Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind the Prime Minister of the words of her pledge to pull the curtains back and 'let the sun shine in'. Why did she not give the parliament all the facts before trying to ram her mining tax through this parliament in the dead of night? When will she end the special arrangements and the secret deals which make Bob Brown the real Prime Minister of this country?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

After a night of saying no, no, no, no to a minerals resource rent tax to ensure that all Australians can share in the opportunities that come with this resources boom, we see the Leader of the Opposition come into this place and continue his campaign of relentless negativity. If the Leader of the Opposition had worked his way through this morning, he would have seen the following: I have verified publicly that the government has decided to action a modest savings measure which we had in contemplation in the course of preparing for the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. The details of this modest savings measure were released this morning. They were released so that we could go through a proper process of contacting stakeholders.

But the real thing that amazes me about the Leader of the Opposition's question is the suggestion that he would be interested in anything that looked like the facts—as if the facts have ever informed a decision of the Leader of the Opposition. If he cared about the facts then he would recognise that the Australian economy is in a time of transformation when our big miners, particularly, are super-profitable. Our big miners have worked to reach an agreement with the government that they will pay more tax. Those big miners are making their profits from the minerals wealth in our ground that belongs to all Australians. During this time of our nation's development it is the right thing to do and the fair thing to do for Australians around the nation to ask those big miners to pay more tax—miners who are super-profitable—so that can be used to share the opportunities from the resources boom to bring a fair share to working people.

That fair share will come in the form of backing an increase in superannuation, better retirement incomes and a better pool of national savings. It will come with better investments in mining infrastructure. Mining brings benefits to communities, but it also brings strain and consequently we need more investment in infrastructure. It will share the opportunities of the mining boom by giving special tax breaks to small business—to those hardworking Australians who use their spirit of entrepreneurship to make a living for themselves and to employ others. Those Australians will enjoy an instant asset write-off of $6,500 as they invest in their businesses. At the same time, we will cut company tax for businesses that pay company tax to spread the opportunities of the mining boom.

If the Leader of the Opposition cared at all about the facts then he would not have come into this parliament in the early hours of this morning and voted no, no, no to a fair share for working Australians from the benefits of the resources boom.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have a supplementary question to the Prime Minister, Mr Speaker. Is the Prime Minister aware that the head of Xstrata said yesterday that her mining tax would cost investment and cost jobs? Is she still peddling the lie that the miners want to pay this tax?

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, the reference in the Leader of the Opposition's question is unparliamentary. It should be withdrawn.

Mr Abbott interjecting—

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

I checked with the Leader of the Opposition, by way of explanatory interjection, which word was used.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If it would help, is she still peddling the line that the miners want to pay her big new tax?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am well used to the fact that the Leader of the Opposition thinks that politics is about abusing me, not describing policies in the nation's interest. Of course, what it does is disappoint working Australians that each and every time the Leader of the Opposition is called upon to turn his mind to the national interest he just says no. As the Leader of the Opposition well knows, the government entered an agreement with Australia's biggest mining companies, through a process of consideration and work through a policy transition group involving the Minister for Resources and Energy as well as the Deputy Prime Minister. We have worked through to settle the details. We have determined that it is the right thing that super-profitable miners pay more tax. Whilst they are at this period of our nation's economic transformation and the transformation of the region in which we live where they can command superprofits, they should pay more tax so that Australians can share in the benefits of that resources boom.

I well understand that the Leader of the Opposition, if required to choose—as he was last night—between the interests of working Australians and small business entrepreneurs and businesses in other sectors outside mining and the interests of those super-profitable big miners, will tick the super-profitable big miners on every occasion. Between a working family and a big mining company, he picks the big mining company. Between the interests of a small business entrepreneur, working hard day in and day out to provide for their family and to employ other Australians, and the interests of a big mining company, he will choose the big mining company. Rather than the interests of an Australian working hard so that they can have a decent retirement, he will choose the interests of the big mining company. That is what he voted for last night; that is what every member of the coalition—with one notable absence—voted for last night. They voted for big miners who have agreed to pay more tax and to get that tax back, to the detriment of working Australians and their jobs around this nation. The Leader of the Opposition knows that they are the facts and that is where his relentless negativity has led him. He has no policies in the interests of working Australians. Whenever he is called upon he bandwagons with the big miners, as he just did in that question.

Deborah O'Neill (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline for the House the importance of spreading the opportunities of the mining boom to create jobs right across our country?

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

I thank the member for Robertson for her very important question. In the House last night we passed legislation that will stand the test of time, against the rabid objections of everyone on that side of the House. We had the foresight to seize the national interest, and the courage to act. That is what is required of government given the challenges that we face in this country and in our region.

We have seen mining profits jump something like 250 per cent in the last decade. That demands a resource rent based tax. These resources are non-renewable; they can only be sold once. Because of the mining boom and because of what is happening in the Asian century, we know that our economy is facing profound structural changes. Not everybody is in the fast lane of the mining boom. Many people in small business are being left behind. What we must do is spread the benefit of this boom to every corner of our country. That is what the government has had the foresight to do.

Over 18 months ago we moved to put in place a resource rent tax, the MRRT, so we could give a boost to small business and boost the superannuation savings of Australian workers, and so that the benefits could be spread right across our country by ensuring that the superprofits are taxed on 20 to 30 of our largest mining companies and distributed around our country. This will give small businesses that $6,500 instant asset write-off, so important to get cash flow and business investment. There is all of that, plus the need to invest in infrastructure, particularly in our mining regions and places like Mackay, Rockhampton and right up the Queensland coast, and in Western Australia, particularly up in the north-west, and of course in places like the Hunter. Investing in infrastructure in those great mining regions is very important.

But, most importantly, we are boosting the superannuation savings of 8.4 million workers. Those ships which are heading over the horizon will be contributing to the retirement savings of eight million Australian workers. We know that we have to build a national savings pool to build our nation. We know that, as a capital-hungry country, we do need to lift our national savings. What better way to build sovereign wealth funds—eight million of them—than to boost the superannuation savings of eight million workers?

We know that these two measures are opposed by those opposite. They have been captured by special interests and by vested interests—by a few large mining companies—and they are dancing to their tune. They have sold Australia short. But last night in this parliament we took the hard decisions for the future. We have a leader who is capable of taking the hard decisions. We have a leader who has foresight about what we have to do for future generations, unlike those opposite, where there is no leadership—it is all opposition. All we get from this Leader of the Opposition is aggression, but there is no substance—none at all.

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

My question is to the Treasurer. Given the number of secret deals, compromises, negotiated agreements and special arrangements that have been entered into by the government to pass its mining tax through the House of Representatives and the $3 billion hit to the revenue estimates due to increased state royalties, how does the Treasurer expect to fund the $6 billion hole he has created in the mining tax?

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

The shadow Treasurer should not judge everybody else by his standards. He has got a $70 billion crater in his budget bottom line and he has got the hide to stand up in this House and ask us about our forward estimates. What you will see from this government, and what you will continue to see, is very strict fiscal discipline. We will bring our budget back into surplus in 2012-13 and we will give an update of our budget in the normal way through the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. We will do all of those things because we are serious about fiscal policy. The hide of those getting up to argue about a hole in the budget when they have a $70 billion hole in theirs just belies the fact that they have completely lost the plot when it comes to the national economy. We stand by our published estimates. They will be updated shortly and then the weight will be on the opposition to see how responsible they are.

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How is the government spreading the opportunities from mining the resources that Australians own?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question and I thank her for her interest in how in this phase of our economy's transformation and change we are going to ensure that Australians around the nation get their fair share. As a Labor government when this nation was confronted by the global financial crisis, we did what needed to be done to keep Australians in jobs, because we were determined that in that phase of the nation's economy when that international threat loomed we would keep Australians working, and we are very proud of the track record of creating jobs in this country—more than 700,000 of them. We achieved that working with employers, businesses large and small, and also with the trade union movement to keep people in work.

Now, as we look at the circumstances of our economy, what we know is our nation is enjoying a resources boom, and that is a good thing. When we look at this, the Asian century, we know that the demand for our resources will be sustained over time and that the prices paid for them will be high against historic averages. In those circumstances, with a part of the economy turbocharged, with big mining companies making superprofits, many Australians are legitimately asking themselves the question, 'The resources boom is a good thing but what does it mean for me and my family?' The resources boom is a good thing now, but well into the future, in the days that lie beyond this resources boom, what will Australia do then? What will our economy look like then? These are legitimate questions being asked by Australians. In the House of Representatives in the early hours of this morning the government provided a substantial part of the answer.

The way in which we will manage this period of economic change is by having an efficient profits based tax for that section of the economy that is turbocharged and by using that to share opportunity around the country. How will those opportunities be shared? Working Australians can look forward to a better retirement as a result of this new taxation arrangement, backing in changes to superannuation from nine per cent to 12 per cent. That will mean an extra $108,000 in retirement income for a 30-year-old today. It will also mean growth in our $1.3 trillion pool of national savings and national assets so important to us during the global financial crisis. It will also mean tax relief for hardworking small business people who are taking the risks, who are doing the hard yards and who are working weekends to provide for themselves and their families and to employ other Australians. The measures will assist 2.7 million small businesses employing around five million people. At the same time, we will cut the company tax rate to share the opportunity and jobs which come with the resources boom. Because we understand that mining bring benefits but it also brings hunger for infrastructure in mining communities, we will invest $6 billion in the infrastructure the nation needs.

This is the right economic policy setting for this period of our nation's growth and transformation. It is about jobs, it is about growth, it is about fairness to working Australians and it is a stark contrast to the relentless negativity, the saying of no, no, no by the opposition as they did last night when they rejected superannuation for working Australians, rejected jobs growth for working Australians and rejected growth in our national savings. (Time expired)