Tony Windsor (New England, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister and leader of the ‘Old Liberals’.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for New England will get straight to his question.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Tony Windsor (New England, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given that the Commonwealth, New South Wales and Victorian governments have announced that they now plan to introduce legislation that imposes so-called permanent restrictions on Snowy Hydro Ltd relating to foreign ownership and the structure of the board, could the Prime Minister explain what capacity this parliament has to bind future parliaments on these guarantees? Is it not a fact that the so-called permanent restrictions on the future of Snowy Hydro can be amended or repealed at any time by any future parliament?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It will be no surprise to the member for New England, as a member of both the New South Wales and federal parliaments, to be reminded of the doctrine that no one parliament can bind the actions of a future parliament. Self-evidently, anything passed by this parliament can be repealed by a future parliament. Indeed, I even recall examples in the past: so certain was one government that tax reductions it might implement in one parliament were going to be repealed by another parliament it decided not to introduce the promised tax cuts in the first place.

Can I say to the member for New England: he has given a description of the so-called permanent restrictions. That is a description that the member for New England has employed. We are going to legislate and I would not expect a future parliament to repeal that legislation, particularly as the only party that is ever likely to form a government in this parliament other than the coalition is the Labor Party and the Labor Party is committed on this issue to the same policy as the government. I think the likelihood of it being repealed in the future is very remote, and the member for New England knows it.