Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to statements from reputable CEOs about his proposed great big new mining tax.

It is almost inconceivable that our industry should find itself so maligned and so grossly misrepresented.

That is from Ian Smith of Newcrest Mining. Sam Walsh of Rio Tinto said that negotiations with industry on the planned tax have been a ‘hopeless process’.

It is difficult to regard the tax proposals as anything other than bad news …

That is from David Knox of Santos. So I ask the Prime Minister: when will he listen to the real concerns of the people running real businesses and dump this really bad tax? Or does he think, like his Treasurer, that these people are either untruthful or ignorant?

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