Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Hansard source

You have anticipated me wonderfully, Mr Acting Deputy President. The next words to come out of my mouth were to be: 'But I think I have strayed a little from the debate before the chamber on the exemption from income tax of disaster income recovery subsidy payments.' I will conclude my remarks; I do not want to delay the chamber. I will simply say that with the victims of Cyclone Yasi this sort of legislation is well received. It is certainly supported by the coalition and, as I say, it follows an initiative started by the Howard government some time ago. There are anxieties, if I might put it that way, with the recovery effort. I was told recently that the number of suicides in the town of Tully, which was one of the towns that received the direct brunt of Cyclone Yasi, have increased. That in itself is a tragedy.

I know a lot of small businesses in Mission Beach, Cardwell and Tully will not reopen. People had put their life savings into small businesses in those areas affected by the cyclone. In terms of being able to take advantage of the generosity of other Australians in making voluntary donations to various appeals and also of the Australian people as a whole through the flood tax—not Australian companies, I might add, but Australian people who will be contributing through the flood tax—the way that has been administered is causing some real concern and the rules relating to that have also caused some anxiety. I think it is not the time today or on this bill to go into that. Suffice to say that, as with so many things with the Labor Party at both federal and state level, the idea is good and the principle is correct but the administration of those relief schemes leaves a lot to be desired. Never is sufficient thought given to them. Never is sufficient thought paid to the importance of small business in those areas and of the small business people who create the jobs in all parts of Australia but particularly in regional Australia. As I say, I am distressed to hear that a number of them will not reopen their doors. But insofar as this legislation is concerned, as Senator Cormann has said, the coalition support the exemption from income tax of those subsidy payments and we urge support for this bill.