Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Cormann. Today's paper announced the government's intention to introduce legislation to unwind new and existing agreements between foreign powers and state governments, local councils and/or universities when they're not in the national interest, giving this power to the foreign affairs minister. The Australian people have seen our current Prime Minister approve the sale of Australia's largest dairy farm, Moon Lake in Tasmania, to the Chinese when he was the Treasurer. Also, the former trade minister Andrew Robb is now working for the Chinese company Landbridge, which has bought the port of Darwin on a 99-year lease. How do you intend to instil confidence in the Australian people and myself that the national interest will come before possible self-interest and all the United Nations and free trade agreements?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian government is responsible for making judgements when it comes to the national interest in our foreign affairs. And the Australian government has the authority to determine what is in our national interest based on our democratic system. It is the Australian people who ultimately determine who gets to make those judgements on behalf of our nation. Australians rightly expect the Australian government they elect to set foreign policy. A primary focus of our government has been protecting and promoting the national interest. Australia is a globally focused, open trading economy. We want to ensure that our exporting businesses can sell as many Australian products and services as possible all around the world, including and in particular our agricultural sector, which sells our amazing agricultural produce into markets all around the world.

So we continue to engage with our trading partners around the world and we also are an economy which relies on foreign investment to reach its full potential. We have a very sophisticated foreign investment review framework in place which ensures that any foreign investment that does come into Australia is not contrary to our national interests. So the Australian people can have confidence that, through the measures that governments of both persuasions have taken in recent decades and also the measures we are taking as we speak right now, the Australian government is taking steps to ensure that internationally Australia speaks with one voice when it comes to standing up for our national interests.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson, a supplementary question?

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, your government has been hell-bent on foreign investment, purporting it is in Australia's best interest. Please explain how it is in our best interest that approximately 700 multinational companies in Australia with a combined turnover of hundreds of billions of dollars only pay, on average, a combined $14 billion a year, four per cent of the total income tax collected in Australia.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hanson for the supplementary. The Australian government is hell-bent on maximising the opportunity for Australians today and into the future to get ahead, and that is why we are committed to a set of policies and initiatives that maximise our economic growth opportunities, that maximise investment into our future growth and that maximise the opportunity for Australian businesses to be successful and hire more Australians, creating more jobs. Any business that operates in the Australian economy of course has to comply with our laws, including and in particular our tax laws. Our government has a proud record when it comes to making sure that multinational businesses operating in Australia comply with our tax laws. We have one of the toughest multinational anti-tax-avoidance regimes in place in the world. We have worked with our international partners through the G20 to implement all of the recommendations of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting action plan. We have one of the toughest anti-avoidance regimes in the world.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson, a final supplementary question?

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, is it true that we collect approximately $400 million from our gas fields off the North West Shelf in Western Australia yet their export value is approximately $54 billion a year? Again, where is this in Australia's best interest?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia does draw a lot of benefit from our exporting activities, including and in particular the export of our oil and gas resources. It generates a lot of jobs for Australians. It generates a lot of trading opportunities. Of course, all these businesses have to comply with our tax laws, and company tax in Australia is paid on profits. It's not paid on income; it's paid on profits. Businesses with a large turnover have to pay 30 per cent tax on their profits, and that is what all businesses across all sectors have to do.