2015-11-12
The Australian Greens say Malcolm Turnbull has exposed his true colours by rejecting an Australian Greens amendment that would have increased transparency in corporate tax avoidance.
"Malcolm Turnbull wants to push ahead with cuts to family support and a higher GST but he's not willing to crack down on corporate tax avoidance," said Greens Leader Richard Di Natale.
"The whole game is up. The Turnbull Government has shown today that it will protect the big end of town and slug ordinary people. Tax reform should start at the top, not at the bottom.
"These big companies are hoarding billions of dollars that should be going into our schools, hospitals and the services people expect. One way to stop it is to expose what they're doing.
"The Greens, Labor and crossbench Senators negotiated together in the public interest. We'll hold the line when this comes back to the Senate and force the government to do the right thing."
Greens finance spokesperson Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said:
"Malcolm Turnbull has sided with the rich, not the rest. He's rejected a great opportunity to back strong disclosure laws that we all know are effective in stopping tax avoidance.
"The government has offered no reasonable explanation for voting these amendments down. If Mr Turnbull wants to go to a double dissolution on shielding wealthy companies from disclosing their tax affairs, then bring it on."
Immediately after the Treasurer announced the Government would reject the Senate's amendments, Greens Treasury spokesperson Adam Bandt MP told the House of Representatives:
"Only a blue-blood government with a born-to-rule mentality would call democracy a ‘shabby process'.
"Transparency to this government is what sunlight is to a vampire."