Mr HAASE (3:03 PM) —My question is addressed to the Acting Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources. Would the acting minister inform the House of the contribution the mining sector makes to the Australian economy, particularly to job creation and regional Australia? Is the acting minister aware of any threats to the future growth of this vital sector?

Mr HOCKEY (Minister for Small Business and Tourism) —I thank the member for Kalgoorlie for his question and for his obvious ongoing interest in the welfare of the mining sector. Mining is a very important industry for Australia. It always has been and hopefully always will be. It represents around nine per cent of Australia's economy, with exports in excess of $43 billion. Nearly one-third of our total exports come from mining, and it is a very important employer. There are 83,000 people employed in the Australian mining industry, up from 78,000 in 2001, so it is a growing industry in employment, and it is also a growing industry in exports.

Last week along came the Labor Party and proposed a half billion dollar export tax on the mining industry. I was trying to find out where this detailed export tax policy of the Labor Party's was, and I found it in their higher education policy. In their higher education policy there are 28 photographs of the Leader of the Opposition and just one line saying that they are going to increase the tax on the mining industry—nearly half a billion dollars!

Mr Howard —How popular will they be in Western Australia?

Mr HOCKEY —The Prime Minister asks how popular Labor will be in Western Australia. The Chief Executive of the Minerals Council of Australia says that the added cost to the miners would not be offset in any way and would flow directly to their bottom line. He said:

That is quite common at the Labor Party. The member for Hotham did not know it was coming: it was a piece of four by two at the back of the neck. What is the impact on the small miners? David McSweeney who is managing director of Gindalbie estimated that the federal opposition's plan would directly cost the company an extra $250,000 a year, but he said the broader impact would be far more significant. He said:

He goes on to say:

This little company in Western Australia, in the member for Kalgoorlie's electorate, is producing that. The Labor Party is slugging the mining industry, because the Labor Party is bereft of ideas. At a time when the mining industry is doing it pretty tough with international competition and the rising Australian dollar, along comes the Labor Party and slaps a half billion dollar tax on the mining industry. On the coalition side, we want to get rid of taxes on exports; on the Labor side, they want to increase them. It is cheapjack politics, and it is common for the Leader of the Opposition, when the going gets tough, to slug those who are creating the most genuine benefit for people out there in regional Australia.