Page 177 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 17 February 1993
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He was not alone, though, because as recently as 13 May 1991 his colleague and prominent senator John Button - I have a special liking for Senator Button for obvious reasons, but still he is a quite intelligent man from time to time - said:
I agree that the unemployment situation is severe. I agree that payroll tax is a burden on employers and employment and is an undesirable tax. It is an issue which should be pursued over time with the Premiers to see whether some solution can be arrived at.
That was Senator John Button. It is interesting, Mr Deputy Speaker, when you look into histories and read newspapers. Perhaps we should not be concentrating on what people in the Federal house say from time to time, because there are also certain other politicians on a State level that have opinions of their own on payroll tax as well. Another recent one that I found was one in a speech to the Australian mining industry on 2 May 1991. The then Premier of Western Australia, Carmen Lawrence - for those people that have forgotten - said:
The present process condemns State governments to the narrow, inefficient, regressive and unstable tax regimes which they operate today. I am sure you would join me in regarding as bizarre the imposition of payroll tax, particularly in the present economic climate. How could anyone justify the States depending on what is effectively a tax on employment as a major instrument for raising revenue?
We all remember what the Chief Minister said in the Assembly yesterday; she said that, after all, payroll tax is a very important part of raising revenue in the ACT. Ms Lawrence seems to disagree.
We go a step further and we go to a northern State, Queensland. I am sure that people in the house would be aware of Mr Tom Burns, who is currently the Deputy Premier of Queensland. At that stage I think he was Deputy Leader of the Opposition or whatever - he has had various roles from time to time over his very illustrious career in Queensland politics. In Hansard in 1986 Mr Burns said:
It is absolutely incredible that any Government would allow payroll tax to become its major source of revenue.
Once again it seems to be different from what Ms Follett said yesterday and from what Ms Follett believes. So as not to bore people any further on what other people say, I think - - -
Mr Kaine: You are not boring us.
MR DE DOMENICO: I know; you are enjoying this. Mr Kaine, thank you. The final quote that I will make is from the ALP policy speech of 17 November 1977. This is magnificent. I quote from the ALP policy speech of 1977 - how times change. It states:
And for its full success, it requires an act of national co-operation. Freed of the burden of the payroll tax, with its added labour costs, employers would have the incentive not only to employ more labour, but to hold prices down. Given good faith on the part of
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