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

I thank the member for Mayo for his question because, when it comes to all businesses, what this government stands for is lower tax as opposed to higher tax. We are bringing the company tax rate down two per cent. You are taking it up two per cent. That is what you are doing by virtue of Mr Abbott’s great big new tax on everything. On the matter that the member for Mayo raises, I simply say to him that companies from various sectors of the economy are currently consulting the Treasury panel on the impact of the proposed RSPT on them and, as far as his constituents are concerned, I strongly encourage them to do so, as many others are across the country—more than 80 companies altogether.

The third point I would make in response to the member for Mayo, and more broadly in this debate on tax, is that this is about how we reform the country for the future. This is about how we set Australia up for the next level of economic growth. This is how we take the benefits from the mining boom and invest them in Australia’s productive potential in the future. This is a serious program of economic reform.

What we have seen today is a stark contrast between what we stand for on a reform proposal and what they stand for in terms of simple scare campaigning on the basis of lowest common denominator politics. It is writ large right across the board. We stand for better super; they stand for less super. We stand for less tax on business; you stand for more tax on business. We stand for less tax on small business; you stand for more tax on small business. We stand for investing in health; as the Minister for Health and Ageing has just said, you stand for health cuts. We stand for investments in education; you stand for cuts to education. We stand for investments in renewable energy; you stand for cuts to renewable energy. We stand for investing in infrastructure; you stand for cutting infrastructure.

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