Mal Brough (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I will not take too much time. Can we just ask the next speakers from the Labor Party to answer a couple of basic questions. We accept that the member for Shortland is concerned about this, as we all are. But I say to the member for Shortland—not so much the member who just addressed us because he is only a new member here—that this issue was actually brought to the attention of the public by the ATO, saying that it was going to have a draft ruling, more than 12 months ago—12 months under the Labor government. It was brought to the attention of the then Assistant Treasurer. I was an Assistant Treasurer and I know that you have backbench meetings and that this would have been raised. I just ask the next contributor to the debate to answer: did any Labor member stand in this place in the 12 months under the Labor government throughout 2012 saying, 'This should not change. This is correct'? Did anyone raise it or are we actually now at the eleventh hour trying to create blame for a government? I am not blaming the Labor government for it, but I am saying to those opposite: if you raised it then, were you blaming your side of government? Or are we actually here to try to rectify the issue? That is what we should be trying to do.

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