Andrew Robb (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Coalition Policy Development Committee) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to his comment to the National Press Club on the day after the budget: 'We brought a super profits tax in at precisely the time the super profits disappeared.' If so-called 'super profits' have disappeared, on what basis has the Treasurer decided to forecast that the mining tax revenue will increase over 1,000 per cent from $200 million this year to $2.2 billion in 2016-17?

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

We have now had a repeat of the attack on the Treasury forecast, this time from the shadow finance minister. Let the Hansard record another attack on the Treasury by the finance spokesman and another attack on the Treasury by the shadow Treasurer today. Why is this happening? This is happening because they want to erect a Trojan Horse which will cover up the fact that they are not going to have their policies costed and detailed and put before the Australian people before the election. What they are doing is following the Campbell Newman playbook. The Campbell Newman playbook was: don't tell the people of Queensland what you are going to do before the election. Then, if you get elected, you have an audit commission. Then you sack 14,000 people and you hack away—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Seniors) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Speaker, on a point of order: page 569 of the Practice indicates that ministers should not engage in irrelevancies like comparing opposition policies. There are four suggested solutions. I must say it has the clang of an empty vessel.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member will resume her seat. It was an abuse. The Treasurer has the call.

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

The MRRT is forecast to raise $5.5 billion over the forward estimates. How much would the opposition raise? Zero, absolutely zero! So for them to turn their noses up at MRRT revenue also shows how irresponsible they are and how they are driven by ideology. That ideology is very simple: get stuck into working people and get stuck into the benefits that working people receive from government, which is exactly what they are about to do by ripping away the schoolkids bonus.

Look at their paid parental leave scheme. They are going to give $75,000 to millionaires and rip away the schoolkids bonus from people on modest wages. What does that say about their priorities?

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer will return to the question.

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

I will tell you what it says about their priorities. They are quite happy to get rid of the MRRT, which is a tax on super profits and works as it should: when they go up, it taxes; when they go down, it does not. We just happen to have had in the second part of last year the biggest drop in commodity prices that we have seen in many, many years. But that does not mean to say that an MRRT or a PRRT is not an important tax to have in our system to make sure the Australian people get value from the minerals they own 100 per cent. Those opposite do not have that belief. They think these are owned by the companies themselves and the individuals. They are quite happy to give them a free go. We on this side of the House will always do the right thing by people on low and middle incomes and we will keep doing it.