Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Deputy Chairman , Coalition Policy Development Committee) Share this | Hansard source

As the shadow Treasurer has just summed up, nothing could be clearer than the intent of this amendment, an amendment that will let the sunshine in. We remember the rhetoric when those opposite formed government with the support of the Independents, in particular the member for Lyne, who wanted to let the sunshine in. This place was going to be transformed. As we said when we debated this amendment last year, the roof was going to be ripped off and the sunshine was going to come in. With this amendment, which would give taxpayers access to information about how their taxes are spent, you could not get a clearer example of letting the sunshine in. But the Assistant Treasurer, who is at the table, is opposed to this measure, the government is opposed to this measure and, last time, the Independents, including the member for Lyne, were opposed to this.

The shadow Treasurer made the point that when we debated the substance of this amendment towards the end of last year, on another tax law amendment bill, the Assistant Treasurer talked about the possible delay to tax returns. During that debate he also had a number of other excuses ranging from the absurd to the ridiculous. He told the House that there might be security concerns in fulfilling this amendment—as if tax file numbers were not sent out on tax returns already. I am not sure how the Assistant Treasurer thinks taxpayers get their tax returns. He also raised the very real spectre of mass litigation from taxpayers upset with the information they have been sent!

But give the Assistant Treasurer a break; he was new to the job and he was relying on the advice that was being thought up and sent to him in real time during that debate. But, as the shadow Treasurer said, this is a very straightforward measure. It is an amendment to let the sunshine in. The Independents should have no trouble supporting this amendment. All of the excuses invented by the Assistant Treasurer, the member for Maribyrnong, last time have been shown to be utterly absurd. And now they have the opportunity to vote on this amendment again in the full knowledge that it is a choice about whether they give taxpayers access to information about how their taxes are spent—pure and simple.

Letting the sunshine in is something that has been advocated by the member for Lyne. He did so in those heady days after the federal election. It was very obvious that he was channelling The 5th Dimension. He was very much in the zone of The Age of Aquarius. I do not remember the song because I am not quite that old. Of course, we have all seen Forrest Gump. I thought that perhaps the member for Lyne is a fan of Forrest Gump and that is why he wanted to let the sunshine in. When I saw him grow a beard it became obvious to me that he is a fan of Forrest Gump. And he started running, just like Tom Hanks did—from Green Bay County across Alabama, from sea to shining sea. He has shaved the beard off, so that probably means he has stopped running. Unlike Forrest Gump, though, I think he has turned around to discover that no-one has been following him. This is a good chance for him today to vote for transparency and vote for the very thing that he said was important: transparency for taxpayers, transparency to let the sunshine in.

This amendment is something the government should agree to. It is an amendment we will keep pursuing. If the Assistant Treasurer believes in transparency he would simply agreed to this amendment today. He would not put forward the absurd and ridiculous propositions he put forward towards the end of last year, when he said a simple amendment to tell taxpayers how their taxes are spent would somehow threaten the security of taxpayers’ information and may lead to some sort of mass class action that would bankrupt the Commonwealth. It was ridiculous and, some months on, he would now know that. I urge him to support this sensible amendment.

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