Shorten set on new resources tax
Bill Shorten has all but confirmed the Labor Party will propose a new resources tax by the time of the next election.
But the Opposition Leader has again dodged questions on whether he supports the current design of the mining tax, notwithstanding the fact that Labor sided with the Greens this week to block its repeal.
With the coalition likely to campaign hard on the mining tax next week, Mr Shorten said the Government should in turn face heat over its refusal to release its 900-page Commission of Audit.
"We could have played smart and delayed the vote in some way until after the April 5 election," he told the National Press Club yesterday.
"We didn't. We voted. Now it's the turn of the Government to show their cards.
"The reason why they don't release it is they don't trust Western Australian voters, so why on earth should Western Australian voters trust them?"
Treasurer Joe Hockey yesterday described the mining tax as "one of the great financial disasters of modern times", noting it was first forecast to raise $12.5 billion in the current year.
It is now expected to raise about $300 million.
Mr Shorten acknowledged Labor's poor salesmanship of the mineral resources rent tax in 2010, saying its "dialogue didn't always match the extent of our ambition for reform".
"But I do support the concept of a profits-based resource tax," he said, before borrowing the words of US Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren to explain why.
"Labor and I have no problems with people being rich but no one ever got super rich in Australia on their own," Mr Shorten said.
"It is the people who pay for the roads, it is the people who pay for the schools that educate the workforce. It is the people who pay for our health-care system which makes this such an enviable and lucky country."
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said this week that Labor was already consulting with the resources sector about taxation and in particular how it was implemented.
