Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law) Share this | Hansard source

Again, I will be very brief. We may not get to the vote on this tonight, which may perhaps be for the best because it might cause the opposition to seriously reflect on what they are about to do. The government is not supporting this amendment. It came forward this afternoon and is now apparently supported by the Liberal opposition. We are not supporting it because, if we accept the validity of your point, Senator Bushby—and you appear to be running the debate on this—even if we accept your point, why did you not do this before the election when you announced your policy? Why did you not do it before the election when you announced your policy and you began consultation on the legislation? We have adopted your policy, so we have bipartisan commitments from both sides of politics that did not include this amendment that you are now moving. Even if there is some validity, you should have thought of that before the election. I do not accept the validity of your arguments, but you should have thought of that before the election. You did not. You are now supporting an amendment that is going to cost the government revenue. Think about the current climate we are in. Think about the political position that you have been putting on a budget deficit. I think you should have a long pause for thought about what you are about to do. Frankly, if I were in your position I would be on a hiding to nothing on this one.

This measure is your measure, which you are about to amend at the last minute tonight, and it will cost revenue. It is also a budget measure. It is an election measure that is being supported by both sides of politics. Now we are in an extraordinary position because the Liberal Party, at the last minute, is pushing an amendment in a significant way to cost the budget money. It is amending its own election commitment. If you want to go out and publicly defend this new position, I wish you all the best of luck. I would suggest that Senator Coonan goes to talk to the shadow minister, Mr Pearce, in the other place about all of this before we come to the final vote on this amendment when we get back to it next week. We are giving you the opportunity to think about the consequences of what you are about to do, or what we may not do. But I do not accept your point, Senator Bushby. You did not accept them before the election. I do not believe they have validity in the context of this measure. It is also a budget measure; it is in the budget forward estimates. If you want to go ahead and support something like this you cannot say that you were not forewarned.