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On Wednesday (1 July), the Press Gallery Midwinter Ball charity auction took place in Great Hall of Parliament House, bringing together “journalistic, political and corporate chiefs of Australia” for “a memorable night full of entertainment and networking opportunities” and to raise money for charity.
To date, the midwinter ball has raised more than $5.8 million for charity.
This year, one of the items up for auction was a tennis match (along with hospitality and refreshments for four people) with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The tennis match will take place at the tennis court at his official residence, The Lodge.
The winning bid for the tennis match against the Prime Minister was from broker Joseph Daoud from It’s Simple Finance and Home Loan University.
The bid – which was placed in the closing few minutes of the auction – was for $16,500.
Speaking to Broker Daily, Daoud said he placed a bid in the tennis match auction in order to secure time with the Prime Minister.
He told Broker Daily: “I found out about the auction via a friend. I was monitoring it throughout the day and placed my one bid with 10 seconds to go.
“I just want some questions answered without interference. How does taxing Pokemon cards more help first home buyers? It’s a genuine question.”
Daoud has been actively engaging with Liberal politicians in recent months to protest the federal government’s proposed changes to capital gains tax (CGT) – particularly its expansion to more asset classes, like cryptocurrency and other assets – as well as how discretionary trust changes may impact small businesses.
He also recently spent more than $17,000 on billboards in Canberra to protest the budget changes and launched a campaign called #StopTheAmbitionTax to pressure the government into reversing or amending these proposals, some of which are now law.
Alongside other small-business advocates, he has criticised the government for rushing the legislation through Parliament without adequate public and industry consultation and has repeatedly asked the government for a sit-down to discuss the changes.
Taking to LinkedIn to amplify his auction win, Daoud said he did not believe the budget changes would help Australians.
Addressing the Prime Minister in his post, he said: “Since I am of the opinion that healthy consultation was not had, I did find a way to make sure you listen.
“With ambition, comes innovation and creativity, what better way to celebrate than a good old game of tennis…
“The best part is, it goes to charity.”
At the time of writing, the Prime Minister’s Office has not yet confirmed the meeting, and Daoud said they had not yet reached out regarding the auction win.
What are the concerns about the CGT changes?
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 passed the Senate last Thursday (25 June), with the last-minute changes being rubber-stamped by the lower house by 98 to 39 votes shortly after.
The legislation introduces sweeping changes to capital gains tax (CGT) and negative gearing, including limiting negative gearing for residential property investments to new builds and replacing the 50 per cent CGT discount with a cost base indexation model and a 30 per cent minimum tax rate on future capital gains from 1 July 2027.
It also confirms a ban on new limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) for residential property within self-managed super funds (SMSFs), while existing arrangements and contracts already in train will be grandfathered.
A second, more technical bill will be introduced later in the year, which is set to spell out detailed carve‑outs and updated rules for discretionary trusts.
The changes were brought in by the government in order to help support first home buyers and owner-occupiers by closing what is seen as overly favourable tax arrangements for property investors.
While handing down the federal budget in May, federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers MP said: “We’re delivering a fairer tax system for workers, first home buyers and future generations.
“This will help rebalance a system which is more generous to assets than it is to labour. And help rebalance a system where house prices have decoupled from incomes.
“Since 1999, house prices have risen over 400 per cent, more than twice as fast as average incomes. Our tax changes will help about 75,000 Australians achieve the dream of home ownership…
“These changes will level the playing field for workers and first home buyers, and support investment in productive assets, including new housing supply.
“And they will fund our new round of tax relief for more than 13 million Australian workers.”
However, many members of the broking industry and other small-business sectors have been opposed to the reforms, saying that the reforms create a “triple threat” to credit markets, housing supply, and their clients’ financial viability.
The federal budget’s proposed changes, particularly to CGT and negative gearing, have proved controversial across the broking industry.
In a survey of more than 200 brokers conducted by SME lender RedZed, half said their small-business clients felt either somewhat or very negative about the budget, while 36 per cent reported a somewhat or very positive reaction.
The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has also weighed in, backing the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia’s (COSBOA) Fair Go campaign and urging the government to reconsider parts of the package.
In its submission to the Senate inquiry, the MFAA said the proposed CGT changes could affect long-term planning for broking businesses.
“The concern for small broking businesses is that CGT changes may reduce certainty around long-term business planning. Many mortgage brokers rely on the eventual sale of their business as a key component of their retirement planning, having prioritised investment in growing their business over accumulating other assets,” the MFAA said.
The proposed changes also prompted LoanOptions.ai founder Julian Fayad to launch a tongue-in-cheek social media campaign that helped spark the first of the roundtables.
[Related: Government slammed for discouraging investment]
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