MEDIA RELEASE

Senator Pauline Hanson has confirmed a One Nation Senate crossbench will block Bill Shorten’s new cruel plan to steal up to 30% from the incomes of over a million older Australians and pensioners.

 “Mr Shorten’s plan is theft, it’s daylight robbery, it’s cruel and rude,” Senator Hanson said.

It’s no secret Labor is making a pitch for the youth vote and has made a conscious decision to throw older Australians under the bus.

“This trashy tax heist will pass the Senate over my dead body,” Senator Hanson coolly stated today.

One Nation believes that older Australians have worked hard and paid their fair share of taxes.

Ripping 30% from retiree incomes will relegate many older Australians to a life of poverty and desperation.

“It’s clear Bill Shorten and Labor are doing what they have always done, raised taxes on the most vulnerable to buy votes and sneak into government,”

“This time Labor’s plan won’t work, because we will make a pitch to the Australian people to elect One Nation as an insurance policy against Bill Shorten’s shifty dealings,” Senator Hanson said.

One Nation has a well stated goal of achieving balance of power status in the next Senate, an outcome that would buy the country insurance against a Shorten government.

The party is fielding two high profile Queenslanders with former Senator Malcolm Roberts and state leader Steve Dickson heading the party’s state Senate ticket.

 “Our goal is to have two or three Senators elected from Queensland,” Mr Dickson said.

“If we have one or two senators elected from each State we can guard against shifty Shorten’s tax hit on vulnerable pensioners,” he said.

 Just recently Pauline Hanson’s party announced a bold new policy of taxing multinationals who are currently paying little to no tax.

“If budget repair and gross pork barrelling payment is required, the major parties can always tax multinationals who don’t pay this country their fair share of corporate tax,” he said.

“Pauline recently put the call out to her supporter base for help to take multinationals on and force them to pay their fair share of tax. The response was overwhelming,”

“Everyday Aussies now realise that the major parties will always target the elderly for cash because multi-nationals fund the Labor and Liberal party’s personal coffers,” he said.

MEDIA RELEASE

Senator Hanson has labelled Bill Shorten an $8 billion dollar threat to Central Queensland after the Labor leader confirmed his personal opposition to the Carmichael Mine.

This comes as former Labor member and Mayor of Rockhampton Margaret Strelow has revealed that the Carmichael mine will bring over $8 billion in wages and jobs to Central Queensland.

“Despite the fact that politicians from his own party have said the mine is worth billions to Central Queensland, Bill Shorten is still opposed to the Carmichael Mine.” Senator Hanson said.

“Bill Shorten is an $8 billion dollar threat to Queensland’s mining industry and Queensland jobs.”

“We know Bill Shorten is one hundred percent opposed to the billions of dollars and the many jobs, this mine will bring to Central Queensland. This means we know it is only a matter of time until the rest of Labor falls in line.”

“I think it is disgusting that Bill Shorten is prepared to risk billions of dollars for Central Queensland just because he is scared of losing the Batman by-election.”

One Nation will not be supporting the passage of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enterprise Tax Plan No. 2) Bill 2017, which contains the government’s plan to reduce the tax rate for the big end of town from 30 per cent to 25 per cent in nine years.

My decision not to support the legislation flows from asking what the companies do with the ­additional cash and who will benefit the most.

I listened to the CEOs of our most successful companies, including Orica’s Alberto Calderon, who says tax cuts alone will not be enough to encourage further private investment. I listened to Australians who own shares in these companies. I listened to everyone who gave me their opinion directly or indirectly and it is clear that expert opinion is divided on the benefits of joining the global race to the bottom for company tax rates.

No one knows what companies will do with the additional cash if the legislation becomes law. Companies could pay down debt, ­increase shareholder returns (through increased dividends or share buybacks), lower prices or a combination of any of these.

The government prays the savings will be used by companies to create well-paying jobs and a better standard of living across our community. If its prayers are not answered then a catastrophic tax collection shortfall will follow, which likely will be funded by debt we cannot afford. The recent American tax cuts are expected to double US debt in the first year and add more than $US1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) to debt in 10 years.

We are one of the few countries that avoids double taxation of company profits and we do this by passing the tax paid by the company on profits to the shareholder in what is called a tax credit. These tax credits help workers save for their retirement in industry and retail superannuation funds. If the tax credit cannot be used by an Australian taxpayer then it becomes an ATO refund for retirees.

A reduction in company income tax rates equals a reduction in the value of tax credits and tax refunds for Australians. Plainly the government has not done its homework on the impact of these proposed changes on retirees and workers, and that disappoints me. The cart is before the horse. No progress can be made by the cart.

The availability of these tax ­refunds and tax credits is one of many factors that complicates a simple comparison of tax rates ­between countries. In the US, companies pay federal income tax and state income tax applies in 48 states. The Trump tax rate ­becomes anywhere between 21 per cent and 33 per cent, depending on the state.

So a simple comparison of country tax rates is next to useless. But the government persists in the false claim that company ­income tax rates drive business ­investment.

This is ridiculous — all it does is undermine my confidence in the government and its advisers.

The government needs to better understand the sorts of incentives that will attract investment and it needs to give investors globally competitive electricity and gas prices.

Experts say Australia takes the prize for the weakest tax regime for offshore gas with the consequence that foreign-owned multinational petroleum companies, for the most part, do not pay for our gas, nor do they pay tax on the profits made from our gas, and they expect that never to change.

The recent inquiry into the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax was doomed from the start by the government’s carefully crafted terms of reference.

I shake my head when I see both major political parties get more in political donations from foreign-owned multinational petroleum companies than they pay in corporate income tax. When will the government act so we get paid for our gas?

I supported a tax rate cut for companies below the $50 million turnover point. I remain talking with the government. I challenge the government to do a deal with the states and remove payroll tax ­because that will lead to more jobs.

Dear Minister

You would be aware of the serious sexual assault allegations that have surfaced over the last fortnight in relation to projects run by a number of high profile Non-Government Organisations, most notably Oxfam. These allegations come at a time where Australians are becoming increasingly disillusioned with your Government’s ability to responsibly spend the taxes it collects and reign in our out-of-control debt.

I acknowledge there are many moral, political and economic reasons for the Australian Government to make overseas aid contributions, but can understand the frustration of everyday Australians when it comes to spending borrowed money on projects that are only tangentially in our national interest.

Many Australians indicated their dismay at Senator Penny Wong’s announcement on 13th February that a Labor government would seek to increase Australia’s foreign aid contribution from its already high $3.9 billion. I’ve no doubt that many of the same Australians expressed their concerns to you after your recent announcement that Australia would be contributing a further $90 million to the Julia Gillard chaired Global Partnership for Education, just hours after receiving a direct request from an American pop star for Australia to make such a donation.

As more information emerges about the alleged behaviour of Oxfam staff following the 2010 Haiti earthquake and alleged attempts by Oxfam to hide reports of this behaviour, it is becoming clear that some form of investigation into federal funding of NGOs must be undertaken.

Oxfam chief executive Mark Goldring indicated in an interview to the Guardian on February 17th that sexual abuses and misappropriations of aid funds were commonplace among NGOs operating in disaster areas. Mr Goldring went so far as to say “let’s be clear, it happens in every aid organisation.”

This came on the same day as comments from Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise that this was only one instance of an NGO engaging in reprehensible behaviour. He was reported as saying “It is not only Oxfam – there are other NGOs in the same situation, but they hide the information internally” and “the Oxfam case is the visible part of the iceberg.”

Over the last three years the Federal Government has contributed over $30 million to Oxfam Australia and over $348 million to NGOs in total. This is a significant sum of money and Australians have every right to know that their taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and morally. Australians are rightly concerned that foreign aid grants to NGOs are facilitating the sexual abuse of desperate people in the most horrific circumstances.

I ask what measures are in place to ensure that Australian aid dollars do not contribute to the abuse of these people and look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely

Pauline Hanson

Senator for Queensland