Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Sorry, I mean 'his close friend'. I do not mean any disrespect. I withdraw. But, although the senator's references to Work Choices made Mr Howard squirm in his seat a little bit, we know that Mr Howard provided strong leadership in arguing for putting a price on carbon. He argued at the 2007 election that we ought to put a price on carbon. What is more, he said, 'We should not wait for the rest of the world; we should show leadership.' Mr Howard provided that leadership in 2007, but the conservatives in the Senate, the real hardline right-wingers, ganged up to execute Mr Turnbull because he was far too progressive.

This government thinks this is a very important economic reform. It is an environmental reform and an economic reform that will serve Australia well. We have made the tough decision to transform our economy. What have the opposition contributed? They said no. That was their contribution to that debate. For months in the parliament they had nothing to contribute.

We now have the MRRT, a tax on the superprofits of mining companies. At a time when mining companies are making the largest profits in the history of mining companies in this country—they are making huge returns—this government said, 'We think it is a reasonable proposition that all Australians get some return for the use of their resources. After all, they are the resources of the Australian people.' We sought to put a tax on those superprofits. Some of the leading mining companies came to agree that that was a fair thing. They recognise that they are the Australian people's resources. Those resources can be used only once, so the Australian people have the right to ensure that they get benefit from those resources. We get the benefit of jobs and investments, but it is a perfectly reasonable proposition for all Australians to benefit from the use of their resources.

So we introduced the minerals resource rent tax into the House of Representatives, a major economic reform that will deliver $11 billion in revenue to the Australian people, and what did the opposition say? No. Not only did they say no but they now want rollback. What we are doing with the profits from the MRRT is investing in the superannuation of 8½ million Australians, particularly low-income Australians. Those earning less than $37,000 a year are getting concessional treatment. We are looking to give extra help to those people who most need to invest in their super to provide for a comfortable retirement. Two-thirds of those who will benefit are women because they have traditionally not done as well under the superannuation system. It is a major reform, benefiting the low paid and particularly women. That is what we are doing—taking the profits from the mining tax and giving it to low-income workers and female workers to ensure they have a better retirement, investing in their retirement and in their future.

We are also giving a tax cut to small business, allowing them to keep more of the money they earn to invest in their business and to employ people. We are also investing those profits in infrastructure to provide the roads and bridges that support the growth of our economy—things like the gateway in Western Australia, where we have invested around $480 million to support the developments around the airport area.

The Liberal Party are in such a mess. They have talked themselves into this position. They say, 'If we are elected to government at the next election we will take the tax cuts back out of the pockets of small business owners. We will take the superannuation benefits away from the low-income earners and female workers of Australia. We will take the money out of their pockets and—you know what?—we will give it to BHP and Rio Tinto.' That is where they have got to. They are going to say, 'You may be a struggling small business or a low-income earner but the money the Labor government gave you and invested in your future we are going to take back out of your pockets and we are going to give it to Rio Tinto and BHP because they are doing it really tough mining your resources.' What nonsense! They are making record profits. But the Liberal Party have got themselves into that position. I bet they are looking very hard for a way out of that. I look forward to that debate. The Liberal Party will argue that the mining companies are doing it tough and that they ought not pay fair taxation and that we ought to take the money out of the pockets of low-income workers and small businesses in this country in order to give it to the largest and most profitable miners in the country.

Not only are they saying, 'No,' but they are saying, 'Roll back.' This is where the modern Liberal Party under Tony Abbott are finished. This is where they have ended up. After a year or so of negativity and of saying, 'No, no, no,' to everything, they have ended up in this position with nothing to say about policy. In 20 minutes Senator Abetz had nothing to say about the way forward. He had nothing to say about the future.

Remember—and they went very quiet on this—they opposed the funding for flood relief in Queensland and Victoria. They opposed supporting the families of Queensland and Victoria to recover from the floods. That is where they have got to. They do not want to support flood victims but they do want to give the money back to BHP and Rio Tinto. This is what the Liberal Party have come to. They are so focused on negativity, opposing everything the government proposes, that they oppose flood relief to Queensland and Victoria. I have not heard much from them about that lately. That was another one of those 'die in a ditch until the last drop of blood' sort of promises that seem to have disappeared. The blood oath—

Honourable senators interjecting—