Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, that answer is, quite frankly, outrageous. This government has been ducking and weaving when it comes to being open, transparent and accountable on the fiscal effect of this measure. This was only ever a tax grab. You aimed to raise $3.1 billion in revenue. It took us a year to pin you down and get you to acknowledge that your revenue estimate had collapsed down to $1.6 billion. We are now two minutes to midnight, not because of our doing but because of your doing. You are introducing this legislation and in good faith, as reasonable people, we have agreed to pass this legislation today. But we want to be reassurred, and we think the Australian people deserve to be reassurred, about what the fiscal effect of this measure is going forward.

If you put the Senate into a position where we have to deal with this legislation today—where this legislation has to be passed by midnight tonight—I think the government ought to reciprocate with a little bit of good faith and stop this stalling, ducking, weaving and trying to cover up and hide information. Let me be very, very clear about the specific information that I am looking for. Have you further revised downwards, yes or no, the estimated revenue out of the increased tax on RTDs? Firstly, tell me yes or no. If it is yes, by how much? If it is no, that is fine; you can just say no. Do you still expect, as you did in December 2008, that the sales of RTDs will increase by 7.8 per cent per annum from 1 July 2009 forward? Yes or no? If it is yes, that is fine. If it is no, tell me what your revised expectations are in terms of the sale of RTDs moving forward. They are very simple questions, and they are questions that the Senate and the people of Australia deserve an answer to.