Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I have made it very clear that every cent of the $12 billion raised from this tax over the forward estimates will be spent on the very important initiatives that the finance minister and other ministers were talking about before. Now I have the hypothetical question, ‘Well what if it doesn’t raise the $12 billion?’ We are confident that it will. We are confident that this is a very fair tax, and we are going to invest the proceeds in economic reform.

What those opposite are so embarrassed about is that we are up to the challenge of putting incentive in the tax system, cutting the corporate rate, giving a $5,000 instant write-off for small businesses and boosting superannuation in this country. They are acutely embarrassed that their negative position in this House, because they do not want to see Australians get a fair share of their mineral resources, is going to result in the fact that tax cuts will not go to small businesses or that other investment in infrastructure will not happen or that the corporate rate will not be cut. There is going to be a very high price paid by the opposition for them refusing to pass these very important initiatives which go to the heart of the economic reform challenge we face as a nation.

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