Passport Fees

Question

Senator DAVID POCOCK: It just seems like an extraordinary amount of money. If you look at 2029-30, Australians paying to have an Australian passport is bringing in just a few hundred million dollars less than the petroleum resource rent tax, which is how we're meant to get a return from offshore LNG. As one of the biggest gas exporters in the world, those two things just don't seem to square-Aussies paying double what comparable countries pay for passports. The gas industry is obviously not for this committee, but that's an absurd comparison. I'm interested, Minister, in why we are using passports as this sort of revenue-raising tool when other countries seem to be able to produce them at half the cost. Senator Wong: Firstly, on gas, I understand your views; I understand the views many Australians have. We believe we've found a better way to deal with the national-interest issues associated with gas, and that is through the reservation policy, because, ultimately, there are different ways in which you can benefit Australians from a resource that is ours. One is taxation; the other is reservation, which is an effective tax, because you're reserving gas for Australians at lower prices. We've explained why we think the approach of reserving gas for Australians is a better policy approach. You correctly said it's not a matter for this committee, so I'll leave that. I accept our passports are expensive. I also think they are very good passports and are recognised worldwide as such. We have improved the system. We have improved the passport services. It is a high-quality, sophisticated document and one of the reasons why we receive visa-free access to over 180 countries. That is, in part, diplomatic, but it's also the security and confidence that countries can have in the Australian passport, which is also a technical issue. I understand your view. We have invested in both improving the system and improving the document. Senator DAVID POCOCK: Surely a Canadian passport and a New Zealand passport have similar visa exemptions and are accepted in the same countries. Ms Veneros: I'll have to take that on notice to double-check. We don't compare passports that way. We look at the particular needs for Australians to travel and we focus on making sure that the document they travel with supports them in entering as many countries as possible. But also, importantly-to the minister's point-we've invested heavily in technology to make sure that we protect people's identity in those documents and keep that very secure and that they can have trust in those documents when they're being used internationally.

Answer

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