Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move a motion relating to the secret mining tax deal between the Leader of the Australian Labor Party and the Leader of the Australian Greens.

Leave not granted.

Pursuant to contingent notice of motion, I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent him moving a motion to provide for the consideration of a matter, namely a motion to give precedence to a motion to enable the Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Evans) to provide an explanation about the secret deal with the Prime Minister (Ms Gillard) and the Australian Greens relating to the mining tax.

The Green-ALP alliance came into being on the promise of transparency, openness and respect for the parliamentary process. Instead, we have a government that has introduced a carbon tax based on a lie and had it legislated through this place by the Green-Labor alliance. We now have a mining tax secured by a secret deal, the content of which only two people know: the Leader of the ALP and the Leader of the Australian Greens. The Independents in the lower house who claimed that they would ensure parliamentary process was followed are so self-absorbed that they were willing to let the mining tax go through the other place last night without knowing what the underlying deal was. They are so self-absorbed that they actually believe they themselves are the wow factor in this parliament—Windsor, Oakeshott, Wilkie, the WOW factor. How on earth could they, who signed up to a deal for government openness and transparency, have voted for it? How could the lemmings of the Australian Labor Party have voted for a mining tax, not knowing what the underlying deal was?

This is a government that was elected on a lie and is addicted to secret deals and taxes. The situation is of course compounded by the government's gross incompetence. Any self-respecting House of Representatives member should have voted against that legislation last night, knowing that there was a secret deal, the content of which was not known. We witnessed the hapless Martin Ferguson on Lateline last night being unable to explain it—and he is the minister responsible. He did not know what was in the deal. He said, 'It is up to the Prime Minister.' Yet all the lemmings of the Labor Party and the so-called Independents in the House of Representatives voted for that mining tax. I indicate that not all the Independents voted for it, but the majority of them did.

This is arrogance writ large. This is an abrogation of parliamentary responsibility. This is a government that will do anything and say anything to stay in power. This is all about Ms Gillard keeping her job. It has nothing to do with the good governance of this country. In fact, it has the exact opposite implication—of bad governance—when two people are willing to do a secret deal, and everybody else, lemming like, is willing to follow. The coalition has taken a proper stance on this, by opposing it. We want to hear from the government what the deal is. Why can't it explain what the deal is today? Why does it have to wait for a few days? Guess what is going to happen in a few days. There is a notice of motion tomorrow that the Senate not sit next week. That motion will get through, courtesy of the Green-Labor alliance, to ensure that there is no parliamentary scrutiny of this wicked secret deal perpetrated late at night.

But this is the party that says: 'We are the party that want transparency. We are the party that want openness.' Indeed, the Australian Labor Party was the party that wanted Operation Sunlight, that would let the sunlight shine in. Well, let the sunlight shine in on this sleazy secret deal. Let the Leader of the Government in the Senate, who has finally walked in, explain to the Senate why this deal was done, the basis of the deal and why the content of the deal has to be denied to the Australian people and the Australian parliament until we have risen. Why? Undoubtedly the government is that proud of this sleazy deal that it does not want to tell the Australian people what it is or want any parliamentary scrutiny of it!

This is putting a very, very bad year for Labor and the Labor-Green alliance into an even worse light. That they should finish the year with a sleazy secret deal that they will keep from the Australian public and the Australian parliament until the parliament has risen is something that deserves to be debated and explained to the Senate, the Senate being Australia's house of review. Since the Greens have got control of the Senate, we know that the Greens announce policy and Labor seek to implement it. (Time expired)

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What we see, again, is a desperate attempt by the opposition to try to distract and deflect attention from a position of opposition to a reasonable share of profits going to the Australian people. This is a position that Liberal members have described as insane. There are people in your party room who think your opposition to the mining tax is, I quote, 'insane'. That is not from me; that is from a member of the Liberal opposition.

What we are seeing today is yet more confected outrage, more allegations of conspiracies and more time wasting from an opposition that do not want to say to the Australian people, 'We stand for the vested interest', because that is the opposition's position. In fact, they so much stand for the vested interest that they are defending the vested interest even more than mining companies are. This is the insanity, to quote the Liberal MP who was reported in the newspaper, of the opposition's position. The opposition stands for higher taxes for small business, for lower superannuation payments for Australians, particularly low-income Australians, and for higher profits for mining companies.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Those on my left.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not surprised that they want to interject, because even on their side they know that this is a ridiculous proposition. They know that they are standing with highly profitable mining companies and standing against low-income Australians—standing against small business. The opposition have a completely untenable position, and they know it. We have seen in the media in recent days a little bit of backgrounding, a little bit of off-the-record quoting and even a few names—the division within the coalition party room against the hardline position that Mr Abbott, aided and abetted by people like Senator Cormann, have forced on the Liberal party room.

It is starting to dawn on the coalition party room that they are actually going to have to go to the next election and say a number of things which are pretty untenable. They are going to have to go to their small-business constituency and say: 'We stand for high taxes. I know we were once the party of small business, but we now stand for higher taxes.' They are going to have to go to 8.4 million working Australians, I think it is, and say, 'We don't believe you deserve a superannuation increase.' And they are going to have to say that to the approximately 3.6 million low-income Australians, most of them women, who would get a tax break and an increase in their superannuation contributions funded by this package.

It is extraordinary, when we see the sorts of prices Australians are getting for their mineral resources, that those on the other side stand for highly profitable mining companies against working Australians. Those on the other side are prepared to hand back money that mining companies themselves have been prepared to pay. Those on the other side stand against more superannuation for workers, particularly for low-income Australians, and stand for higher profits for mining companies. No amount of distractions and assertions about conspiracies, such as we have seen this morning, is going to distract the Australian people's attention from the simple fact that the coalition stand for more profits for wealthy mining companies while we stand for higher superannuation for working families.

And that goes to the fundamental difference in values between our party and those opposite: we stand for fairness; they stand for more profits for wealthy mining companies. It is an untenable position. Your party room knows it. Many of them are starting to say it, and that is why you are seeking to distract attention now. (Time expired)

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The opposition is in raucous mode today, because it lost its attempt to block legislation in the House of Representatives last night which will have an $11 billion benefit for the Australian people. It must be said that Australia is indeed the lucky country in that we have a mineral wealth that makes us, according to the United Nations, the wealthiest country on Earth, per capita, in terms of natural resources. It has been a very strong Greens point of view that those natural resources should be shared as far as possible by the Australian people. The coalition wants that money to flow to the already wealthy, unrestrained. What the Gillard government has done here is legislate to bring back some of the money to undoubtedly be able to fund health, education, security—

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

Unemployment benefits.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Macdonald says unemployment benefits, but he would have you see the mining companies not paying their dues. Instead, 60 or 70 per cent plus of the profits being made by these corporations would flow overseas.

Opposition senators interjecting—

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Those on my left.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have listened to the opposition senators in silence.

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

Why didn't you tax them with the flood levy?

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Macdonald.

Senator Ronaldson interjecting—

Senator Ronaldson, order!

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ronaldson is talking about grubbiness, for goodness sake.

Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You are a hypocrite.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Then we have members of the opposition saying 'hypocrites' and continuing to interject. Isn't it interesting how the conservatives are the law breakers when it comes to the standards of this place. But there you go.

The issue at stake here is the welfare of the Australian people. When Independents Windsor and Oakeshott got a huge advantage for rural Australia through environmental assessments—which will now proceed—funded from outside this package, we thought that was a real win. In House of Representatives the member for Denison was able to negotiate lifting the applicability of this tax from companies with a $50 million profit to those with a $75 million profit. This meant that $20 million a year would be taken out of the revenue raised, which is a loss equivalent to two or three hundred nurses or teachers—a real loss on the ground for average Australians. We simply said to the government that we want that money to be made up. We want this to be revenue neutral.

The opposition did nothing about that for the Australian people. They would see public schools further de-funded. They would see more closures of hospital wards. They would fail to do anything to help public transport, pensioners or people on extraordinarily low unemployment benefits, in an age of high employment, and without help to people in rural and regional Australia, because the National Party is the friend of the big miners before it is the friend of farmers. We have seen that writ large in this debate.

We have been able to work out a formulation with the government that will ensure that schools and hospitals do get their dues. The government has said that it does not want the details of this arrangement announced for some days, until closer to the mid-year statement on the economy. We argued about that. We wanted to release the details last night. It is up to the government to release the details and when it does—

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You are the government.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Whatever Senator Abetz might say, he has failed the people of Tasmania and Australia on this matter. Being critical is no substitute for getting action. The Greens have got the action while he bellows from his—

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on a point of order. I would like to point out that Senator Bob Brown has only 15 seconds remaining on the clock to tell the chamber what is in the secret deal he has struck with the Prime Minister.

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order. Senator Brown has the call.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is $100 million there that Senator Abetz opposes the Australian people getting. That I can tell you. This is a good arrangement. It is much better than the $70 billion black hole that Senator Abetz and his colleagues have engineered in their accounting to the Australian people. (Time expired)

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When bad governments like the Gillard government do bad things, like the mining tax, through a bad process, things inevitably end up in tears, and after that they have to come up with secret deals to try to fix things up. They have to come up with a cover-up, one involving government secrecy. That is what we have seen ever since the Rudd government's Resource Super Profits Tax ended up in a big lot of tears. It was that government that came up with this massive new tax on the mining industry, without going through a proper process and without any consultation, excluding the states and territories—

Senator Wong interjecting—

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order on my right! Senator Wong.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And here we are now. We have Prime Minister Gillard sitting down with the three biggest mining companies, BHP, Rio and Xstrata, exclusively and in secret, to negotiate the design of the new tax. This was done exclusively and secretly with the three biggest taxpayers. Their competitors were excluded from the process and the state and territory governments were excluded from the process. The tax was designed in a way that meant those three big mining companies will not end up paying any tax. It will ensure that the whole burden is put on the smaller local miners. Let there be no doubt: the Gillard version of the mining tax is a bad tax from a bad government and it came out of a bad process.

Let us remind ourselves how this all started. It all started with the Henry tax review, which was supposed to be a once-in-a-generation opportunity for root and branch reform of our tax system. The Henry tax review was supposed to deliver a simpler, fairer tax system, whereas the Gillard version of the mining tax gives us a multibillion dollar new tax that is manifestly more complex and less fair.

And there are serious question marks about the revenue that will be raised from it. The Senate, with the support of the Greens, I concede, has ordered the government to provide information about the mining tax revenue estimates. For the last 12 months we have been trying to get information from the government about their mining tax revenue estimates. What does the government say to us? It is secret information. You cannot have it. And do you know what they also say? 'Oh, it is commercial in confidence, because it is based on information provided by the three big miners with whom we have sat in secret negotiations.' So not only are the three big miners the only ones allowed to design the tax, to suit their needs, but also they are the only ones allowed to know the information about the mining tax revenue estimates. Not only is the Gillard government doing a cosy little deal with the big three mining companies so they do not have to pay any tax—they are completely cobbled by them—but the companies are the only ones allowed to know the revenue estimates. I call on the Greens to ensure that they force this government to come clean about the information on the revenue estimates, which they continue to try to keep secret.

We then have the cost of all of the promises that Labor have made and attached to the mining tax. Labor are very good at spending, they are addicted to spending, which is why they have to come up with ad hoc tax grab after ad hoc tax grab. Rather than going for genuine tax reform they have to go for the lazy grab for cash. This lazy grab for cash is being imposed on the mining sector, but they have already attached all of these promises to it. Not only have they attached a plethora of promises to it but the promises will cost significantly more than the revenue the mining tax is going to generate. Here you have another $40 billion tax that will leave the budget worse off. Only the Labor Party can come up with multibillion dollar new taxes that leave the budget worse off. And guess what? The Senate—again, I concede, with the support of the Greens—told the government to provide us information about the costing of all of the promises made. You have to provide the costings at least over the forward estimates so that we can assess the true fiscal impact of your mining tax package.

Guess what? The government, with absolute contempt and with absolute arrogance, ignored an order of this Senate to provide the detail about the costings of all the promises attached to the mining tax. And guess what? There is an opportunity for the Greens to join with the coalition to enforce some openness and transparency on this government. This is a fiscal train wreck in the making and the government knows it, which is why it is going for cover-up and secrecy and why, of course, we are getting this dodgy, secret little deal behind closed doors without being prepared to put openness and transparency and sunshine in this place.

Let me finish by correcting this latest lie which Senator Wong has tried to perpetuate again. The superannuation increase is not funded through the mining tax. The superannuation increase will be funded by working families across Australia— (Time expired)

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Minister for Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will make one point, firstly. Senator Cormann, of course, questions the long-term viability of the mining tax funding a range of measures that we have announced: the superannuation guarantee, the effective elimination of the contributions tax on superannuation for low-income earners and some other measures which I might get to if I have time. But if Senator Cormann is so concerned on behalf the Liberal-National Party coalition about long-term revenue impacts, why have they signed up to the superannuation guarantee?

I am pleased to say that, after some 20 years, the Liberal Party have accepted compulsion. They have always opposed it in respect of superannuation, and I find it fascinating that Senator Cormann and others can complain about long-term sustainability when they have signed up to a major expenditure item on the budget over the long term—that is, the superannuation guarantee. I find their philosophical shift fascinating as well, but that is a matter for them to resolve. The good thing is that they are supporting the superannuation guarantee.

In terms of the costings for each measure, that was well explored at Senate estimates hearings by Senator Cormann, and I have to acknowledge that he did a sterling job. What was revealed at Senate estimates as we went through the costings of each of the measures announced in the tax package was that, on each and every occasion when it has been appropriate to update each of those measures in that tax package, this government has done so. And we have done so totally consistent with past practice, as Senator Cormann well knows.

Senator Cormann wants long-term costing estimates beyond the forward estimates. I did point out at estimates hearings to Senator Cormann that this was not the case in respect of the GST package. We did not get long-term forecasts beyond the budget estimates, and that was a major tax reform. We did not have the long-term costings forecast, and I must say that when in opposition I did ask for that in terms of Better Super, the tax-free super tax package, which had cost implications well beyond the forward estimates.

So we have followed exactly the precedents set and the consistent fiscal parameters of the previous government. There is one exception, and that does relate to the superannuation guarantee. The government has provided a projected cost—I do not have the figure here—of the superannuation guarantee beyond the forward estimates, which is I think a final figure for seven or eight years because it is phased in over seven or eight years. That is a good example of the open, honest approach to long-term fiscal costing of a measure that does increase in cost. There is a significant cost to the budget in the superannuation guarantee, and that is brought about by the fact that the superannuation contributions tax is a cost to government revenue because the moneys flowing to superannuation via the superannuation guarantee are effectively taxed at a lower rate than income tax for a significant proportion of Australians.

While I am on this issue, another important element of the tax package is that Labor will effectively remove the contributions tax for some 3.6 million Australians. That is a very important reform because, effectively, low- and middle-income earners, two-thirds of whom are women, are overtaxed on their superannuation, and we intend to implement that reform. What is interesting is that the Liberal Party have signed up for the superannuation guarantee, despite their philosophical doubts, and I notice they had a bit of a debate in their party room about that, which was well leaked to the media today. Despite the Liberal Party's doubts, they claim, about the long-term fiscal sustainability of the increase in the super guarantee, they have still signed up to it. But they have signed up to it without the revenue, which is the mining tax.

So the Liberal Party are in an impossible position. They come in here and lecture us about long-term fiscal sustainability but they have signed up to a very significant budget measure over the long term that will cost the budget money, but they have refused to sign up to, and in fact are going to reverse, the mining tax that pays for it. (Time expired)

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Every time we see the Labor Party do a deal a tune starts going through my head, and it is from Monty Python's Life of Brian. We have Bob Brown, who is like the leader of the Judean People's Front: 'What have the Romans done for us? What has the mining industry done for us? Oh, aqueducts, kept us out of recession, supported our standard of living. What have the Romans done for us?' Terry Jones is obviously Tony Windsor: 'He's not the Messiah; he's just a naughty boy.' He is out the front there but is not the Messiah. They are just naughty boys.

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Joyce, I remind you to refer to senators and members by their correct titles.

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Okay. We have Mr Rob Oakeshott, the member for Lyne, who reminds me of Eric Idle. He is always looking on the bright side of life no matter what is happening. Andrew Wilkie is obviously Graham Chapman and Michael Palin is Mr Adam Bandt. The problem is that it is just a fiasco. We have no idea who is running the show. It is a complete and utter fiasco. In fact, as we speak, I am looking at a quote from Senator Bob Brown. He said, 'We were very disappointed when the government reach an agreement with Andrew Wilkie.' We cannot have someone usurping his position as being the nuttiest person in the palace. That is his position. So he is very disappointed, so they are reserving their rights. Even as we speak we have got no idea where this is going to go. It is pandemonium palace. The minister has not a clue what they are going to do. This is where our nation is. This is how ludicrous it has become: 'We are reserving our position in the Senate.' So as we speak we have not an idea of what is going on here. They have usurped the role of government. This is no longer a government; it is just a rolling comical outfit. That is how the whole show is being run. Then they come out with these spurious claims.

Senator Wong interjecting—

Who is going to pay the super? I would hate to tell you this, Minister, but small business pays the super. That is who pays the super—not you, but small business—and you are lumbering them with that charge. As for the royalties, yes, we have a mining tax. It is called state royalties. But this is about your process of basically divesting the money of Western Australia and sending it to Canberra for one of your frolics. This is like divesting the wealth of Queensland and sending it down here for one of your frolics. They have a mining tax. It is called state royalties. It is part of their constitutional right, and you have decided that Western Australians do not deserve their right and they do not deserve their constitutional validity so you are taking it away from them. And if they dare take up their right you are going to take it off their GST. This is the nub of the matter: this is about you and this is about the left hand of the Greens-Labor Party-Independents alliance coming in and divesting the wealth of Western Australians and divesting the wealth of Queenslanders so that you can indulge yourselves in your mindless frolics that you go on with.

Even as we speak they are reserving their position. How insane is this government! How completely and utterly hopeless is it! Then we have Mr Windsor being asked at the door, 'Do you realise that you have just voted for an increase in tax on small business?' Mr Windsor: 'Well, I haven't spoken to Bruce.' By the way, that is Bruce Billson—because that is where you get advice from on the Labor Party's tax: from Bruce Billson! He has not spoken to Bruce Billson yet, but he voted for it. He voted for it, because that is what the Messiah does.

This is our mad world. The Australian people would know that we are not on autopilot and we are going flat out towards the ground. There is no-one running this show. There is no-one running the government. They have not got a clue. Let them stand up now and say that they have got the Greens' support. Let them come out now and say, 'It's all signed up.' They cannot tell you that because they have not got it. This is how ridiculous it is, and we have Senator Bob Brown smiling like a Cheshire cat. I do not know. It could go anywhere. All we have to do is stand out in the Senate courtyard and we will find out where the nation is going as it all madly rolls down the road with us $217 billion in gross debt. We borrowed $2 billion last week. They do not care. Someone else will repay it. Then in the same process they will come up with this moral outrage as to why they must divest Western Australians of their money, divest Queenslanders of their money and, ultimately, divest New South Welshmen of their money so that Canberra can administer it because Canberra is supposedly so much wiser than the people who actually dig the minerals out of the ground.

Senator Wong interjecting—

Don't you think that if the Western Australians thought they wanted to raise the royalties, they would? Don't you think that if the Queenslanders thought they wanted to raise the royalties, they would? Do you think they need your advice?

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time for the debate has expired. Question put:

That the motion (Senator Abetz’s) be agreed to.

The Senate divided. [10:07]

(The President—Senator Hogg)

Question negatived.