Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate and Special Minister of State) (14:18): I do not accept the premise of the question that Senator Ludlam puts there. What is colloquially described as negative gearing is a very simple and very important principle in our tax system, and that is when you generate an income you are able to deduct the costs in generating that income from that gross income in order to determine your taxable income. Senator Wong interjecting— Senator CORMANN: I can see that Senator Wong, who, instead of focusing on cutting expenditure and controlling expenditure, is always looking for an opportunity to increase taxes on middle-income Australians. Senator Wong: You're spending more than I ever did! The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator CORMANN: I can see that she is in there, right on cue, wanting to support the Greens— Senator Whish-Wilson: Mr President, I rise on a point of order in relation to relevance. The minister has not answered the question. He is talking about Senator Wong. He has not come anywhere near answering the question. I ask you to direct him to please answer the question. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Whish-Wilson. The minister did say he rejected the premise of the question upfront and did address some of the elements of the question. Minister. Senator CORMANN: Thank you very much, Mr President. Obviously, if tax arrangements were changed in the way that Senator Ludlam seems to be suggesting, it would make investment in private rental accommodation less attractive. It would reduce the supply of private rental accommodation. It would increase the cost of private rental accommodation along the way, and that is not something that we consider to be in the public interest.