Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you. The Greens have again let the government off the hook and helped them to avoid parliamentary scrutiny of their mining tax revenue estimates. It is important to note here that the government has been persistently avoiding scrutiny of their mining tax revenue estimates for the last two years. There is serious doubt that the mining tax will raise the revenue they said it would raise.

After Senator Brown said the Senate should 'flex its muscle' earlier this year, they rolled over in exchange for a promise of monthly updates from the Prime Minister. Those monthly updates cannot happen. The Prime Minister made a promise to the Greens in order to get their support for passage of the mining tax legislation that she cannot deliver on; the mining tax instalments are paid on a quarterly basis so there will not be any monthly updates. The Greens, having rolled over in March when they refused to insist on Senate orders enforcing the release of mining tax revenue— (Time expired)