Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Eggleston for that question. Labor's mining tax has undermined confidence in Western Australia. Labor's mining tax was deliberately designed to target Western Australia to make it harder for Western Australia to be successful. It is a tax which is complex, which is distorting, which is inefficient, which targets the most important industry in Western Australia and which has not raised any meaningful revenue but which has tied up an important industry in massive and costly red tape. It is costly to administer for the Commonwealth, it is costly to comply with for the mining industry and it is specifically designed to raise nearly all of its revenue in the one, single state of Western Australia. It is an anti-Western Australian tax. What we know, given the comments of the Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia in recent times, is that Labor has not learned a thing from the result at the last election. Labor still persists with its anti-Western Australian, eastern states-centric attitude when it comes to the mining tax.

Senator Brandis interjecting—

It would seem, Senator Brandis, that, yes, the Labor Party hate Western Australia. They would seem to hate Western Australia being able to be successful, even though a successful Western Australia is in the national interest. A strong mining industry in Western Australia—

Honourable senators interjecting—