Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

Ensuring the Australian people and the whole of the economy receive some of the benefits from the mining boom is good economic policy. It is about securing Australian jobs. Those of us on this side will back Australia's manufacturers and Austra­lia's small businesses by ensuring we deliver a lower company tax rate.

But what do we have from the opposition? The Leader of the Opposition says that the mining tax is 'a dagger aimed at the heart of the Australian economy'. The only dagger aimed at the heart of the Australian economy is the relentless negativity and the economic incompetence of the Leader of the Opposition, who is seriously saying to the Australian people: 'We want mining compa­nies to pay less tax. We want Australian manufacturers and Australian small business to pay more tax. We are opposed to more superannuation savings and we are opposed to regional infrastructure.'