Glenn Lazarus (Queensland, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the people of Queensland and, more broadly, Australia, I am voting against this bill. The Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2015 measures No. 3) Bill 2015 comprises two components, both of which I am opposed to.

The first involves reducing tax incentives to businesses investing in research and development in Australia. Specifically, the bill reduces the rates of tax offset available under the research and development tax for the first $100 million of R&D expenditure. In effect, this bill will reduce the higher, refundable rate of the tax offset from 45 per cent to 43.5 per cent; and reduce the lower, non-refundable rate of the tax offset from 40 per cent to 38.5 per cent. This bill penalises businesses for investing in research and development in Australia, by removing some of the tax incentives.

As a nation we cannot compete with the rest of the world on the basis of labour costs. We have tried and, as a result, we have lost much of our manufacturing industry to South America, Asia and other countries that offer lower labour costs. Our future as a nation rests on our ability to innovate, create, develop and invent. We are known for quality and hard work. The world will pay good money for technological and medical breakthroughs which extend life, improve quality of life and minimise and eliminate illness. As a nation we need to invest in research and development to create the breakthroughs and inventions that the world will pay top dollar for. The last thing we should be doing is reducing incentives for businesses to invest in R&D.

It is for this reason that I am opposed to this component of the bill. I see this component of the bill as nothing more than a cash grab by a government devoid of ideas to grow this country. Judging by the latest news coming out of the coalition tonight, my view is shared by Malcolm Turnbull and many others who feel the government needs a change of direction.

The second component of this bill, which involves abolishing the seafarer tax offset, is nothing more than another cash grab, a grab which will only further cripple an already fragile shipping industry. The seafarer tax offset was introduced in 2012 to provide an incentive for companies to employ Australian seafarers. The seafarer tax offset is essential to allowing Australian businesses to compete in international waters. Australia being an island nation, our professional seafarers are critical to its prosperity. They work as our pilots, our harbourmasters and our marine surveyors to ensure safe passage for ships in and out of our ports. Without them, our nation's trade would grind to a halt. We would be left having to rely on the rest of the world to move goods in and out of our country by sea and around our country by sea. There are approximately 15,000 seafarers in Australia, and this number is down by 35 per cent from five years ago.

Our jobs are being taken away by foreign ships which are registered in other countries where they pay little to no tax. Many ships servicing our waters are registered in Singapore, where they pay zero tax. The Australian seafarer tax offset helps Australian businesses employing Australian seafarers to compete with international ships that have international workers who are paid much, much less than our workers. This tax relief measure helps to level the playing field for the Australian shipping industry. It has only been in place for a couple of years and needs to be given a chance to work, to build our international shipping capability.

This bill is an attack on Australian jobs and on the Australian shipping industry. It is also an attack on our national security. It would only take a few altercations with a trading partner or a shipping company servicing our waters to bring our nation to a complete standstill. By decimating our shipping industry, we are putting our nation at risk of not being able to trade, not being able to manage the terms of our own import and export businesses and not being able to access goods critical to our nation's survival. We already have very few fuel refineries in Australia. We have, at best, only a few weeks of fuel supplies in our country. We rely heavily on the rest of the world in order to survive as a nation. We need Australia's shipping industry to survive, grow and prosper for the sake of jobs and our future.

I cannot and I will not support any measures which put our country at risk and which do not support Australian jobs for Australian workers. I hope that the Senate votes this legislation down.