Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Carr representing the Minister for Resources and Energy. I was fascinated by Senator Carr’s answer to Senator Cormann when the minister said that this great big new tax on mining was all about growing jobs. I ask the minister: how does he reconcile that statement with the statement by Queensland’s Labor Premier Anna Bligh, and her damning criticism, that this tax grab on the resources sector will ‘undermine efforts to create 100,00 new jobs in Queensland’?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is quite clear that the opposition are not prepared to actually engage in this matter. The modelling that we have undertaken as a government highlights that under these new arrangements we will see mining investment actually rise. It will go up. What we will see is an increase in the number of jobs. There will be an increase in mining production. I am sure if the opposition were prepared to read the KPMG reports on these matters that they would notice that there will be an expansion of GDP as a result of these changes.

What we have here is a highly responsible measure aimed at ensuring that Australians and the community as a whole enjoy the benefit of increased economic activity and we do so by supporting a change in the fundamental tax rate across all companies. We provide additional resources for infrastructure to facilitate increased export. We also provide for a social justice measure in terms of funding superannuation benefits for Australian workers. These are measures that the opposition clearly cannot come to terms with.

What we have is an opposition that are led by a group of economic knuckle draggers. We have an opposition that are not interested in economic management. We have an opposition that find economics boring. It is no wonder that the opposition rely on newspaper headlines rather than doing the proper research that is required to ensure that they have a better grasp of what actually is going on as distinct from their blind prejudices. (Time expired)

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I ask the minister: does he use the term ‘blind prejudices’ when he refers to his Queensland Labor colleague Premier Anna Bligh who said that this tax will undermine her efforts to create 100,000 new jobs? Further, Minister, are you aware of the criticism by the mayors of Mount Isa, Cloncurry and Mackay, who all damned this as a big attack on job creation and on small business in their communities?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was referring to the opposition. It is an opposition that has no plan. It is an opposition that seems to know nothing about developing a plan. It is an opposition that has no policies. It is an opposition that is committed to opposition and nothing else. Of course it is not surprising; the opposition has never had a plan in this whole parliament. What we have seen is an opposition—

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, a point of order on the grounds of relevance. There is no way my question in any way related to the opposition’s plan, which is all Minister Carr has spoken about. My question related to the Queensland Labor Premier, Anna Bligh, and her damning criticism of this great big new tax on the mining resource industry.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the point of order, it may be that the questioner, Senator Macdonald, did not recall the beginning of his sentence but he did start with ‘blind prejudice’. Senator Carr was responding in relation to that issue. Clearly, Senator Carr has been on point in relation to answering the question. It is a matter for Senator Carr whether he deals with each part of the question in seriatim or which point he goes to, but there were three major points that were raised by Senator Macdonald in his question. One went to blind prejudice, the second went to the tax issue and the third went to criticism by the mayors of Mount Isa and Cloncurry. Therefore, Senator Carr has been answering the three parts of that question and has been very relevant to the question.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Carr, I draw your attention to the question. You have 37 seconds remaining to answer the question.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am referring directly to the question about the blind prejudice of the opposition, who are opposing the super act guarantee that we are introducing. They are opposing the expansion of superannuation concessions for low-income earners. They are opposing support for small business in terms of the depreciation arrangements. They are opposing the infrastructure spending that we are proposing with regard to $5.6 billion over the next decade. They are opposed, of course, to the resource exploration rebates and they are opposed to the cuts in company taxation. What else could that be but blind prejudice from an incompetent opposition? (Time expired)

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I take it then that Minister Carr includes Anna Bligh in his accusation of blind prejudice. It would be interesting for Comrade Bligh to hear about that. I ask the minister further: what does he think of Labor Premier Bligh’s estimate that $100 billion in mining activity will disappear from Queensland as a result of Mr Rudd’s great big new tax? Does he accept Premier Bligh’s assertion that $100 billion of activity will go? (Time expired)

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What I accept is that this opposition is anti growth. It is anti fairness. This is an opposition that is not interested in ensuring the economic welfare of the Australian people. What I do accept is that this opposition has no policy, has no plan for the future and is contemptuous of the Australian people, because it thinks that it can just slide through into the next election with nothing to say about the future of this country.