Matt Thistlethwaite (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition needs to be conscious of the fact that the states see, Senator Williams, that these miners have been making super profits on non-renewable resources that belong to the people of Australia, and that is why they have pushed up their royalties. They know that the community is not getting a fair return on these resources, and they have pushed up their royalties. It has caused some difficulties with this tax, but we will work those out. The crux of the argument, and the philosophy, is still the same. The Australian public were not getting an adequate return from these non-renewable resources, and that is why the government introduced the minerals resource rent tax. Over the longer term it will deliver for the people of Australia, and that is why we should oppose this bill.