Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister inform the House what impact the scrapping of the carbon tax will have on electricity prices, particularly for the families and businesses in my electorate of Cowan?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Cowan for his question. I regret to inform the House that under the former government power prices just about doubled. They literally doubled over the life of the former government. The carbon tax was not the only factor in the doubling of prices but it certainly made a bad situation very much worse. The whole point of the carbon tax was to put up the price of power because power is responsible for the bulk of Australians' emissions. The whole point of abolishing the carbon tax is to reduce Australians' power bills. That is the whole point of abolishing the carbon tax, to reduce Australians' power bills by on average $200 a year per household. This is a very important benefit that we wish to give to the households of Australia. Abolishing the carbon tax will reduce power bills by $200 a year as part of the $550 a year cost savings that it will give to the households of Australia. Let us be absolutely crystal clear: remove the carbon tax and power prices will fall. As the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said just the other day, what went up will clearly come down when you take away the carbon tax. He said: 'Prices went up by nine per cent. When you take it away, you reverse that. It's really quite straightforward.' That is what Rod Sims said. Members opposite introduced the carbon tax without a mandate. Now they are actively obstructing the mandate that the new government most clearly has. Members opposite should learn to take the electorate seriously.