Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

What I can confirm for Senator Sterle is that yesterday we implemented the policy we took to the last election. On this side of the chamber we understand that the budget is not a magic pudding. The Labor Party waltzed around the countryside for six years and they made promises left, right and centre, unfunded. We said to the Australian people very openly and transparently in the lead-up to the last election that we would scrap the mining tax, because it is a bad tax for the economy. It has hurt Australia; it has particularly hurt our home state of Western Australia, Senator Sterle. It has cost jobs. We said we would get rid of the mining tax and we also said we would get rid of all of the unfunded promises that Labor recklessly and irresponsibly attached to that tax. Yesterday, the Senate voted to support our election commitment to scrap the mining tax. Thank you very much to the senators, particularly in the Palmer United Party—