Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I was asked about the increase in royalties for fines. I was asked about a statement in the Western Australian parliament—from whom I do not know and the context I do not know so I do not know if it is correct or not. But we are talking about the increase in royalties which was imposed on the people of Western Australia, the mining community of Western Australia, by the Western Australian government in their last budget and they did that despite the fact that there had been eight statements from the Premier of Western Australia that he would not do that. The conclusive one, the one that those opposite are so embarrassed about, is that, in their submission to the Commonwealth Grants Commission, they said they would not increase the royalties on fines. This is a submission they made to the Grants Commission in November last year and it does relate to the point that was in the question. This is what the Western Australian government submission to the Grants Commission says: 'The Premier recently indicated the state has no intention of increasing royalties'—no intention of increasing royalties in November last year. But it then went on to say the reason that he was not going to do it was that it would invoke a 'sovereign risk'. That was the submission from the government of Western Australia to the Grants Commission in November this year. So let us have no more of this nonsense that we have heard in the House and outside the House in the last 24 hours.

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