Chris Ketter (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a contribution in respect of this matter of public importance: the Turnbull government's abject failure to present a tax plan to the Australian people. We know that the tax process of the Turnbull government is a cause of national concern. You do not have to take my word for that; we have seen in recent times an extraordinary contribution to the national debate here from the chairman of the government's own Board of Taxation—the Board of Taxation being one of the government's key tax advisers. We are now finding that they are openly criticising the government's policy reform processes.

We know, of course, that the Treasurer has had to postpone the Council on Federal Financial Relations. We are seeing an ongoing shambles rolling out before us. We have seen the Chairman of the Board of Taxation, Mr Michael Andrew, come out and talk about what can be described as a chaotic, under-resourced, rushed and secretive government tax reform process. We know that the tax white paper process cost the taxpayer at least $7 million to date on top of wasting the time, effort and money of over 1,000 Australian stakeholders and business organisations. This is a cruel hoax that has been perpetrated on the stakeholders who are interested in what is happening with the reform of our taxation system.

Mr Andrews made the comment:

The government deciding to run the process as an internal process, not through an independent inquiry, has compromised its ability to win hearts and minds.

I think that is a very telling point. He has talked about the fact that hardworking Treasury employees involved in the process are leading to the politicisation of the process because of the fact that the department is taking charge of the review. We have walked away from the orderly process of having a green paper and a white paper. The government has truncated the dialogue that we were supposed to have, and we are now awaiting with bated breath the outcome of the government's internal review. The other thing that Mr Andrew of the Board of Taxation said was:

As a business person, I sit there and shake my head. I say, if this is a No. 1 priority of government then resource it properly.

We have a quite extraordinary contribution in the debate and compelling evidence that this government does not know what it is doing in the vital area of tax reform.

We also saw today the Treasurer, Mr Morrison, tick off another speech at a business forum in Melbourne which contained a lot of words but very few numbers and facts. It was filled with lots of spin and no wins. It is a case of another day and another speech with no tax policy, no economic plan and, most embarrassing of all, no date for our budget. So we must ask: how does the Abbott-Turnbull Liberal government intend to fund the country, encourage reform and drive our economy into the future to get the jobs of tomorrow? The government is incapable of reviewing its tax policies. How can it go on to take on the bigger issues?

Today the Treasurer said that the budget should be used to deliver tax cuts to drive innovation. What does he mean by that exactly? Does it mean cutting taxes for services and products that do not exist today? The Prime Minister has said that it is the most exciting time to be alive, but it is not very exciting when you have a government that is leaving Australia more clogged than a bottle of Clag glue! Labor, in contrast, has a clear, costed and responsible plan. We have a plan for housing affordability, superannuation and taxation reform and for more multinationals to pay their fair share of tax. We have a plan to repair our budget so that we can invest in jobs, education and health. We are streets ahead of the government in this area.

Where is the government since the departure of Mr Hockey as Treasurer and Mr Abbott as Prime Minister? We are basically talking about tax processes grinding to a halt as the coalition's infighting and self-interest continue to be their main agenda. It is not good enough for me, it is not good enough for this chamber and it is not good enough for the people of Australia.