Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Conroy, in case you have not read it, there is a 'Statement of Accounting Concepts', with a chapter 'Objectives of general purpose financial reporting', which is a nice summary of why general purpose accounting is really important. I know, because I have chatted to Andrew Leigh, a member of parliament, about the work the Labor Party wants to do in the future on tax disclosure and on multinational reporting, that things such as profit shifting, thin capitalisation and transfer pricing—this is where you get your information on what actually does need to change.

These things are being discussed in the context of the G20, but we have a chance to lead the pack before the G20, to take some action here today to put in place legislation that will kick a goal for multinational tax avoidance. That is what we are dealing with here today. Let us move the debate to why we need general purpose accounting, why that is a good amendment that will be put up by the Australian Greens and was put up originally by Senator Xenophon and then let us discuss why the $200 million threshold is a good start. It is easy to come in here and to say, 'We could've done better. If you'd left it to us, the government would've crumbled,' but I know, and this is what the Greens discussed and is why we have arrived at this great result today—