2016-09-27
Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, has heavily criticised the Federal Government for continuing to put forward a new tax on backpackers despite the clear impact it will have on growers and the tourism industry.
Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Scott Morrison is selling rotten eggs to farmers and calling it pavlova. And all the while he wants praise for doing it.
“The Greens will vote this new tax down when it comes before parliament and we are calling on Labor and the cross-bench to do the same.
“Rather than penny-pinching from low-paid workers, and putting our agricultural producers at risk, the Treasurer should be embarking on real economic reform to raise the billions needed to run our economy.
“This new tax is clearly anti-Tasmanian. We have now lost one of our true competitive advantages.
“New backpacker arrivals are already down and that is before the new tax is in place. The Government needs to abandon this new tax before the impact hits home,” he concluded.