Greens Treasury spokesperson welcomes the announcement of a government review into potential rorting of the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax and the Commonwealth Royalty regime. Yesterday in Senate question time we asked the Government to consider doing this.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “The Government has known about potential rorting by big fossil fuel companies of the PRRT and the oil and gas royalty regimes for years. Everyone should pay their fair share.

“The Greens have been raising questions about the integrity of these schemes in the last parliament and in this one.

Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson says it is astonishing that in a week the Senate is squabbling over just tens of millions in revenue from backpackers, that the ANAO have just released a bombshell report (LINK HERE) saying that oil and gas companies may have wrongly claimed billions in tax deductions.

Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson welcomes the passage of the amended backpacker tax at a lower tax rate of 10.5% through the Senate today. He calls upon National Party backbenchers to take a stand for their communities and cross the floor next week to support the lower rate.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “It’s a simple test for the Nats next week. Do they want to maintain Australia’s competitive advantage when it comes to agricultural production or not?

Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, says that Scott Morrison’s supply-side economics response to his worsening budget deficit will do nothing to address the budget position and will only exacerbate inequality.

Greens Treasury spokesperson for Treasury, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, says that unless Malcolm Turnbull radically changes Australia’s economic settings those who are currently the economic winners will continue to prosper at the expense of those who are being left behind.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Turnbull’s economic plan of corporate and top-end income tax cuts and slashing social welfare payments is a Reagan-era prescription that will only worsen the modern economic ailments of our time.

Australian Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, today responded to comments by the Reserve Bank Governor and the IMF regarding infrastructure and housing.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “The RBA and the IMF have once again laid out the case for increasing government borrowing to invest in infrastructure.

“The Greens went to the last federal election with a detailed policy for a nation-building infrastructure program, that included restructuring infrastructure financing and a focus on transitioning our economy to become 100% renewable.

Peter Whish-Wilson, Greens Treasury spokesperson, provides the following comments about the government’s ongoing backpacker tax saga.

“Yesterday Barnaby was talking bulldust on the backpacker tax start date, today he’s playing the xenophobia card about foreign workers undercutting Australian jobs. He’s gone from spreading misinformation to ungrounded fearmongering.

“You have to wonder if government would have done better if anyone other than Barnaby was the agriculture minister. If Richard Colbeck was still around then I am sure this would have been killed two years ago.

Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, announces the Greens position on the Government’s backpacker tax Bill.

Senator Whish-Wilson said “The Greens want backpackers to be taxed at the same rate as residents. However, we will support the cross-bench amendment to reduce the government’s 19% rate to 10.5%. With the Greens and Labor support of this amendment, the Bill will likely return to the House at a lower rate and the Government has said they will kill it.

Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, provides the following response to the government’s increasingly desperate attempts to save itself from self-imposed humiliation on its backpacker tax.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “The spree of media releases from the government and agencies yesterday shows that they are making it up as they go along with the backpacker tax; desperately trying to shift the blame to anyone but themselves over the farce that they created.

Greens Treasury spokesperson Senator Peter Whish-Wilson says it was disappointing that so many industry stakeholders were still under the impression at today’s Senate Economics Committee 'Working Holiday Maker Reform package' Hearing that the default position on the backpacker tax is 32%.