Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on collections of the mining tax so far? How will getting rid of the mining tax boost the economy and boost the budget?

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

I thank the honourable member for the question and note that he wants to get rid of the mining tax. In fact, everyone on this side of the House wants to get rid of the mining tax, but it is the Labor Party that wants to keep the mining tax. Now, it is not everyone in the Labor Party who wants to keep the mining tax—I was being a little tough on the member for Perth. I was being a little tough on her because we know she wants to get rid of the mining tax. And we know that Senator Bishop, that is the Labor Senator Bishop in the Senate, wants to get rid of the mining tax. And we know from a sovereign risk perspective, they want to get rid of the mining tax—every investor wants to get rid of the mining tax.

The mining tax is a complete failure. The mining tax was meant to raise $12 billion. But I can proudly report to this parliament that in the last three months the mining tax raised $600,000. I wonder who the poor sucker was who actually paid that $600,000 in mining tax? I doubt it was BHP. I doubt it was Rio. That $600,000 is one per cent of what the Labor Party expected the tax would raise in its last budget.

I saw that the member for Lilley has penned a book. He said he was incredibly proud of that budget, proud of a budget where the mining tax raised just one per cent

I can only leave it to Martin Ferguson, the former member for Batman, who said in relation to the mining tax, '… we created mess.' The Labor Party created the mess. The problem is that the modern Labor Party wants to keep the mess. That is the problem. They have allocated $17 billion of expenditure against a tax that raises no money. Then they have shock, absolute shock, when they see the budget in deficit, because, 'How does that add up? We are spending $17 billion against a tax that raises no money and we are now surprised that there is a deficit'! It is basic: if you do not have the revenue to pay the bills you are going to be in deficit. The bottom line is that you cannot keep increasing the debt, because sooner or later you are going to have to pay it back.