It's a pity that the evidence for this claim is paywalled in The Australian.

So.. A robot tax punishes people, you say, is that right? Do you suggest that businesses that innovate, and in so doing, PUT HUGE SWATHES OF THE COMMUNITY OUT OF WORK, should be able to pocket the gains and walk away? Seriously? Just where do you think all those displaced people are going to go? As I understand it, the ALP is seeking to balance the equation somewhat and return some degree of dignity to workers. Do you suggest that this is a bad thing? The only folks impacted by this proposed tax are those who'd put people out of work.. because those jobs, once automated, are not coming back. Ever. Such a tax, the funds for which would be dedicated to retraining displaced personnel, is no more nor less than responsible public policy. Who pays taxes? People? or Robots? Who votes? People? or Robots? Businesses will still automate jobs away.. because over time they will recoup the costs; just as they do now. All the alp wants to do, as far as I can tell, is to not have millions of starving people losing their homes.

Another believer in the great BS story spun about a time that never existed & he from WA to or his branch of the IPA imitators is,
Freedom they cry why being the first to deny it to everyone but their right wing selves & fellow travelers.
Robot tax are you sure! the only robot tax I know is a Liberal Govt one & they cant even get that right, punishes people for missing appointments run by the rorting privatized employment service.
Of course your all for privatization but I would say a large majority of Australians hate it, you have a long way to go mate
By the way when or in what century did this golden age exist that you strive for,otherwise your just another cats paw for business who want unions wrecked and serfs back while you masquerade as a charity like the IPA,
I,m curious why you bother, are you like the IPA with Fellows & all that BS they are a joke & I see no reason why your any different, get a real job

A robot tax is just plain dumb, and only ensure our remaining manufacturing and processing is sent offshore.

Opening doors are mostly automated these days and hundreds of occupations, many of them white-collar will go the same way as manufacturing and processing are sent offshore.

If Labor is serious about protecting/improving comparative wages and conditions, it would embrace cooperative capitalism and wherever possible, facilitate and fund that very outcome, while in government!

As the only way in a largely automated world, that all but guarantees wages and living conditions improve with production. THE ONLY WAY!

It does, however, need to assist that very outcome with real tax reform, that is a stand-alone single tax applied to all income above a generous tax-free threshold. Given that tax is a flat tax of 15%, without the need to also collect tax compliance costs, actually becomes around 8% in real terms.

The final nail that fastens it all together is the world's cheapest energy.

Namely, walk away safe, MSR thorium, and it's carbon-free and able to provide power for less than 2 cents per KwH?

Or alternatively just continue with business as usual, and union membership slip sliding away toward irrelevancy. Along with Labor party funding.

Which would be better if sourced from crowdfunding!
Alan B.

Hi ttbn

Maybe the author is working for the Coalition as part of their desperate campaign for Re-election Day 18 May 2019 (or sooner).

Here's part of an AFR article, 19 November 2018, on ROBOT TAX http://www.afr.com/technology/labor-warns-on-robot-tax-if-ai-questions-are-ignored-20181116-h17z3o

"LABOR WARNS ON 'ROBOT TAX' IF AI QUESTIONS ARE IGNORED"

[ALP] "Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy Ed Husic has warned future governments will need to consider dramatic measures like taxing artificially intelligent bots to help fund basic incomes for citizens, if policy makers and business leaders cannot properly address solutions to maintain employment and living standards in the automation era.

Speaking at an Automation Summit in Sydney hosted by Sydney-based AI and robotic process automation services firm Mindfields, Mr Husic spoke at length about the need for government to collaborate better with business to address the issues facing both organisations and workers as more intelligent technology changes the nature of jobs required.

He was asked about suggestions from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates that organisations replacing human workers with bots should face a "robot tax", to help replace the income tax revenue lost and keep more humans in work, and warned that it would become necessary if more preferable positive measures were not implemented...[MUCH MORE]"

BEWARE AFR ARTICLES OFTEN GO BEHIND A PAYWALL AFTER A FEW WEEKS

This looked very much like fake news, as none of the other news sites had any mention of it, and I find it unlikely that Bill Shorten would support something so stupid. But I looked further and found http://www.smartcompany.com.au/technology/australia-robot-tax/ and http://www.afr.com/technology/labor-warns-on-robot-tax-if-ai-questions-are-ignored-20181116-h17z3o

It looks from that as if Ed Husic, in response to a question (probably from a robot tax proponent) was not conducive to a robot tax but did not completely rule it out in all circumstances.

That was nearly 2 months ago. The paywalled story in The Australian was one month ago.

It has been claimed South Korea has introduced the world's first robot tax - but all it's really done is wind back some tax breaks for automation.

Hi Aidan, Monday, 14 January 2019 1:53:32 PM

Yes, great minds thinking alike. Note the comment 16 minutes prior to yours:

"Here's part of an AFR article, 19 November 2018, on ROBOT TAX http://www.afr.com/technology/labor-warns-on-robot-tax-if-ai-questions-are-ignored-20181116-h17z3o

"LABOR WARNS ON 'ROBOT TAX' IF AI QUESTIONS ARE IGNORED"

[ALP] "Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy Ed Husic has warned future governments..."

And I agree Shorten has Ed Husic on a short leash saying nice things making Unionists happy before Christmas.

But neither Ed nor Shorty can promise anything detailed like a Robot (Information Age Offing Rust Belt Industries) Tax

too close to the 18 May 2019 (or before) Election.

Cheers

Pete

I'm heartened that some of the ALP posters on this site see what a stupid idea this is, but disappointed it is being dismissed as some sort of a brain fart by Husic. As The Australian's article shows, some form of tax on business for increasing its productivity is on the ALP agenda and was discussed and voted on at the last ALP conference just before Christmas. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/industrial-relations/labor-plans-robot-tax-to-help-retrain-displaced-workers/news-story/966b5534e8a68239a727a783a66e731a

I'm also disheartened by the number of ALP posters who want to criticise this author for getting in early on the issue. If you're going to beat a bad idea, then the time to do it is before it has developed too many champions.

This looks like a serious policy proposal to me, and is just part of the ALP moves to increase the overall tax rate through the use of excuses. Another example of this is the negative gearing policy which is supposed to be a housing affordability policy, but is claimed not to affect house prices, so won't increase affordability. I'm afraid we're in for some years of very bad government and falling living standards.

GrahamY,
When you look at Husic's response, I think it's rather unfair calling it a "brain fart" because he knows and acknowledges that there are better options.

The article in The Australian is paywalled, so repeating the URL doesn't help. Cian Hussey only claimed it showed the "Labor Party is tipped to back a new 'robot tax'" rather than the more elaborate claim you're making - so are you 100% sure it can be accurately stated that "some form of tax on business for increasing its productivity is on the ALP agenda and was discussed and voted on at the last ALP conference just before Christmas"?

The only other mention of it I've found is at http://www.conservatives.org.au/labor_s_innovation_tax which says:
>The Australian reports, ALP and union sources say agreement has been reached on
>a tripartite forum of employers, ­unions and Labor government representatives
>to “aid government policy thinking” on automation and the future of work.
>The agreed platform change is expected to be endorsed by the ALP conference on Sunday.

So despite the attempts of everyone who reported it to spin it as endorsing a robot tax, it appears all they're doing is setting up a committee!

We the rightwingers who form the majority of commenters put ALP Posters on notice

Maybe "I am a ALP Poster" should preface your every comment and your bible:

"Bill Shorten's For the Common Good Reflections on Australia's Future"

http://www.mup.com.au/books/for-the-common-good-paperback-softback

burnt.

The Australian & NEWS CORP papers as well as SKY after dark the propaganda outlet for their wholly owned subsidiary AKA the Liberal National Govt
There's a day of reckoning coming for Murdoch & his paid liars,it may be sooner than they think

Yes JR

1. As the "Australian & NEWS CORP" are Australia's main kingmakers I'm confident Murdoch the Great is already plotting to drop the Coalition and support Shorty's ALP next month (in February)

Although increasingly tubby ScoMo has been amusing he realises he has only 122 days to lose on the last possible election date, 18 May 2019 (if not before).

Note this handy countdown meter until 18 May http://days.to/18-may/2019

2. With ScoMo's Election defeat Australia's greatest Opposition Leaders Abbott-Credlin (good Catholic Mrs A?)

will again form the World's Greatest Wrecking Ball of a ALP Government and return the Coalition to power around 2022.

Yours

Clairvoyant Pete
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Plantagenet

Only having first heard of this tax 5 minutes ago, I have no opinion
on whether it is a good thing or not.
My first thought on the matter is how will it be assessed.
Will it be on the production output ?
Does the operation indeed have an output ?
Will it be levied on the robot machines power consumption, after all
energy consumption is a direct measure of work done ?
Would you subtract the energy used when the work was manually done ?
Will the tax be applied only to new installations ?
Will the tax be applied to packaging machines and if so what affect
will that have on supermarket shelf prices ?
Would the new robot driven Metro trains in Sydney be taxed ?
Lifts have been driven by robots for many a year now.
Will lifts be taxed ? After all they all had drivers once.
So I see a lot of room for bureaucracy to stick its fingers in.

I admit I am having a it of fun with this proposal, but then
politicians often generate laughable ideas.
Hmm sounds like I have made up my mind.

For those who haven't read the Oz article because of paywall issues, herewith the full text.

"Federal Labor is set to back a new body that would investigate proposals, including a “robot tax” on employers, aimed at ensuring workers displaced by automation are redeployed into jobs on similar pay and conditions.

ALP and union sources said agreement had been reached on a tripartite forum of employers, ­unions and Labor government representatives to “aid government policy thinking” on automation and the future of work.

The agreed platform change, expected to be endorsed by the ALP conference on Sunday, says the forum would “assess best-practice global models of productivity, taxation, training schemes and other measures to ensure displaced workers and young Australians are redeployed into jobs with similar pay and conditions and that those schemes are appropriately funded”.

An accompanying conference resolution put up by the Australian Workers’ Union, which sources said had broad support, says Labor should consider different employer levy models to fund the ­retraining of workers.

The most radical option it says should be considered is a temporary, economy-wide “training levy” for businesses with 100 or more employees, with the funds to be used to help retrain workers in higher and vocational education.

The resolution says Labor should also consider creating a “redundancy and retraining guarantee fund” for medium to large businesses.

Under this proposal, a “small percentage of employee costs” would be payable into a fund that would be used to retrain workers directly impacted by automation or redundancy. The funds would be in addition to redundancy and entitlement payments...

"...A third option would be a “retrenchment, retraining and redeployment levy” for medium and large businesses. This would apply where businesses retrench workers and remain in operation, and would help fund retraining.

Sources said the various options could be examined by the forum, with any recommendations to be then considered by a Labor government in consultation with employers, unions and other stakeholders

AWU national secretary Daniel Walton said automation loomed as a “once in a lifetime disruptive economic event” but it had been completely ignored by the Coalition.

“The problem is complex, but we should approach it as we have the economic challenges of the past — through tripartite co-­operation,’’ Mr Walton said.

“We need to convene the leading experts and start working out long-term approaches. The challenge is already upon us and if we aren’t careful, the problem could overwhelm our traditional tools of managing these issues.”

He said workers should not be punished by technological ­advancement and should have a pathway to just transition.

“Those that lose their jobs must be retooled and redeployed in modern, well-paying jobs and we need to make sure we have the ­revenue to pay for this massive structural challenge,’’ he said.

The proposed AWU resolution says projections of an exponential rate of digitalisation and automation call into question the cap­acity of the economy, society and government services to deal with a sudden surge in unemployment.

“A sudden up-ending of the lab­our market threatens to severely increase inequality and undermine social cohesion,’’ it says."

From my very limited understanding, automation is something that Australia should embrace as it is perhaps the only way of rebuilding a manufacturing industry along with regaining some of the jobs that have gone overseas. Automated factories are allowing this to happen in the United States. Innovation taxes and high power costs from crazy green energy policies will ensure the jobs stay offshore.

One example would be a primary producer using a robotic harvester. The farmer is competing with produce from a farm overseas with slave labour and is not cost competitive using contract pickers. Hitting the farmer with a robot tax sounds like an idea the Venezuelan dictatorship would come up with.

Thanks Graham,
So it's as I concluded: they're not actually planning a robot tax; they're just setting up a committee to develop a policy response to the problem of retraining people who lose their work through automation, and a robot tax is one of the many funding options that committee is considering.

IMO considering funding for this is unnecessary - it's likely to pay for itself even in purely financial terms. And in wider economic terms, the case for funding it from general revenue is even stronger, as automation is highly deflationary so whatever else happens, the money supply will have to be substantially increased to keep people working.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Bazz,
Though it's all moot, hypothetically if we were to introduce a robot tax, presumably we'd just follow South Korea's lead and wind back tax breaks rather than specifically introducing a new tax.

Bt contrary to this article's raison d'etre, the ALP aren't keen on it so I don't intend to discuss it further.

What I don't get is that the whole concept sounds very socially positive but in reality it's a false premise.
I get angry at the suggestion of re-training any bloody thing, these fools are morons if they think that just by 're-training' someone, they will automatically have/get a job.
If robotics are introduced and set up properly, they will make the business more efficient and therefore more profitable.
No one said squat diddly when the unions kept pushing up wages to the point where they made Aussie made products as viable as excrement in a sewer.
Now the stupid ignorant ALP want to shift their attack again and see how soon they can destroy more Aussie businesses.
Listen if the ALP are so smart I challenge THEM to start their own businesses, no one is stopping them.
But NO they are scum along with the union movement and all those that support such parasitic beliefs.
Seriously, c'mon you parasites, put your lack of money where your big bludging mouths are and set up your own businesses.
What a joke, they have no idea of what they spew.
RETRAIN?
Really?
And retrain for what job?
Where are all these jobs the ALP morons are forcing OTHERS to pay for?
Listen morons, if there is no work, THERE IS NO WORK!
All this crap about retraining is just the ALP trying to hold onto what little cred it thought it had left.
The truth is, they're not fooling those with more nous than any labour supporter.
If companies want to produce elsewhere, they have every right to even if it eats away at labour and the unions.
I suggest to all Australians, the 'good days' are over, you must take stock, stop and have a reality check, come back to earth, accept your fate, that you must all now live a more frugal life.
Get rid of the 4x2 with a swimming pool and all the bells and whistles, get rid of the toys, you know the ones, jet ski, 4x4, boat, camper/caravan (unless you intend living in it), and so on.