STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator DEAN SMITH (Western Australia) (13:42): Why does Labor want to hurt WA's mining industry? It's a good question that Western Australians are asking themselves today. Australia's resources sector generates $383 billion in revenue every year—a powerful export industry for our country.

Every mine begins with exploration—investors who are prepared to take risks. Junior explorers are particularly important to mineral development in our country. Junior explorers are prerevenue—dependent on patient, high-risk capital.

Think about this: just one in every 1,000 exploration activities leads to mining activity. So why would Labor want to punish this industry, which is so critical to Australian exports and so critical to Western Australia's mineral resource development and prosperity? Labor's capital gains tax changes make mineral exploration investment much less attractive.

Seventy-five per cent of retail investors surveyed by the Australian mineral exploration council in Western Australia have said that the CGT arrangements are critically important to their investment decisions. Treasury has now released draft legislation—now going through the consultation process—that puts that mineral exploration at risk, because it has said that that capital gains tax discount will no longer be available to mineral exploration.

What have WA mining industry chiefs said? They have said this risks future mining resource exploration. They have said that this is 'beyond disappointing'.

They have said that this is a 'blow' to the mining industry. Why is it that Labor wants to keep punishing WA's mining industry?