Mr SLIPPER (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Administration) (1:25 PM) —What a bag of wind. The member opposite huffed and puffed and filled in 15 minutes of the time of parliament. The Labor Party claims on the one hand that it is interested in fiscal rectitude and the continuation of surpluses, but on the other hand it is prepared to plunder the budget on behalf of its friends in the brewing companies. It is obvious that packaged beer comprises some 75 per cent to 80 per cent of the total beer sales, and the new tax system package was absolutely explicit on the commitment with respect to packaged beer. What the Australian Labor Party has done by refusing to support government legislation in the Senate is to force the government to break a promise it made to the Australian people—a promise, incidentally, that was one of the bases on which the Australian people continued to trust the government with the keys of office post the last election.

The Member for Hotham also is contradictory. At some stage he talks about our collecting excise unlawfully. Then he claims it is wrongfully and then he returns to unlawfully. I want to reassure the parliament that the government has not acted unlawfully. As the member opposite knows, the Excise Act provides for excise rates on tariff proposals to be the basis for collection and provides for explicit protection. These mechanisms have been in place since 1901. The Excise Act requires formal validation of proposals within 12 months and that is what this legislation does. Summing up, the government has accepted the realities that we do not have the numbers in the Senate. The Labor Party has forced us to break our promise. The member opposite has misled the House. He ought to apologise. At the end of the day, I commend the motion I have moved to the chamber.

Question resolved in the affirmative.