Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will first deal with the second reading amendment circulated by the opposition. The question is that the amendment on sheet 2623 be agreed to.

Opposition's circulated amendment

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) notes that:

(i) the Treasurer has failed to engage in negotiations with the Opposition on sensible proposals to support investment in the gas industry, which is the revenue base for this tax,

(ii) the Government still cannot answer simple questions about this tax, including whether it is new or a bring forward of revenue, its impact on investment in the industry, and its impact on energy prices, despite having had more than six months to do so, and

(iii) that the cynical and absurd stapling of changes to the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax to measures with cross-party support responding to the PwC and Tax Practitioners Board issue demonstrates the lack of seriousness from the Government towards this legislation; and

(b) calls on the Government to support the Opposition's proposals to acknowledge its own Future Gas Strategy and support the future of the gas industry".

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will now deal with the second reading amendment circulated by Senator David Pocock. The question is that the amendment on sheet 2559 be agreed to.

Senator David Pocock's circulated amendment

Omit all the words after "That", substitute "The Senate:

(a) notes that:

(i) in 2022, offshore gas exports were $92.8 billion,

(ii) to date, not a single cent of petroleum resources rent tax has been paid from the export of offshore liquefied natural gas,

(iii) Australians pay more HECS-HELP than gas companies pay in petroleum resources rent tax,

(iv) in 2020-21, Australian nurses paid three times as much tax as the gas industry paid in company tax,

(v) petroleum resources rent tax receipts have been revised down by $2.4 billion over the four years to 2026-27, effectively wiping off any benefit from the change proposed in Schedule 5, and

(vi) taxation of Australian gas is an issue that the Australian community expects to be the subject of Parliamentary scrutiny, including debate in the Senate;

(b) requires that further consideration of the bill be made an order of the day for the next sitting day and that the bill be considered in committee of the whole for not less than three hours".

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question now is that the bill be read a second time.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will now deal with the Committee of the Whole amendments circulated by the opposition. The question now is that schedule 5 stand as printed.

The opposition opposed schedule 5 in the following terms—

(2) Schedule 5, page 32 (line 1) to page 38 (line 23), Schedule 5 to be opposed.