Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In speaking on the Tax Laws Amendment (Luxury Car Tax) Bill 2008, the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition—Excise) Amendment Bill 2008, the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition—Customs) Amendment Bill 2008 and the A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition—General) Amendment Bill 2008, I would like to commence by placing these measures in their broader economic context. As other senators have highlighted, the global economy is in a difficult position. It faces some of the biggest challenges that it has seen for quite a number of years. The world simultaneously faces a global credit crunch and steep rises in oil prices; either of these on their own would create instability and threaten growth. This is pushing up borrowing costs and impacting on consumer confidence right around the world. In the March quarter, Japan’s economy contracted by 0.6 per cent, Germany’s economy contracted by 0.5 per cent and France’s economy contracted by 0.3 per cent, and there have been negative impacts on many other countries. Australia is in good shape compared to most other economies due to our strong underlying economic fundamentals.