Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Resources and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

The industry also appreciates that they have a capacity to pay more tax. That is not just my view—I notice that the member for Curtin has a little bit to say, and I will come to her in a minute—but also the view of the Western Australian Premier. Perhaps next Saturday when she drops into Peppermint Grove for a cup of coffee she should talk to the Western Australian Premier about his view. I am well informed that the Western Australian Premier proposes to take from Rio and BHP in the next financial year something in the order of $800 million in increases in royalties. That amounts to about $3.2 billion over the forward estimates. But what is the opposition’s view? The Western Australian Premier has pretty fixed views. I will take the House to the Hansard of the Western Australian parliament of 25 February. He said:

As members are aware, I have put it to both BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto that I believe time is now overdue and that they should be paying full mining royalties on the many hundreds of millions of tonnes of iron ore that they produce.

He then went on to say:

I have to say that a few people who work around the mining industry came up to me over the summer and said: ‘By the way, Colin, the mining companies are getting away with murder. They are not paying enough.’ A number of people who work in the mining industry have said that.

That is what the Premier of Western Australia said. That takes me to where the opposition are. What a mess; what a dog’s breakfast we have on the other side of the House at the moment with respect to this complex and important debate. Let me start with the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, who once held the exalted position of shadow Treasurer. Opposition representatives like the member for Flinders and the member for Dickson soon saw her off. I refer to what the member for Curtin said last night. She said, ‘I believe they are paying a fair amount of tax.’ Perhaps she should convey that to the state member for the seat in which she lives, the Western Australian Premier and Treasurer, Colin Barnett.

Then we have yet another position, that of my dear friend the member for Groom. What did he have to say both yesterday and today? He said, ‘If there needs to be a royalty change, it should be done by the states.’ So he is up for higher tax, unlike the member for Curtin. That is exactly what the Western Australian Premier and Treasurer is arguing and exactly what the current government is arguing: the mining companies have a capacity to pay more tax and the Australian community need to get a fair return for the development of their resources. But it gets better. Perhaps Colin Barnett has been listening to Senator Joyce, someone who the member for Goldstein likes to ridicule on a regular basis. Let us go to what Senator Barnaby Joyce had to say on Sky television at lunchtime.

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