Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

For the minister’s benefit, I will say what those local government areas are. He might not be aware of people in his home state who have been the subject of this natural disaster relief assistance, but they are from 11 local government areas: Break O’Day, Burnie, Central Coast, Devonport, Dorset, Kentish, Latrobe, Meander, Northern Midlands, Waratah-Wynyard and West Tamar.

So, Minister, it is a very simple question. Senator Xenophon has very helpfully pointed you to the evidence of Treasury officials stating that some of these people may be exempt. But can you confirm in this chamber for us today that all these people who received natural disaster relief funding from the Commonwealth will be exempt from the flood tax? To be honest, the way these decisions have been made so far is highly unsatisfactory. Initially the decision was that it would be only those who had been subject to a flood event. Then the minister, at risk of a bad headline the next day in the West Australian, made a decision on the run, on the spot, to exclude and exempt the good people of Kelmscott who had been subject to a bushfire tragedy.