Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: "the requested amendments be made".

Today the government has a chance to end this rolling mess. Today the parliament have a chance to put this government's rolling imbroglio, which has gone on since the 2015 budget, to an end. Today we can fix this government's incompetence by telling this government it has got it wrong, and the House of Representatives can agree with the Senate. Today the government lost a vote in the Senate. It has lost its position that the backpacker tax should be at 19 per cent. The Senate has resolved that it should be at 10½ per cent. Today the House of Representatives should agree with the Senate and put this issue to bed and give Australia's farmers, horticulturalists, growers and tourism industry the certainty that the parliament has finally put this government's incompetence on this issue to an end. Today the House of Representatives can say to the government that it has got it wrong consistently and the government can finally admit it.

This is a measure not from this Treasurer's budget; this is a measure from the budget in 2015. This has rolled on continually since then. It is already causing backpacker numbers in Australia to decline. You would think that the Liberal Party, the party that pretends to understand business, and the National Party, the party that pretends to understand regional Australia, would finally take this chance to listen. On this side of the House we know that not only are backpackers necessary in certain industries in Australia but they spend what they earn in regional Australia. They spend it on tourism operations. They spend it on hospitality. They spend it in the towns they live in where they are working and earning money. Those towns are suffering and will continue to suffer under this Treasurer unless he recognises the error of his ways.

The Deputy Prime Minister was out this morning fulminating in his normal calm, rational and sensible style that this was some sort of breach of a settlement. I am not sure who the settlement was between—the Deputy Prime Minister and the Treasurer perhaps, but nobody else was invited. Certainly the agriculture sector were not invited and certainly the tourism sector were not invited, because they know that 19 per cent is too high. Here we have Treasurer Morrison arguing for higher taxes today in this House and this side of the House saying: 'You've got it wrong, Treasurer. We should have a competitive tax rate with New Zealand. We should have a tax rate that says that backpackers can come and work here and can be competitive.'

I want to deal with one particular problem that the government has put up in this debate—one particularly egregious error—that somehow the Labor Party's compromise proposal sees Australian workers paying more tax than backpackers. That is just not true, and not only does the government know it but, I tell you what, the Minister for Finance knows it because he was just asked a few minutes ago on Sky News to agree with the Treasurer and the Deputy Prime Minister and he did not. He would not. I say this of the finance minister: the finance minister knows that there is a problem when you tell an untruth on Sky News. It can come up and you can be reminded of it. The finance minister was not that stupid. The finance minister was smart enough not to back his Treasurer. The finance minister was smart enough and honourable enough to tell the truth.

I have talked about the government and the opposition. I say this to the House this afternoon—through you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Earlier in the week, National Party members were prepared to cross the floor to allow more shotguns into Australia, they felt so strongly about that issue. I say to the National Party: cross the floor today and stand up for regional Australia. Cross the floor today, right now, and say to your sectors, your industries and your regions: 'We've delivered for you.' Otherwise, the member for Dawson, the member for Mallee and all of them have to go home this afternoon and say to their communities: 'We voted for 19 per cent. We voted against 10½. We voted against a more competitive tax rate.' That is what the National Party members will have to explain to their communities on the weekend. They will have to explain why they refused to see this rolling sore come to an end—because I tell you what, Mr Deputy Speaker: if my motion does not pass the House today, the government are going to have some serious thinking to do next week. They are going to have some serious explaining to do next week to those sectors and to those industries. The government next week just might want to reconsider their position because, otherwise, there is going to be a 32½ per cent tax applied in this country—and, despite the Treasurer's denials, it will be his responsibility.

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