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

I have to say that that last little bit was pretty entertaining—a sort of little mea culpa: 'We could have done this a little bit better.' Remember, at the time you had the world's greatest Treasurer! Do you recall that? It takes the world's best Treasurer to be able to devise a tax that not only does not raise any tax but actually creates a liability. That is a pretty impressive effort. I can see him out there now, touting his CV: 'Yes, I've devised my own taxes. I could do really well for you as your CFO or perhaps as a chairman or as a board member. I could show you how to lose money, how to create a liability, at the same time dressing it up as something that is going to create an income.' That is pretty damn impressive! I am not quite sure that it is going to cut the mustard, though, when you are out there in the real world where people have to make real profits.

It is quite extraordinary. Here we are at the death knell of this pathetic tax, and we have the member for Perth, who, as I recall—and I think I quote you accurately; please feel free to interject if I get this wrong—said this to her colleagues. I presume that the member for Lilley, the former Treasurer, was there at the time. She said:

I think it would be fair to say that the mining tax hasn't done the job that it was designed to do …

Have I got that right? Have I got that right, Member for Perth?

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