Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I certainly welcome the opportunity in this matter of public importance debate to talk on the resource super profits tax and superannuation, especially following the member for Bowman. Let us talk about some ‘factoids’, shall we, that the member for Bowman referred to. The fact is that the Rudd government’s tax reforms will broaden and strengthen the economy, ensuring all sectors grow in a sustainable way that benefits all Australians. The proceeds will be invested in superannuation savings, new infrastructure and tax cuts that will create jobs and help small businesses grow and thrive, and this will add 0.7 per cent to GDP and boost wages by 1.1 per cent. But I welcome the opportunity to speak on this MPI for another reason, and that is to debunk the misleading campaign that we hear from those opposite and from the mining sector.

Let us talk about the Liberals’ campaign—this latest scare campaign. If we go back a bit, the opposition opposed the petroleum resource rent tax. This was going to destroy the resource sector. They opposed national superannuation, and the Leader of the Opposition has said in the past that compulsory superannuation is one of the biggest con jobs ever foisted by government on the Australian people. This is how serious he is about protecting those most senior in our community. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition has said that the state mining industry is paying its fair share of tax. The opposition leader is now saying that the mining industry is paying more than its fair share of tax. Now we have Senator Barnaby Joyce, the shadow infrastructure spokesperson, saying the mining industry could pay more tax. The member for Bowman has just said that it is a distortion to say they are not renewable resources. I am looking forward to hearing further explanation of how the mineral resources in this country are renewable—because somehow it is a distortion, according to the member for Bowman. So I look forward to hearing that into the future.

Let us look at the mining industry’s campaign. I think we have heard it before. The opposition said that the country would collapse if Work Choices was ripped up, yet here we are still standing with the economy still thriving. The mining industry is claiming that it is putting on hold all new investments and it will walk away from existing investments. Let us look at this claim, shall we. In Queensland, a consortium of coal-mining firms has put in a bid of $4.85 billion through the Queensland Coal Industry Rail Group, which comprises 13 coal producers, to purchase the Queensland coal track network. Does this sound like the actions of an industry that says it is no longer going to proceed with investments and is going to pull out of current investments? Let us look at these companies. Are we talking about small companies that are wanting to make these investments? No. Let us look at some these 11 coal producers: BHP Billiton, Ensham Resources, Macarthur Coal, Peabody Energy, Rio Tinto Coal, Xstrata Coal, Wesfarmers Resources. These are big mining companies. Why have they put this bid forward? Because, as the Queensland Coal Industry Rail Group has said, the offer would encourage fair and open access, optimise network performances, enable early system expansions and encourage rail haulage competition. This is not what an industry does if it is about to walk away and go overseas to Africa, as we have just heard, or Chile or wherever else the member for Bowman tries to claim.

Let us have a look at the alternative that the Rudd government is putting forward. Australians will get a fair share of their non-renewable resources. They are owned by the Australian people. This is a tax on profits, not production—a concept the Leader of the Opposition appears yet to grasp. It is a fairer tax for all. It ensures that we restore what this country was getting from the resources sector a decade ago. Ten years ago, Australia was getting $1 for every $3 of mining profit from royalties and charges. Now it is getting $1 in $7.

We deserve our fair share. That is what this resource super profits tax will do. It will provide company tax cuts, small business company tax cuts, small business instant write-offs, an increase in the super guarantee to 12 per cent, super for low-income earners, more generous super caps, a rise in the superannuation guarantee age from 70 to 75, 50 per cent interest deductions up to a $1,000 limit and optional standard deductions. These are the some of the things that will eventuate from this tax. (Time expired)

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