Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

It is all related to the mining tax, thank you very much, Senator Sterle, because the minerals resource rent tax is yet another example of policy from this government that does not properly consider regional Australia. It is absolutely relevant. The trade minister talks about considering properly the impact of foreign ownership and foreign control, and says they are going to risk our free trade agreements. They are free trade agreements; they are not feel-free-to-buy-up-our-country agreements. The fact that the minister will not properly consider the long-term ramifications of this is yet another example of the shambolic policy that we see from this government when it comes to regional communities. The minerals resource rent tax is just another. When we look at that tax we see what it is going to do. As I said earlier, it is divisive and it is going to pit company against company.

The fact that the minister spoke to only three out of goodness knows how many companies it is actually going to affect is absolutely extraordinary. This lack of consultation is something that we see through legislation time and time again from this government. The minerals resource rent tax is no different at all. It is extraordinary. As I said earlier, it is going to make things worse. It is going to leave the budget worse off. The revenue is going to be highly volatile and downward trending.