House debates Questions without Notice

Taxation

Monday, 2 March 2015 House of Representatives

Bill Shorten

Bill Shorten Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition

2:00 pm

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to Labor's plan today to make multinational corporations pay their fair share of tax. Given this plan would raise more than double what the Prime Minister's unfair GP tax would raise, why is the Prime Minister still slugging Australians with his unfair GP tax rather than making multinational corporations pay their fair share?

Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister

2:01 pm

On the subject of tax changes, why will the Labor Party not support in opposition the changes that they proposed in government? If they want to talk about measures that would help the revenue, what about supporting in opposition the changes that members opposite proposed in government? Labor can talk all they like now, but they do not have much of a record. When it comes to tax, there were some 100 measures that had been proposed but not implemented by members opposite.

Mr Tony Burke

Mr Tony Burke Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance

I rise on a point of order regarding relevance. To be directly relevant, the Prime Minister might refer to the question at some point.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker

There is no point of order. It was a very wide-ranging question.

Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister

Now they seem to think that if you spend another $100 million on the ATO you can raise $1 billion.

Joe Hockey

Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer

Why didn't we think of that!

Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister

I suppose they can spend $1 billion on the ATO to raise $10 billion! That is the kind of ouzo economics that we have come to expect from members opposite. When it comes to the subject of Medicare, this Prime Minister intends to be the best friend that Medicare has ever had, as I was as health minister. We are determined to protect a sustainable Medicare for our future. We are determined to protect bulk-billing for vulnerable people. As members opposite know, the Minister for Health is consulting broadly with the medical profession, and we will have more to say in due course.