Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

As the honourable member for Lilley says: never. I am constantly disappointed that the tax laws amendment bills that come into this House say nothing about section 51A(d). This is a clause that the government said in 2003 it was urgent to fix. They took decisive action and issued a press release. Then we heard nothing. As I have said before, a press release changes nothing. If this is how the government deal with something that is urgent, I would hate to see how they deal with something on the backburner.

At estimates hearings last week, we heard the Treasury confirm that one of the reasons we have yet to see action on section 51A(d) is that it has to compete with other government priorities for action. The former Assistant Treasurer—not the one just past, or the current one, the member for Longman, but the one before that, Senator Coonan—said in 2003: ‘This is urgent. This is a priority for the government.’ Here we are in 2007, and we are still debating tax laws amendment bills which say nothing about section 51A(d), which do nothing to stimulate investment in infrastructure projects. On the contrary, in another tax bill the government is making it harder to raise funds for infrastructure projects. But there will be plenty of other opportunities to talk about that.

I noted with interest that the Institute of Chartered Accountants, in its budget submission, has included a reference to seven major tax measures which have been announced. The press release was issued but no legislation was introduced. The amendments to section 51A(d) and division 16D are the most significant. Again, we call on the government to introduce this reform into the House as a matter of urgency. We support the measures in this bill and we will be voting accordingly. They are sensible measures. They improve tax compliance and make it easier for the Australian Taxation Office and the other agencies involved in cracking down on large-scale tax avoidance to do their job. They also make it easier for individuals to access information, which is their right. It is an individual’s right to know how their complaint about superannuation is going. It is an individual’s right to get that information. We support that. We also support any moves to encourage employee share ownership as something beneficial for the individuals involved, for the companies involved and for the Australian economy.

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