Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week, the eyes of the technology world have turned to Australia and our parliament. Our competition regulator has proposed a new approach to dealing with the awesome market power of two of the US based technology giants, Google and Facebook. Of course, Google and Facebook are pushing back, and they're pushing back hard. No-one should be surprised at companies defending their interests or their resistance to sharing some of their billions in profits. But make no mistake: they'll want to make an example of Australia. Google and Facebook, like their fellow tech titans Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix and Uber, are no different in this respect from any other corporation that resists regulation and avoids paying tax—robbing sovereign nations of the tax base that provides its people with health, education, aged care and public infrastructure. They are harnessing their assets, and their lobbyists are in touch with MPs from all parties in this place and the other place. These are some of the largest and richest corporations on the planet, with a reach across countries and industries and governments that is unrivalled in history. And, while we cannot expect these corporations to do anything other than defend their interests, governments and parliaments must stand up to defend the interests of their people.

Just over a year ago, in my first speech in this place, I argued for the digital services tax to be levied on the revenue generated by the platforms in Australia. The US government, in response to the digital services tax and discussions from the OECD, have made it clear that they will not allow any delay in arrangements for a global tax regime, so it will be up to us to defend our sovereign tax base. As we debate how this media bargaining code will work in practice, I want to echo the words spoken yesterday by former Competition and Consumer Commission chair, Allan Fels. He said there is always the option for this government, and this parliament, to bring in the huge stick of a digital services tax on these tech giants. I couldn't agree more. Critically, a digital services tax would be levied on the revenue generated in Australia, not the profits. And it should be levied on the revenue generated. This makes it harder to avoid. Profit based taxes, as we know well, can be small, or zero, because companies siphon off royalties to head offices, and profits are booked in tax havens.

I have some advice for every parliamentarian in this place: when you meet up with these big tech lobbyists, whether they are lobbying you about this proposed media code, about disinformation online, about unfair competition or about data privacy, you should first ask these corporate lobbyists when they are going to pay their fair share of taxes to this country. And when will they stop shipping off their profits to tax havens and low-tax jurisdictions?

I welcome this debate on the proposed Australian Competition and Consumer Commission media bargaining code. There will be devil in the detail of how it operates to give Australian media companies this power to bargain, including bargaining collectively for payment from Google and Facebook for the journalism content they produce. I, for one, think that there could be a real risk if we shut our public broadcasters out of the code. I am concerned that there is no requirement that the money transferred under the code be used for public interest journalism, and there are also real barriers to small and regional news outlets having the ability and capacity to bargain for their compensation. Nor is there a requirement that this funding be used to pay for wages—for reporters, producers, photographers, videographers and others who create the content. But, as the ACCC considers the various submissions on this proposed code, I call on every member of parliament to consider the bigger picture here. The big picture I am talking about is the smart conversation we need to be having, not just in this parliament but at kitchen tables and pubs and workplaces across the nation. Once and for all, let's get them to pay their fair share of tax.