HOST:
Well, after much toing and froing and more than one Prime Ministership we finally have a Minerals Resource Rent Tax of some form in Australia after it passed through the Senate last night. Well, David Bradbury is the Assistant Treasurer and the MP for Lindsay and he joins us now. Good morning Assistant Treasurer, thanks for your time.
BRADBURY:
Good Morning Adam, good to be with you.
HOST:
Without getting too bogged down in the details because I know how technical tax legislation is, what are we going to tax? What is this Mining Resource Rent Tax?
BRADBURY:
Well what we are doing is we are going to ensure that as the mining boom continues, which we are witnessing an unprecedented boom, we are going to make sure that as and when mines become profitable and in particular when they become super profitable, which is reaching a degree of profitability which exceeds what most other businesses would encounter, we are going to capture some of the benefits of that boom. But most importantly we are going to try and spread that to make sure that all Australians right round all the economy, particularly those that are missing out on some of the benefits of the mining boom at the moment get some of that benefit and the way we are going to do that is by ensuring that we use the proceeds of the mining boom to firstly cut taxes for businesses, not just small businesses but all businesses, particularly those outside the fast lane of the mining boom. We are also going to provide assistance to ensure we boost retirement savings, so we will be increasing the superannuation contributions and funding the Government's tax concessions that are attached with that with the money that we raise.
HOST:
How much money, roughly do you think you are going to raise? I see a figure of $10.6 billion in its first three years - is that roughly accurate?
BRADBURY:
That is what the forecast suggest that we will be raising, and that is a significant amount of money. I think we would all recognise that, but we really are experiencing something quite different to the many periods of our past history where we are seeing one particular sector just go gangbusters when the rest of the economy is in many respects doing it tough, so we want to make sure that we spread the benefits of that boom to all of Australia.
HOST:
How different is that figure of $10.6 billion over three years and how different is the structure of that tax to what was originally proposed by the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd?
BRADBURY:
Look, the original RSPT was looking at somewhere in the order of about $12 billion over two years.
HOST:
Which would be $18 billion over three years so you are looking at roughly half of what you said you were going to make.
BRADBURY:
In the end, politics is about implementing reforms that you can secure the political support for in the first instance, but secondly it is also about putting in place reforms that will be enduring. And we think that with the mining tax we have secured passage through the Parliament that we have a reform that has broadly-based community support and that is my impression as I am out there talking to people in the community. There is very strong support for our efforts to spread the benefits of the boom, but equally this is a tax that we think through the consultation that we have engaged in with industry, delivers a workable set of arrangements, that is obviously important. Look I think we began this debate with particularly the Liberal party coming out saying well this is going to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Well, since we proposed the mining tax we have seen a doubling in the amount of investments coming into the mining sector.
HOST:
Can I ask you specifically on that because I know your time is limited this morning, you're talking about $10 billion out of the entire mining industry over three years. Very simplistic figures but Gina Rinehart's personal wealth went up that much in the last year - one individual has gone up $10 billion in the last year - annual mining profits to the year June roughly $90 billion; another $430 billion in investment planned. You have gone through all this electoral and legislative pain to bring in about $3 billion a year. Some people will think that is a very small percentage of the mining boom to be harvesting back to the rest of Australia.
BRADBURY:
Well look, mining companies pay other taxes as well so let's not simplify it by assuming this is the only tax that they pay, but the point you make Adam is a point that there are plenty of people out there that do make. But what I do say is that the point you do make only illustrates how pathetic the position of the Liberal party has become, that they are now even opposing what some people are suggesting is a modest imposition on a sector that is doing exceptionally well in good times when the rest of the country is not getting that benefit, we say it is important that we implement this tax we have got it through the Parliament, now we want to do what all Australians expect of their Government and that is that we spread the benefits of a boom that is wholly owned by all Australians. These resources are one hundred per cent owned by Australians, we want to make sure that we capture a benefit from that and spread it to all corners of the Australian continent.
HOST:
Thank you very much for your time David Bradbury.
BRADBURY:
Thanks very much Adam.