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

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to his letter of 10 May to the Special Minister of State, where he advised:

Since the government’s tax reforms involve changes to the value of some capital assets, they impact on financial markets.

Treasurer, will you now detail, in full view of the Australian people, all the data and numbers that underpin that statement?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I certainly thank the shadow Treasurer for that question. When big changes are made to the tax system, there is always a need for a public information campaign. We have in place some very big changes to the Australian taxation system—not just the modernisation of our taxation of minerals but also cuts to the company tax rate, accelerated cuts to the company tax rate for small businesses and changes to the treatment of interest income, with a 50 per cent tax discount and a standard deduction. There are a whole set of very complex changes which are a very big economic reform for Australia, and the only responsible thing to do in preparing for that change is in fact to put in place a public information campaign.

Of course, we funded this public information campaign in the budget. I do not recall anyone from the opposition, either at budget time and/or subsequently in estimates, being remotely concerned about the fact that there was going to be a public information campaign, because it is entirely legitimate to have a public information campaign in these circumstances. And it is entirely legitimate to do it without legislation, because those opposite know they have done that as well—they have put in place public information campaigns when big and complex changes have been in prospect. The government, as the Prime Minister said before, was contemplating a public information campaign from early this year, as we came to the decision to put in place these very big changes to our tax system.

Now, of course, that brings us through to the period when we launched these proposals. I launched them in Parliament House with the Prime Minister and other ministers on 2 May and just prior to that we had the beginnings of the scare campaign, from the likes of Clive Palmer and all of the mates of those opposite, about the prospect of us having a superprofits tax in the mining industry. But even I was shocked by how brazen some of these people in the mining industry were, because after we launched—

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

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order that does go to relevance. I asked the Treasurer to release all the information that underpinned his statement, not Clive Palmer’s or anyone else’s, so his statement—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for North Sydney has made his point of order. The Treasurer will relate his material to the question.

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government announced these tax changes on 2 May. And what did we see happen through that week from 2 May? There was one miner that said his company was in trouble, said he was going to close his operations in Australia and then turned around the next day and bought a million shares. But that is not misconduct; that is nothing, given what is going on in the markets when it comes to those opposite. There was also a report that week from one of our largest companies that said they were going to shelve projects worth billions of dollars, and they were forced the next morning to make a clarification at the stock exchange.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The question was very specific. It quoted the Treasurer’s own letter and then asked him for the basis upon which his claims were made, the data. It did not ask him anything to do with any of these—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Sturt will resume his seat.

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Hall interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Shortland can do her job and I will try to do my job. On the point of order, the Treasurer knows his responsibility to relate his remarks to the question.

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Also during this week the mining council went to press with paid advertising—once again misleading paid advertising. So there are three examples which have the potential to impact on the market. But this is all irrelevant to those opposite because they are in bed with some mining companies campaigning against this tax. They are nothing but a tool of the mining companies in this debate. It was events like those that had me write to Senator Ludwig asking to bring the information campaign forward, and in those circumstances that was entirely legitimate.