Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, on the point of order: this is not a question about the general scheme of the emissions trading scheme or the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. This is a specific question as to how many businesses are in the manufacturing sector, which falls squarely within Senator Carr’s portfolio. He is the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. He indeed touts himself as the ‘minister for manufacturing and making things’, yet when we ask a question of him as to how that might impact on his specific portfolio he seeks to squib it. Mr President, I would invite you to ask Senator Carr, if he has any information to provide to the Senate, to provide it. If he does not, he ought to take the question on notice and come back to the Senate with an answer. But to try to give a hospital pass to his ministerial colleague is not acceptable under our system of ministerial responsibility.