Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for your guidance, Mr Deputy Speaker. I note that the government has not bothered to formally reply to our letter, although I understand that it did do so verbally. Given that the government has failed to take our sensible suggestion to excise schedule 2—this silly measure that increases compliance costs that will increase the burden on many hundreds of thousands of Australians who use family trusts as a legitimate vehicle—we have no choice but to oppose this whole bill. I would urge members opposite to take a look at the report that the Senate economics committee tabled earlier in the week in the other place. I urge them to have a look at that report because the report and those who gave evidence before the committee completely exposed these changes for the farce that they are.

The coalition will oppose this whole bill. We would have liked to have had the opportunity to pass schedules 1 and 3. As I said, we offered that opportunity to the government but they failed to take it. So we will oppose this bill in the House and then we will take our case to the other place. Of course, in the other place the government will not be able to rely just on the strength of numbers to force this legislation through; they will be forced to mount an argument defending this nonsense. I do not doubt for a second that when they come to do that they will fail. The emperor well and truly has no clothes on these measures. The rationale for them has been completely exposed by the Senate. It is opposed by every submission that was made to the committee on this legislation. I would urge the House to consider that when we come to vote on these particular measures.

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