Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Conroy. I refer to the minister’s answer yesterday where he asserted in response to my question about the KAP Motors case:

… the Federal Court decision has not had impact on the Commonwealth budget.

Is the minister aware that it was the Rudd Labor government who took the decision to include GST revenue as Commonwealth revenue in the budget papers? Is the minister further aware that the government’s own budget papers, at page 5-12 in Budget Paper No. 1, confirm that the KAP Motors decision is described as accounting for a decrease in forecast revenue of around $500 million? Will the minister now admit he was wrong yesterday and correct his answer?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I proudly admit that the Rudd government ended the fraud on the Australian public perpetrated by those opposite when they decided to pretend that the GST was not a Commonwealth tax, just so they could airbrush away the fact that they were the highest taxing government in Australian history. That is exactly what they engaged in for the best part of 10 years—airbrushing away the fact that they were the highest taxing government in Australia’s history. The old ‘Dr Yes’ is over there, the former Minister for Finance and Administration—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Refer your comments to the chair.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

who rolled over every time the Prime Minister demanded more spending and demanded more taxing. Let us be clear: at a time of global economic uncertainty we need a strong budget surplus. We need it to provide a buffer against this global turmoil. We need it to ensure that the Reserve Bank has room to move on interest rates and to finance critical national building investments for the future. That is why we have delivered a $22 billion surplus. Even the Leader of the Opposition has conceded that the proposed hole in the surplus is gigantic—his own words.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order on relevance. The question to the minister was very clear: is the minister aware that the KAP Motors decision is described as accounting for a decrease in forecast revenue of around $500 million—yes or no?

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the point of order, as you know, I cannot instruct the minister how to answer the question. I draw the minister’s attention to the question and to being relevant to the question.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said, even the Leader of the Opposition has conceded that the proposed hole in the surplus is gigantic. This is what the Leader of the Opposition told Laurie Oakes. He said:

Clearly, $6 billion is a gigantic amount of money in anyone’s terms … It’s a huge amount of money …

The priorities of those opposite are all wrong. They chose tax relief for Porsche drivers over public transport for working families. Despite a new leadership team, the opposition are playing their old opportunistic games to delay the passage of this legislation. It shows how determined those opposite are to vandalise the budget surplus we built as a buffer.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order on relevance. I have been hoping that the minister may get to the nub of the question, which is: will the minister admit that he was wrong yesterday—yes or no?

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I have said before on similar points of order, I cannot instruct the minister how to answer the question. I can draw the attention of the minister to the question, which I do, and the fact that the minister has one minute and 34 seconds to be relevant to the question that was asked by Senator Fifield.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given the turbulence on global financial markets in recent weeks, you would have thought that any responsible economic manager would vote for a strong surplus, but not the Liberal Party led by the new opposition leader. In contrast to the Liberals, the government would like to acknowledge the cooperation of the Greens and Senator Xenophon and Senator Fielding on this important budget measure. The Greens, Senator Fielding and Senator Xenophon have more economic responsibility in their little fingers than those opposite have in their entire collective being. The Liberals have shown only that they will splash the cash at any opportunity.

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, on a point of order on relevance: you have repeatedly drawn Senator Conroy’s attention to the issue of relevance throughout this question time. He has now had nearly four minutes to answer a very specific question as to whether he was right or wrong in saying that the Federal Court decision has no impact on the Commonwealth budget. His attention was drawn to the fact that his government changed the treatment of GST revenues, and it has been put to him that he was completely wrong in his statement yesterday. I ask you to draw his attention to the question in the remaining minute that he has and to ask him to tell the Senate whether or not he misled the Senate, which we believe he did.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again, on the point of order, Senator Minchin, I hear your point of order but I cannot instruct the minister how to answer the question. The minister has 48 seconds. The minister is reminded of the question and that he is to remain relevant to the question.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This government is fixing a loophole in the laws that allow businesses to get GST refunds they do not deserve. This loophole was revealed by the Federal Court decision in KAP Motors. That allowed motor dealers to have a GST refund without passing it on to their consumers. To avoid disadvantaging those taxpayers who the court decided were entitled—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Conroy, resume your seat. I cannot hear the answer.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is not the issue. I am entitled to hear the answer in silence. Whether or not you like the answer is a different issue.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, to avoid disadvantaging those taxpayers who the court decided were entitled to a refund, we changed it going forward—that is, not retrospectively. As those opposite should know, all GST revenue is paid to the states and territories; therefore, the Federal Court decision has no impact on the Commonwealth budget. (Time expired)

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I take the minister’s failure to answer the question as an admission that he was wrong about the financial impact of the KAP Motors case. Minister, how can Australians be expected to believe your denials that the luxury car tax surcharge imposition was not simply payback to the car industry for losing this court case?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those opposite are obsessed with protecting the Ferrari and Porsche drivers of this country. They just cannot accept that, at a time of global economic and financial crisis, we need a government that will be economically responsible, and this government is up to the task. The opposition’s continued efforts to smash our budget surplus show that they have little economic credibility and those Australians who take the time to listen to them will absolutely understand they are just economic vandals.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, as tempted as I am to ask Senator Conroy to further explain the subject matter, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.