Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Finance Minister on Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I withdraw. When it comes to economic management, the Leader of the Opposition is erratic and his policies are extreme. I am asked about small business tax breaks. The opposition leader plans to block the resource super profits tax in the Senate. What would that do? Deny small businesses and tradies a much-deserved tax break. The opposition leader says that he only speaks the gospel truth when something is written down, scripted for him, prepared for him by his staff. It must be put in writing. But not so Senator Barnaby Joyce, because he walks into a TV studio and just blurts out the truth. When he was asked just before question time—very good timing, I thought, from Senator Joyce—about the deputy opposition leader’s comments that mining companies already pay their fair share of tax, what did he say? Did he agree with that? ‘No, not at all—we can have a sensible negotiation.’ Go Barnaby!

He went on, ‘To say there is not the capacity to change the tax is not right.’ We agree with Senator Joyce. He went on to say, ‘I’m prepared for people to look at the mining sector to pay more.’ The deputy opposition leader says, ‘They are paying the right amount; they are paying their fair share.’ Senator Joyce went on to say, ‘Let’s go through the proper negotiation.’ That is a good idea; that is what we are doing—going through the proper negotiation. But on the other side they are saying, ‘No, Barnaby is wrong, we should not go through the proper negotiation.’ The truth is that Senator Barnaby Joyce has blown out of the water the opposition’s confused scare campaign about the Resource Super Profits Tax. He has completely contradicted the opposition leader, he has completely contradicted the deputy opposition leader and, of course, he had a big go at the member for Goldstein. They had a tiff yesterday and the member for Goldstein rang him up.

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