Ministers label Michaelia Cash a liar on production tax credit union claim

Ministers have accused Michaelia Cash of lying and fear-mongering about production tax credit legislation by claiming companies must strike union deals to get the incentive.

The senior WA Liberal senator said the fine print of the overarching Future Made in Australia Bill — among the dozens pushed through Parliament last week — would force companies into agreements with unions.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Resources Minister Madeleine King say she’s flat out wrong.

“The AMWU are absolutely delighted, because they have made it clear that means to be eligible to get a production tax credit, you have to have a union agreement,” Senator Cash said on Friday.

“Quite frankly, what a con job for Western Australians.

“With Labor, the devil is always in the detail. And guess what? Now we know what the devil is: you’ve got to have a union agreement.”

The Future Made in Australia legislation includes six community benefits principles that projects getting funding under any of its initiatives – including the production tax credits for critical minerals processing and green hydrogen – will need to consider.

The first of these is that projects will “promot(e) safe and secure jobs that are well paid and have good conditions”.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, whose members are the most likely to be in the sectors benefiting, welcomed the legislation in July with a press release in which national secretary Steve Murphy said it was “one step closer to having good, unionised jobs”.

But the Government denies any company will be forced into industrial agreements.

Dr Chalmers will create rules for the practical implementation of the community benefits principles.

These rules do not include a requirement for a union agreement.

“Michaelia Cash is lying about the policy in a desperate attempt to distract from the fact that her party will not support these tax credits or WA’s workers and industries,” Dr Chalmers told The West.

The Coalition has opposed the $13.7 billion plan for 10 per cent tax credits on production volumes since it was announced in May’s budget, denouncing it as “billions for billionaires”.

The scheme is yet to be legislated, but is likely to be on the agenda if Parliament returns in February.

Ms King said Senator Cash appeared to be confusing the two separate bills.

“Senator Cash is talking complete rubbish… It’s embarrassing,” she told The West.

“Michaelia Cash is fear-mongering and making things up because her boss Peter Dutton is turning his back on the WA and Qld resources sectors. Senator Cash is taking Western Australians for fools.”

The suggestion for tax credits to help kickstart a critical minerals processing industry in Australia was promoted by the sector as a supplement to incentives on offer from the US among other countries.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the pandemic had highlighted Australia’s vulnerability in being at the end of the supply chain, and it was vital for economic and national security to tackle this.

“(The Opposition) voted against the whole thing. They didn’t want a bar of it,” he said.

“And they haven’t put forward any legitimate suggestions for improving the legislation. They’ve just been against it.”

Ms King said China had been ahead of the game by investing in critical metals, rare earths, solar panels and green technologies for 30 years.

“We have the geology. Maybe we haven’t been as proactive as we should have been in the past, but now the chance is here,” she said.