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

Mr Deputy Speaker Sidebottom, I know you will agree with this important motion. As someone who represents his electorate as best he can in this House, you will note the government's appalling conduct with respect to the promised tax summit. This motion highlights the fact that this is an ever-disappearing promise of the government's, like so many of their promises in other policy areas. The motion notes the delay in the tax summit from June until October; it notes, as well, that Labor has major tax proposals in the form of the mining tax and the carbon tax—massive proposals that will damage the Australian economy. Of course prior to this summit they have ploughed on with them. Finally, the motion also seeks that the House decide not to impose legislation on these two matters until after the summit, which the government has said is all-important, at least considers those two measures which we consider to be damaging to the economy.

The tax summit was promised by the Treasurer and the Prime Minister. It was not promised out of some deep principle; it was promised under sufferance. It was promised during the negotiations with the Independents and with the Independent member for Lyne in particular. It was conceived in desperation. What we have seen since the day the government succumbed to that pressure is a watering down of the summit. It is a summit which has become a forum, and it is a forum which is on its way to becoming a seminar by the time it finally takes place in October, now, not in June—not next month, which was originally pledged. The reason for this delay is that the Treasurer and the Prime Minister did not want to agree to hold a taxation summit. This is something they wish would go away. This is like a promised visit to a difficult relative. It was agreed under sufferance. It has been delayed in time and the visit has been reduced in duration. But, because it cannot be completely avoided, the visit will take place. But nothing will be achieved by it. The great aim now of the Treasurer and the Prime Minister is simply to get through this summit, which has become a forum and which is becoming a 48-hour seminar—and that is before the member for Lyne gives his introduction—and not to get anything from it.

Allocating 48 hours in October says so much about this government. They were prepared to agree to a summit, which has become a forum and is becoming a seminar, because they were prepared to agree to the wishes of the Independents. The truth is, this government has not been interested in tax reform; it has been interested in tax increases. We had the Henry review. This was a window into so much about this government's conduct. The government, then in opposition, ran to the 2007 election without a tax plan. We all remember this side of the House releasing a tax plan in the election campaign. It was met with a full week's silence before it was agreed to almost in totality, with just a difference in the top rate. Then those income tax cuts were legislated by this government, which of course now claims them as its own. But there was no great desire for tax reform until we had another summit, the very first summit here in this House, where acres of butchers paper were scrawled upon. The idea of another tax review was thrown up and the government embraced this. My friend the member for Dunkley will remember—it was only a few short years ago but in fiscal years it is an eternity ago—that this was when the government was looking at surpluses of $20 billion plus coming down the line.

So they embarked on the Henry review, a 19-month process. I think it cost $10 million and they got 1,500 submissions. The Treasurer received the report and then he sat on it for about five months. When he released it, he cherry-picked one or two recommendations and distorted them. What we have had from this government is the announcement of a mining tax that will do huge damage to the mining sector and the Australian economy. The figures for that are included in the budget. We have had the announcement of a carbon tax which the Prime Minister, six days before the election and one day before the election, said would never be implemented under a government she led. The Treasurer said it was hysterical for anyone to say that the government would introduce a carbon tax. Both of these taxes have been announced and the government is proceeding with them in the budget, ahead of the so-called tax summit, which has become a forum and is becoming a seminar in October. This highlights the hypocrisy of those opposite.

Many years ago there was a tax summit. The Hawke and Keating government had a tax summit in 1985. It went for a whole week. Whether you liked the Hawke government or the Keating government—and I am the first to admit that some of the things that came out of that tax summit were very positive—they outlined principles for tax reform well in advance. They did not say: 'Let's have a review of the tax system. We don't have any idea what it should do. Ken Henry, please do it and come back with the report.' They had principles for tax reform and they conducted a real tax summit for an entire week. This is going to be 48 hours where the government will just seek to get through every excruciating minute. For Wayne Swan, this will be the equivalent of sitting through a sibling's speech night. For every excruciating minute he will sit there through the tax summit, looking at the clocks in Parliament House, counting down those 48 hours just like at NASA they count down the hours and the minutes before the take-off of a space shuttle. As soon as it starts, he will be counting down every single minute—48 hours in October without any discussion of the carbon tax or the mining tax.

This motion notes the government's hypocrisy and delay and it says that, should they want to push ahead with their carbon tax and their mining tax, as they do, the House should not consider legislation, if the tax summit is so important. But of course we know their summit, forum, seminar or meeting is not important. As soon as it begins, the Treasurer will be counting down the minutes. When it comes to tax reform, the government likes to talk the talk, but when they had the Henry review with its 1,500 submissions and 19 months what did they do with it? They hid the report for five months before dropping it out a few days before the budget and picking up and distorting just a couple of those recommendations.

The Australian public is waking up to this government. It is not interested in tax reform; it is interested in tax increases. It is interested in a carbon tax it promised it would never deliver, a carbon tax that the Prime Minister said six days before the election and one day before the election would not be introduced under the government she led. The public is seeing exactly what this government is about on tax reform. It is like any other promise—it is extinguishable. This promise has been diluted; it is disappearing before our eyes. By the time we get to October, there will be lots of talk but no action from this government. Whenever it is given the chance, it promises one thing and delivers another.

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