Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

If ever there was any doubt that the Labor Party and the Greens are doing deals, this of course is it. The Australian Greens float a proposition and then the Labor Party dutifully prepares the amendments for and on behalf of the Australian Greens. Unfortunately, these amendments, as is so often the case with this particular government, reflect that it does not know what it is doing and it then tries to cobble together its policy whilst on the run. This amendment, as I understand it, will completely remove the luxury car tax. It will not just be the exemption of the eight per cent; it will be the removal of the current 25 per cent luxury car tax from vehicles in the price bracket of $57,180 through to $75,000. The reason for this is that this will apply to vehicles that are described as ‘low-emission vehicles’—vehicles that do seven litres per 100 kilometres or less. It sounds good on the face of it, but let us examine what it will actually do in practice.

First of all remember that there are lots of cars under that threshold of $57,180 and above the $75,000 cut-off point which are fuel-efficient vehicles. What are the tax benefits for them? Nil, zero, zilch—nothing at all. So somehow the environment is going to be saved by providing some sort of exemption in this very narrow price bracket. Undoubtedly, global warming will stop and everything will be—