Chris Pearce (Aston, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hunter, the member for Werriwa and the member for New England for their contributions this morning. We have heard that the member for Hunter has a lot of hopes for me this morning—he hopes this and he hopes that. And he is disappointed with lots of things. I want to reassure the member for Hunter that satisfying him and all of his hopes is obviously a key driver for us on this side; we are always striving to satisfy his hopes and wishes!

The member for Hunter and the member for Werriwa raised the Senate Economics Legislation Committee report in relation to alcohol tax. I have to say that I am a little bit confused about this, because I had been advised that Labor actually voted with the government to reject amendments moved by Senator Murray in relation to alcohol taxation. So I am a little bit confused as to where the member for Hunter might be coming from.

The other thing to bear in mind is that this morning we are here to talk about amendments to the Excise Laws Amendment (Fuel Tax Reform and Other Measures) Bill 2006. When the member for Hunter and the member for New England first spoke they talked about the Fuel Sales Grants Scheme, they talked about the two-year transitional period and they talked about the use of BAS for fuel tax credits. The problem is that all those aspects relate to a completely different bill. Those aspects do not relate to the Excise Laws Amendment (Fuel Tax Reform and Other Measures) Bill 2006 and they do not relate to the amendment that we are debating this morning. So the member for Hunter and the member for New England have the wrong bill in mind. All of the issues that they raise relate to the Fuel Tax Bill 2006, which has already passed the House of Representatives. So I am not sure where the member for Hunter is coming from.

The bill before us relates to things like clarifying the arrangements for using imported inputs in the manufacture of excisable goods; streamlining and clarifying the current arrangements for concessional spirits; strengthening controls over tobacco leaf, which has a high potential for excise liability; and acts against the beer excise revenue avoidance practice. This bill seeks to make improvements to excise licensing provisions to make renewal periods consistent and to allow better capacity for licensing to be used as a compliance tool to protect excise revenue. This bill is all about amending certain provisions of the Excise Act. It is about repealing a number of other acts. It also repeals a number of fuel related acts that are no longer required because of the fuel tax reforms.

So that is the bill that we are talking about this morning. The amendment that I moved this morning, which I think is a commonsense amendment, actually relates to that bill. The issues that the member for Hunter and the member for New England, and to a certain extent the member for Werriwa, have raised are completely irrelevant to this particular bill and this particular amendment.

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