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| George Brandis addresses Senate on Bell Group controversy – politics live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 1.14am GMT | |
| 01:14 | |
| Brandis said he first knew of the matter on March 3 this year when social services minister Christian Porter (former WA treasurer and attorney general) came to visit him. | |
| Porter had a discussion with him. | |
| 1.12am GMT | |
| 01:12 | |
| There was a letter between Nahan and Hockey in April 2015. | |
| Mr Hockey’s letter provides no basis for the claim that an agreement or understanding had been arrived at between the Commonwealth and WAGovernments. Although it is clear that some ministers of the WA Government had a different view. | |
| 1.10am GMT | |
| 01:10 | |
| Brandis says it was in the interests of the commonwealth to settle the matter. | |
| It is relevant here to point out that I subsequently learned that there had been discussions between the former commonwealth treasurer, Mr Hockey, and the treasurer of WA, Dr Nahan, with a view to settling the commonwealth’s claim in the Bell winding up. Since the commonwealth’s proof of debt was for some $167m and a total post liquidation tax assessment of some $298m, it was plainly in the commonwealth’s interests that the matter be settled or otherwise expeditiously finalised. | |
| He says neither he nor Kelly O’Dwyer were aware of the Hockey-Nahan discussion. | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.13am GMT | |
| 1.08am GMT | |
| 01:08 | |
| Brandis says: | |
| The Bell Act came into force on 26 November 2015. | |
| The following day some of the Bell Group creditors commenced proceedings in the original jurisdiction of the high court, challenging its constitutional validity. | |
| They did so primarily on the ground that insofar as the act dealt with debts due to the commonwealth in the form of taxation revenue, its provisions were inconsistent with the Income Tax Assessment Act and the Taxation Administration Act and should therefore be struck down ... | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.11am GMT | |
| 1.06am GMT | |
| 01:06 | |
| Brandis: | |
| Those familiar with corporate insolvency and this is one of the fields in which I used to specialise when I was in practice, have seen enough examples of administrations in which, after all the costs have been incurred in litigation, there is literally not a cent left over for the creditors. In order to avoid that eventuality, in 2015, that is at a time when the matter had been going on for more than 20 years already, the parliament of WA passed a special act of parliament, the Bell Group Company’s Finalisation of Matters and Distribution of Proceeds Act 2015 which I will refer to in these remarks as the Bell act. | |
| He says one of the features of the Bell act was “a particular sequence for the prioritisation of creditors”. | |
| The Commonwealth Corporations Act makes provision in an ordinary winding up for the priority in which proofs of debt are paid so that, for example, secured creditors rank above unsecured creditors. | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.09am GMT | |
| 1.03am GMT | |
| 01:03 | |
| George Brandis says of the winding up of the Bell group: | |
| It is the most complicated and costly corporate winding up in Australian history. | |
| Brandis says the cost estimates are in the hundreds of millions of dollars. | |
| It is a feature of this winding up that several of the original creditor companies have long since been taken over by professional litigation funders whose interest has been in prolonging the litigation. | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.09am GMT | |
| 12.57am GMT | |
| 00:57 | |
| George Brandis is coming up. | |
| 12.51am GMT | |
| 00:51 | |
| Not quite linking arms. | |
| Updated | |
| at 12.57am GMT | |
| 12.48am GMT | |
| 00:48 | |
| He told me to go forth and multiply. | |
| Updated | |
| at 12.53am GMT | |
| 12.46am GMT | |
| 00:46 | |
| FYI there was a little tête-à-tête about some comments from the Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm about Nick Xenophon’s water horse trading, reported by Phil Coorey at the Fin. | |
| Nick can go and get fucked, South Australia has no right to claim any more water. | |
| Xenophon’s reply: | |
| He effectively told me to go forth and multiply. Libertarians use colourful language. | |
| Updated | |
| at 12.53am GMT | |
| 12.41am GMT | |
| 00:41 | |
| The Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson says the backpacker tax compromise of 15% is still too high. He will try to amend it to cancel the 95% superannuation tax rate. | |
| The Senate really should not be supporting this proposal on a 15% backpacker rate. With the 95% clawback on superannuation of backpackers then the effective tax rate is closer to 24% which is no longer competitive with our neighbours. This is roughly double the effective rate of tax paid by working holidaymakers in New Zealand. We are seeking advice on whether we can move an amendment to this new bill to cancel the superannuation clawbacks. | |
| Updated | |
| at 12.52am GMT | |
| 12.39am GMT | 12.39am GMT |
| 00:39 | 00:39 |
| Hinch says the tone from the government in negotiations has been good. He is on everyone’s call list, including the employment minister, Michaelia Cash, Malcolm Turnbull and the opposition leader, Bill Shorten. | |
| Updated | |
| at 12.52am GMT | |
| 12.37am GMT | 12.37am GMT |
| 00:37 | 00:37 |
| Hinch is holding out on the so-called clause 11, that is: | Hinch is holding out on the so-called clause 11, that is: |
| If you have signed [enterprise bargaining agreements] with the unions from April 2014 that clash with the code, then you will not get government contracts. | If you have signed [enterprise bargaining agreements] with the unions from April 2014 that clash with the code, then you will not get government contracts. |
| Hinch does not like the retrospective nature of that code. | Hinch does not like the retrospective nature of that code. |
| By the way, the “building code” governs the rules for government contracts – as I understand. | By the way, the “building code” governs the rules for government contracts – as I understand. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.39am GMT | at 12.39am GMT |
| 12.33am GMT | 12.33am GMT |
| 00:33 | 00:33 |
| Senator Derryn Hinch tells reporters he needs more time on the ABCC bill – another 24 hours, perhaps. | Senator Derryn Hinch tells reporters he needs more time on the ABCC bill – another 24 hours, perhaps. |
| He wants sanctions on employers who breach worker safety laws. | He wants sanctions on employers who breach worker safety laws. |
| If you are getting tough on unions, you have to get tough on the bosses as well. | If you are getting tough on unions, you have to get tough on the bosses as well. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.39am GMT | at 12.39am GMT |
| 12.30am GMT | 12.30am GMT |
| 00:30 | 00:30 |
| We do know that Nick Xenophon wants more water for South Australia but I am still not clear on the details of what the Xenophon team actually wants. | We do know that Nick Xenophon wants more water for South Australia but I am still not clear on the details of what the Xenophon team actually wants. |
| He is asked whether the plan would be “something less than the 450 gigalitres”. Is that the case? | He is asked whether the plan would be “something less than the 450 gigalitres”. Is that the case? |
| I think you are jumping to conclusions. The plan is the plan. The plan had mechanisms in place to achieve that through water-efficiency measures, but before that, there is up to 650 gigalitres in water savings that can be achieved where you can show that you can achieve an environmental benefit and that involves projects such as the Menindee Lakes, the weir on the border of NSW and Victoria. These are big water-saving mergers that need to involve the cooperation of those states, but I would have thought Menindee Lakes, if it is done in a way that takes into accounts the concerns of the Broken Hill community could work effectively. | I think you are jumping to conclusions. The plan is the plan. The plan had mechanisms in place to achieve that through water-efficiency measures, but before that, there is up to 650 gigalitres in water savings that can be achieved where you can show that you can achieve an environmental benefit and that involves projects such as the Menindee Lakes, the weir on the border of NSW and Victoria. These are big water-saving mergers that need to involve the cooperation of those states, but I would have thought Menindee Lakes, if it is done in a way that takes into accounts the concerns of the Broken Hill community could work effectively. |
| I am not much clearer on the Xenophon wishlist. | I am not much clearer on the Xenophon wishlist. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.38am GMT | at 12.38am GMT |