Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, and where is the member for Goldstein’s press secretary when you need him. He digs himself in on a question about which the opposition are most sensitive, which is the actual level of taxation paid by the Australian mining industry. He refers in particular to the publication from the NBER, and he says that the NBER does not publish these sorts of publications. One piece of information I have from the National Bureau of Economic Research is an NBER publication by Douglas Shackelford of June 2009 entitled, Do multinationals or domestic firms face higher effective tax and rates? written with Kevin S. Markle. That is what it says—with him. That is actually listed under NBER publications by Douglas Shackelford.

What I find stunning about the use of question time for this purpose is that it actually seeks to mask the opposition’s refusal to engage in the substance of the debate, which is the best form of taxation for the Australian mining industry. Firstly, what grows the industry over time? Our answer is a profits based tax; not a volumes based tax. Secondly, we have the example of the PRRT as to how it has worked over time. Now by their questions they are walking away from the PRRT. Thirdly, with the RSPT we bring in a new system of proposed taxation which provides an upfront assistance to industries to offset their costs involved in the initial investment in order to broaden the base of the industry. That is what we are seeking to do. This is the basis of the reforms that we are advancing and the projections contained in the papers provided by the Treasury and the Econtech modelling, which underpin that the long-term growth of the industry increases by 5.5 per cent as a result of these reforms.

Those opposite, consistent with their engagement on every matter of policy—whether it is health policy, education policy or any other form of policy including Work Choices—are negative, consistently attacking and never provide an alternative. I would just draw their attention, again, to the former head of the Liberal Party, Dr John Hewson, and his remarks, the former head of the New South Wales Liberal Party, Mr Brogden, and his remarks and also to the earlier endorsement of the PRRT by the former Treasurer of Australia, Peter Costello.

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