Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness. I remind the minister of his statement today, 'There are no plans to change the design of the mining tax other than in respect of royalties.' To what plans to change the mining tax is the minister referring, and how do those plans fit in the with signed heads of agreement that declare, 'All state and territory royalties will be creditable against the resources tax liability'?

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When it rains it pours!—1,099 days with no questions and then a deluge of questions: two in two days. To the leader of the government in the House I express my sorrow that the member for Wide Bay did not direct a question to the leader of the government in the House but I am very glad to receive this question.

The MRRT is a tax that is designed to collect for the community a fair share of the profits when profits are high, very much like the petroleum resource rent tax, which the coalition condemned, which it criticised and which it kept. It kept at least $18 billion of revenue. In respect of the MRRT and its design, what I have said is what the Prime Minister has said and what the Treasurer has said—

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, no.

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and that is that in respect of royalties there is an existing process which is well known to every member of the parliament who can read.

Opposition members interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What about the standing orders?

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that there is one member of the parliament who does not read documents, and that is the Leader of the Opposition. He does not read BHP statements; he does not read Ashby verdicts. He does not read documents, but now it is infecting the front bench—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will return to the question.

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

because we have the shadow Treasurer and also, now, the Leader of the Nationals not reading the fact that for three months or more there has been a process in train in relation to the treatment of royalties. And that process follows on the Don Argus review on the GST distribution processes. That is a well-known fact to everyone in this House—everyone in this chamber—except the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Treasurer and, now, the Leader of the Nationals, the would-be Deputy Prime Minister of this country. I say to all of them that what they should do is take the time and read the documents. If you want to be an alternative government—

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Here it is.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for North Sydney!

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

you need to know that the MRRT is a tax designed to collect for the community a fair share of the revenue. We will always do the right thing. We will increase superannuation from nine to 12 per cent and the shadow Treasurer said, on Friday, that they would not. They would scrap it.

Mr Hockey interjecting—

There he is again.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We'd scrap it, yeah. That's a revelation, is it?

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is, absolutely, because you condemned Channel 9 for lying. You condemned Channel 9 for lying.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will return to the question.

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You have reaffirmed that the coalition will scrap the increase in the super tax from nine to 12 per cent. Thank you very much indeed.

Honourable members interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wannon and everybody else around should read the standing orders. Such confected behaviour is what the public does not desire to see in our parliament.

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek to table a document, which is that of the shadow Treasurer tweeting at 7.09 pm on Friday evening saying that Channel 9 got it wrong and that he had never said—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will table the document.

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

that they would scrap the increase in super from nine to 12 per cent.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat.

Honourable members interjecting—

The members for Moncrieff and Grey will leave the chamber when I resume my seat.

The members for Moncrieff and Gr e y then left the chamber.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on a point of order. Madam Speaker, with great respect to you I would ask you to reconsider that decision, given the extreme provocation from the Minister for Trade at the dispatch box when he was seeking to table a document and instead attacked the opposition.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If anybody had been listening, I had risen to my feet not a nanosecond before, asking people to observe the standing orders and to bring some respect back to this place. It was within a nanosecond that the next incident occurred. I was asking the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness to resume his seat.

Mr Pyne interjecting—

I was! You perhaps could not hear me. No, you could not have heard me over the noise.