Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. The honourable member asked a question about the impact of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme on electricity and gas prices. Those I can refer the honourable member to are of course contained in Treasury’s documentation. On electricity it is projected that electricity prices would rise by seven per cent in 2011-12 and gas prices would rise by four per cent in 2011-12. That has been on the public record for a long, long time. I also draw the attention of those opposite to two things. The first is the compensation regime which is contained within the government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme for households, a compensation regime which those opposite do not seem to match by one single dollar. The second is the broader support measures that we put in place in our response to the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme for business. I am so glad that the member for Flinders has asked this question as my attention has been drawn to something which I think the House might be interested in. It is along these lines. I quote from a university thesis:

Underlying any analysis of an appropriate response to controlling pollution is a philosophical choice as to which party should ultimately bear responsibility for the cost of waste minimisation. It will be our contention throughout the paper that in contrast to the current Victorian legislative structure which still perceives environmental controls as essentially a community responsibility and burden the market system is a preferable regime as it better ensures that the polluter bears full responsibility for the cost of his or her conduct.

The university thesis has an author and the author is Greg Hunt—the considered intellectual philosophical work of the member for Flinders arguing for a market based system which ensures that the polluter pays. Where lies consistency, Greg? Out the door, out the window, right outside and down the gurgler.

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