My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister confirm that official ATO taxation statistics on the Taxation Office website show that the effective company tax rate for the mining industry is 27.8 per cent and when including royalties it is 41.3 per cent? Does the Prime Minister stand by the statements of his Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister that the taxation rate is only 17 per cent? I seek leave to table ATO taxation statistics 2007-08, tables 8 and 9, as proof.

Leave not granted.

Once again, we have those opposite standing in defence of the existing taxation arrangements which apply to Australia’s mining industry. The member for North Sydney referred to a statement made by the Treasurer on Sunday in reference to a report that had been put out by the National Bureau of Economic Research. My advice is that is a credible research institute. Secondly, I draw attention to the fact that, when it comes to the combined incidence of both royalties and the company tax rate on mining companies, the government has seen a 50 per cent drop in the share of tax taken from mining company profits over the past 10 years even if you factor in both company tax and royalties. Resource profits were over $80 billion higher in 2008-09 than in 1999-2000. Governments have only collected an additional $9 billion in revenue. These figures speak for themselves. We stand for reforming the system; those opposite stand for the status quo.

Mr Pyne interjecting

Order! If the member for Sturt wants to hold conversations, I can arrange for him to go outside the chamber and hold them.