Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Capricornia for her question. She is very committed to the mining industry and, indeed, sharing the prosperity of the mining boom throughout Australia. The minerals resource rent tax is about a fair deal for all Australians from Australia's non-renewable natural resources. It is a very good idea. We have an unprecedented boom in the mining industry. This is due, of course, to the ongoing rise of Asian economies. We have the highest terms of trade in 140 years. Eventually the penny will drop with the opposition that this mining boom is extraordinary, the likes of which we have never seen before.

Whilst this mining boom is bringing great benefits for many within the mining industry, we are also seeing at the same time a patchwork economy. Not all of Australia is going as well as the mining sector. It is important when we have benefits from the mining boom that we share the prosperity across the whole Australian economy. That is why when the Gillard government introduces the mining resource rent tax it is our intention to pass on the benefits of the mining boom to all parts of Australia. That is why we want to lower corporate tax to 29 per cent. That is why we want to raise compulsory superannuation for all Australians from nine per cent to 12 per cent. That is why we want to have better infrastructure across the whole of this continent to make sure that all can benefit. That is why we want simplified taxes for all Australians.

The question I was asked also talked about inconsistency. I understand that the Leader of the Opposition thinks that miners are paying too much tax. He said it on his radio station of choice, 2GB, on 26 May. He thinks the miners are paying more than their fair share of tax now. How can he think that when Rio Tinto, Xstrata and BHP have set new records for profits in this most extraordinary mining boom? The Leader of the Opposition also says that the mining resource rent tax will kill off the industry. He said it is guaranteed. He said that in a doorstop on 10 June. Yet in that same period we have seen mining capital expenditure go from $35 billion to $51 billion this year and forecast at over $80 billion next year.

The Leader of the Opposition would have you believe that raising this minerals resource rent tax is bad for the economy. On the contrary, we say to 2.7 million small businesses: 'This is good for you. We want you to share in the prosperity.' As much as the opposition do not like hearing about inconsistency, they always take the path of least resistance. When there is the option of lazy economics they are always first to the front of the queue. They would have you believe that, if they were to form the government of this nation, they would cut the mining taxes to the richest companies in Australia, yet sack 12,000 hardworking Commonwealth public servants. They would have you believe that raising superannuation to 12 per cent is a bad idea, but they pay themselves 15 per cent. Furthermore, they would have you believe that lowering corporate tax to 29 per cent is a bad idea, yet they would put a Coles and Woolworths tax on that clanger of an idea that you forecast.

In fact, the only time when the opposition are not inconsistent was on the Funniest Home Videosnews clip on Saturday in Perth. The Leader of the Opposition looked everywhere but at the question. He was struck dumb. He was like a man in a round room looking for a corner. (Time expired)

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