Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

So the policy question that genuinely confronts us is that, as we need to see investment in electricity, we know that investment is now being held up because of current uncertainty. Long-term investment is not going to be made until we answer the question about pricing carbon. As we release that new investment, do we want to release it in a way which helps us tackle the problem of climate change and carbon emissions or do we just want to go on as we are now? Well, I am for reform. I am for dealing with the question of pricing carbon. I am for telling people the truth. The Leader of the Opposition, with his three-word slogans and his denial of climate change, wants to hide the truth from people. But, of course, his ability to hide that truth ran out of rope when we had the Treasury books for the incoming government released under freedom of information, because they made it absolutely clear that this nation needs to price carbon in order to meet its targets for reducing carbon emissions and that the only other way to do it is to put huge costs on the budget. The member who asked me the question asks about costs. I say to him if he wants to talk about costs let us have an honest debate. How much would you hack out of education to deal with it your way? How much would you hack out of health? How much would you hack out of defence? How much would you put taxes up by?

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