Government Should Look to Itself Before Imposing Flood Levy

The Gillard Government’s Flood Levy is an insult to the tremendous spirit we have seen during and following the recent flood crises around Australia, said the Federal Member for Mitchell, Alex Hawke.

“The Gillard Government must reduce its gross and excessive spending and should look to itself first before slugging all Australians with this new tax,” Mr Hawke said.

“We must and will help our fellow Australians in need. But as the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, stated in the Parliament this week, ‘mates help each other, they don’t tax each other.’”

“This levy, this tax, it will fall on volunteers, it will fall on the donors—people who have already given and sacrificed so much in perspiration and out of their own pockets. It will also in some instances fall on flood victims.”

Mr Hawke questioned why it was that the Opposition, the Federal Coalition, and not the Gillard Government who were willing to seek savings measures rather than immediately resorting to a new tax.

“The Government has a vital role in rebuilding infrastructure, but it shouldn’t discourage our volunteering ethos,” Mr Hawke said. “The Gillard Government is positioning Government as an autocratic institution that will tell us how, when, and how much we are obligated to give when there is a natural disaster.

“I have received much feedback from upset residents in our local community. People who have pitched-in, who have given more than they really could afford to give, and who are now questioning why they should have donated in the first place if the Government was just going to tax them afterward.

“We must not blunt the instinct to help in times of need. The incalculable contributions, from the heavy equipment company lending their machinery and donating the cost of their employees’ labour, to the volunteer turning up with a shovel, cannot be matched by Government.

“The Gillard Government should look to make savings itself before resorting to this new tax,” Mr Hawke said.