Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, I am sorry; I am getting advice from a tax accountant and a barrister who say that you can. You may be right, Senator—you are a barrister. But if you are wrong, God help the farmers because it will be a disaster of massive proportions if there is some chance of a tax deduction on land.

The smart way out of this, Senator Conroy, would be to report progress, go and get an opinion from someone who has worked in this area, such as a tax barrister, and report back to the Senate. If you are wrong and Senators Joyce and Milne are right, then we are in deep trouble. I am offering you the proposition that we report progress, get on to the next piece of legislation and then revisit this tomorrow or the next day. I would hate to be the minister at the table when this went through if I was wrong. You would carry that through with you until your dying day. The smart thing to do would be to just report progress, get on with the next piece of legislation and get some strong advice on this tomorrow from some tax barristers, the Solicitor-General or the Government Solicitor—then we will not be flying in the dark.