Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill 2013 and indicate that I oppose this legislation that is being introduced by the government. I have had the opportunity of listening to both Senator Urquhart and Senator Thorp and find myself in furious agreement with them on the reasons for opposing this very bad piece of public policy.

I think it is worth starting my contribution to this debate by pointing out that the legislation which this bill seeks to repeal was one of the really terrific things that the former Gillard government was able to do in its time in government. I personally am very proud to have been part of a government that introduced that legislation and that got it through the parliament. We as a country are now seeing the financial benefits of that legislation in our tax system. It was a controversial piece of legislation at the time. It took the tremendous negotiating skills and talents of former Prime Minister Gillard to reach an outcome. She sat down with senior officials in the mining industry and negotiated an outcome. I guess it is true to say that the money that we thought was going to come from that legislation has not yet arrived—