployment benefits.

The UK-born doctor won the wealthy seat of Higgins in the last election, despite Labor taking just 28.5 per cent of the vote, compared to 40.7 per cent for her Liberal predecessor Katie Allen, a paediatrician.

The Greens’ preferences made her the first-ever Labor member for Higgins, an electorate formerly held by former Liberal Prime Ministers Harold Holt and John Gorton and longtime former Treasurer Peter Costello – which had produced the last budget surplus in 2007.