Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I came here expecting a boxing match, a 'thrilla in Manila' here in the Federation Chamber, but what have I been hit with? A very wet sponge.

Mr Billson interjecting—

I need the turn of phrase of the member for Dunkley, because this is a lettuce I would like to buy many times over. I am so pleased that the member for Fraser has been reading my op eds, because I have been reading his, and I just want to share with you a couple of them.

Mr Billson interjecting—

I want to read you one from The Australian on 27 January this year. It was titled 'In defence of the carbon and mining taxes'. It stated that with these two taxes:

… the budget would be comfortably back in surplus in 2017-18.

I am pleased that the member for Fraser read my article about the GST, which I will talk about in one sec, but I have read his articles and he thinks that the carbon and mining taxes would bring the budget back into surplus. That was nearly as good as Chris Bowen's speech on ABC's Radio National when he said:

… Government has returned the Budget to surplus three years ahead of schedule and ahead of any other major advanced economy …

On the issue of the online threshold for the GST, as I wrote in my article in The Australian and as I said numerous times on radio, Australia is out of sync with the rest of the world as to where our threshold is. The fact that we have a $1,000 threshold compared to the United Kingdom, which has a 15 pound threshold, Canada, which has a Can$20 threshold and the United States, which applies a GST or the VAT equivalent to all online purchases from overseas, means that I do believe that there is a need for reform in this area. As the member for Fraser knows, both the Treasurer and the member for Dunkley—the Minister for Small Business—have also made similar comments.

But with the GST the money is going to the states and all the states have to agree. Premiers like Mike Baird have called very openly and publicly for a reduction in the threshold. Labor's own Treasurer in South Australia has called openly for a reduction in the threshold. Lara Giddings, the former Labor Tasmanian Premier, has called openly for a reduction in the threshold and now we see the Labor government in Victoria being much more open to the idea. One of the governments that have been holding back is the Liberal government in Western Australia under Colin Barnett, because they rightly feel that the 30c in the GST dollar that they get is very much below what they deserve. But we are hopeful that the states can come to an agreement and that that would be supported by the Labor opposition.

As you know, none of that money would go to the federal government. All that money would go to the state governments. I think it would be good for jobs. I think it would be good for jobs in the retail sector because if you buy something here on High Street for under $1,000 there is a GST but if you buy it from overseas, and it is under $1,000, there is not. So I am hopeful there will be reform.

I am asked by the member for Fraser about multinational tax. He should be ashamed of his own policy because both the BCA and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry have come out and slammed it and said it will cost jobs in Australia. As you know, we have lifted the resourcing of the international division of the ATO to higher than it ever was under the Labor Party to deal with this issue. We have changed the thin capitalisation rules, which are very strong, and the ATO commissioner, Chris Jordan, is leading international efforts.

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