Hanson is on board

Superyacht tax reform wins new support

SENATOR Pauline Hanson is backing calls to reform an exorbitant tax structure applied to foreign-owned superyachts in Australian waters.

The One Nation Leader was one of the key targets during a recent visit to Canberra to shore up support for Far North economic development priorities.

Support from Sen Hanson could prove vital when the reforms to the Coastal Trading Act come back to the table for debate.

They were voted down by former minor party senators Jacqui Lambie and Glenn Lazarus during the last parliament, meaning the 10 per cent GST applied to the value of a foreign-flagged ship running charters in Australia still persists today.

“The argument Advance Cairns have put forward supporting changes to allow super yachts to operate private charters in Australian waters certainly looks good on face value,” Sen Hanson said.

“The job numbers and injection of new and untapped tourism dollars to ports like Cairns cannot be ignored.”

Sen Hanson said her tentative support would require assurances foreign superyacht owners would not be given carte blanche to profit in Australia without paying their way.

“It’s important that we get the legislation right to ensure superyachts pay their fair share of taxes while operating for up to 12 months in Australian waters and ensure businesses in Cairns and similar ports up and down the Queensland coast are the winners of any changes passed in the Senate,” she said.

“I will take up further discussions with Trent or Nick next week when I return to Parliament, but also make some time to speak with the likes of (Cairns Game Fishing Association president and former independent candidate for Leichhardt) Daniel McCarthy and other yachties to see what their suggestions are towards the change.”

Advance Cairns chief executive Nick Trompf said he was delighted to have One Nation on board.

“If that support translates into votes in the Senate, that goes a long way to having the necessary numbers of crossbenchers to get the legislation passed,” he said.

“There are other independents and it’s not absolutely clear how they will vote.

“But we’re pleased to see our advocacy to the One Nation team has been effective in getting the message through.”