Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, would you please advise the House of the status of the repeal of the mining tax? Could you advise of any alternative approaches?

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

I thank the honourable member for the question and recognise that it is hugely important that we repeal the mining tax, because the mining tax has been a blight on the economic landscape of Australia since it was first invented by the member for Lilley. I want to apologise to the House, because I was a bit tough on the former Labor Treasurer Andrew Fisher. One hundred years ago, Andrew Fisher invented a tax that only fell short by 96 per cent. I thought at the time that the mining tax fell short by 95 per cent. But, since the last budget, we have now revised it to recognise that the mining tax is 97 per cent short. So the member for Lilley gets the golden handcuff for coming up with the worst tax in Australian history.

Now we are starting to get a picture of why Labor promised four surpluses in a row. It was because they were basing it on taxes that raised no money. Only the Labor Party could come up with a tax that raises no money. It is only a one in 100 year event, but both events occurred under a Labor treasurer. So that is a great tribute to the member for Lilley!

The Leader of the Opposition said, 'We want to keep that tax. It has been such a great success story'—having a tax that raises no money—'that we want to keep it.' 'That is good economic policy,' says the Leader of the Opposition. But he goes along to the Minerals Council and he whispers in their ear, 'Don't worry, it will go, because there are people in the House and in the Senate who understand mining and they're going to get rid of it. They've got the numbers. Don't worry. We really want to get rid of this tax'—but 'We so want to get rid of this tax, we're going to vote to keep it.' That is the consistency of the Leader of the Opposition.

But I am very pleased to report that there is one canary in the mine. There is a report of an unnamed Western Australian Labor member—

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

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

Unnamed. Who might that be? I do not know who that might be!

Government members interjecting—

I do not want to name her, but she apparently told caucus, 'We've got to get rid of this damn tax.' We agree—let's get rid of this damn mining tax. Against that mining tax that raises no money is $16 billion of expenditure. So every day Labor opposes getting rid of the mining tax it costs the budget and the Australian people.