Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

People who live in the regions come advocating their causes. I welcome this, because this is what these funds should be about. As the member at the table says, those opposition members who come to my office are good local members—that is true. But, I tell you what, they could be better local members by telling their opposition leader to stop his blind opposition to this tax, because it is denying this vital investment in regional infrastructure, denying the opportunities for regions to grasp the opportunity in a two-speed economy, in a patchwork economy, to strengthen their economic and social base.

It is important, because the two common themes that all the regional bodies around the country talk about is the need to diversify their economic base. They looked at the regions that have done it and they understand those regions are the ones that have better employment prospects. They also know that their communities have to be more liveable. If they are going to attract people to their communities they have to provide the services and the facilities. That is what this Regional Development Australia Fund is about, and that is what investing in infrastructure is about. All those bids that the members come to me about are contingent on this tax passing. The risk to regional infrastructure in the regions is in the blind opposition from those that sit opposite.

It is also the case that the MRRT is a better designed tax for the mining sector than the royalties proposed by the states, because this is a tax that is only paid when a profit level is reached—unlike royalties, which are levied at the point of extraction, before any profit is made. I must say I find it strange that those in the mining sector, who continue to run the campaign against our tax, have said nothing about the royalties tax being increased in New South Wales and in Western Australia.

I say it is duplicitous. I also call it hypocritical, particularly when there are some who admit to having paid no tax in the mining sector for a significant number of years and think they should be paying less! What sort of a situation do they think they are in? This is the nonsense that they peddle.

The MRRT is not only important for regional Australia and for diversifying our economic base, but also is a fairer tax. It is a tax that redistributes the nation's wealth to secure the nation's future. It is about nation building and the creative transitioning of the nation. Just as we transitioned this economy for long-term sustainable growth in the eighties and nineties, Labor is using this as part of the exercise to look to the future and secure it.

These are bold reforms. Yes; they can be unpopular. Any vested interest group will complain if they think it is going to impact upon them. Unpopular it might be, but just as the floating of the dollar, the cutting of tariffs, the opening of the Australian economy, the introduction of superannuation and the introduction of Medicare were also unpopular, and opposed, these were decisions that Labor governments of the past persisted with.

And we are doing the same with this—not because we want to impose burdens, but because we want to spread the benefits to secure the future for the great opportunities that are ahead. Just think of the challenges that are in our region—the challenges of food security, water security, energy and resource security and skills development. These are all spaces that Australia not only plays well in but excels in.

If we want to continue to encourage diversification of the economy, investment in infrastructure and development of skills, energy and creativity, then we have to pursue these types of reforms. That is why our budgets—all of them—have invested so heavily in the drivers of economic growth: skills, innovation and infrastructure. The biggest infrastructure of the lot has been the National Broadband Network to connect the nation better, not just with itself but with the rest of the world.

This bill enables that investment to be built upon. That is why it needs to be seen as an important cog in the wheel. In the history of this country Labor governments have always been the dynamic leaders and provided the momentum for regional development, ultimately leading to significant national development. That is what this tax is about and that is why I join with all of those on our side of the parliament in urging this House to pass it.

See this speech in context