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

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Wong. Can the minister explain why the Gillard government is so intent on keeping its mining tax revenue assumptions secret and hidden from Senate scrutiny? What does the government have to hide?

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

This is a discussion we have had before, and I think I might have lost count of how many Senate estimates Senator Cormann has been asking these questions for. As officials and as I have explained to him in that context, the government have released an unprecedented amount of information in relation to this policy. We have declined to release some information due to the commercial-in-confidence nature of that information. I am happy to see if I can get any further information to provide the senator, but I think we have explored the reasons for the government's decision in relation to the Senate order in great detail, both in this chamber and in the Senate estimates.

I do say this, Mr President, it is interesting that Senator Cormann is so passionate about getting information about a policy in relation to which he has already decided to vote no.

Senator Cormann interjecting—

It does not matter to you what the information is; you have already decided that you are going to oppose it. You need to explain to us, Senator Cormann, through you, Mr President, how it is that it is so important to get information when you made your mind up months and months ago. You made your minds up to put the profits of wealthy mining companies ahead of small business and ahead of working Australians. That is the set of priorities you have adhered to. It says something about the priorities of the coalition that they put small business after the interests of wealthy miners. It says something about the coalition's priorities that they put working Australians' superannuation after the interests of wealthy miners.

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given the minister has again claimed commercial-in-confidence, why is it that the three biggest miners, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata, are the only ones allowed to know what the government's mining tax revenue assumptions are? Didn't the government give them enough of a competitive advantage by giving them exclusive access to negotiations about the mining tax deal in the first place? Why, Minister, are they the only ones allowed to know the revenue assumptions the govern­ment has used? Why has nobody else got a right to know— (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I suggest that is actually the same question I was asked in the first place. I will see if there is any further information I can provide the senator. We have gone through a very long consultation process, not just prior to the election but subsequently with industry, about the design of the mining tax. It was a consultation process, you might recall, that Mr Argus was involved with and all those interested had the capacity, as far as I am aware, to put their views. The assertions made by the senator, I would suggest to him, are not correct.

It is interesting, Mr President, that Senator Cormann is so interested in revenue figures, because he is not interested in revenue figures when it comes to his own budget balance. He is not interested in the fact that the coalition want to vote against the revenue measures but fund the expenditure measures. He knows— (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a second supplementary question. Whatever the excuse for the non-release of mining tax revenue assumptions, why has the govern­ment refused to respond to repeated requests for the costings of all the measures Labor has attached to the mining tax over the current forward estimates? Is it because this would expose the fact, in black and white, that Labor's mining tax package leaves the budget worse off to the tune of billions and billions of dollars over the forward estimates? Again, what have you got to hide?

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

Behind every assertion and every falsehood that is said by the opposition lies a $70 billion black hole. Everything they say on the economy is overshadowed by the $70 billion black hole that they know they cannot fill. Senator Cormann comes in here and demands that we put more figures out there. We have our figures, Senator; they are in the budget. They are in the budget and we update them as we should. You have never put figures out that worked. Your arithmetic has never been right. You used a dodgy accounting firm who was found to have acted unprofessionally during your election campaign and now you are using a catering company. Do not come into this chamber, Senator Cormann, and lecture anybody about costings. Ours are in the budget; you have none. You have a $70 billion black hole and you are going to have to cut services for working Australians.