Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I want to praise the member Durack for being entirely consistent in her determination to get rid of the carbon tax and to get rid of the mining tax. Everyone on this side of the House is entirely consistent. There are no hypocrites over here; there are no people who go around the country and say one thing and then come into this place and do something else. Where would those people be, who go around and say things to the rest of Australia and then come into this place and do something else? There is always someone on the Labor side that bells the cat. We thought it was always going to be, in relation to the mining tax, the member for Perth, who has repeatedly said that the mining tax is just outrageous. Yet, the member for Perth keeps voting in here to keep it. So she is inconsistent. I would not say it is the act of a hypocrite—I would not say that—but I would say it is entirely inconsistent. Of course we can always rely on Senator Mark Bishop, from Western Australia, who said only yesterday, 'For Western Australia the mining tax is seen as coming from Canberra. It is seen as intrusive, it is seen as a cost. Whilst it can be seen as a cost with benefits if government raises significant revenue and spends it on things that government does, if it fails to receive any revenue at all people will simply ask, why are you doing that, what is the value?'

We want to get rid of the mining tax. We want to get rid of the carbon tax. We are entirely consistent with the position that we took to the last election, and we want to get rid of these taxes because that is going to strengthen the Australian economy—it is going to deliver more jobs for everyday Australians and it is going to deliver greater prosperity. So we are entirely consistent. Unfortunately, the Labor Party is not. I seem to recall them saying they were going to terminate the carbon tax, yet they want to keep it. I thought they were embarrassed about the mining tax, as the Leader of the Opposition said to the Minerals Council and to the Business Council of Australia. He said don't worry, the mining tax was going to go—but he is voting to keep the mining tax. The Labor Party cry crocodile tears about pensioners but when they were in government they took the pension off 60,000 single mothers and now we know, in relation to carers, there is that same desperate inconsistency.

Mr Bowen interjecting—

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