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

So I say to the member for North Sydney: if you look at the overall return to the Australian taxpayer, the return now is much less than it was 10 years ago. The commodity price increases which have occurred over the period of time have not been properly reflected in returns to the Australian people. Frankly, the Australian people are deserving of greater returns in order to fund the future needs which they face—one, by assisting and bringing down the company tax; two, by assisting those companies to pay additional superannuation payments through the SGL; and, three, by funding the infrastructure needs of the future as well.

The other thing I would say to the member for North Sydney is this: we have seen one scare campaign after another from those opposite when there have been any changes over the last 10, 20 or 25 years that affect the mining sector and its profitability. When the PRRT regime was brought in 25 years ago, those opposite claimed that it would lead to a collapse in investment in the industry. It did not. In fact, I would draw the attention of those opposite—

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