House debates
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Bills
Clean Energy Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Income Tax Rates Amendments) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Household Assistance Amendments) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Tax Laws Amendments) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Fuel Tax Legislation Amendment) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Customs Tariff Amendment) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Excise Tariff Legislation Amendment) Bill 2011, Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Amendment Bill 2011, Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Amendment Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Unit Shortfall Charge — General) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Unit Issue Charge — Auctions) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Unit Issue Charge — Fixed Charge) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (International Unit Surrender Charge) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Charges — Customs) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Charges — Excise) Bill 2011, Clean Energy Regulator Bill 2011, Climate Change Authority Bill 2011, Steel Transformation Plan Bill 2011; Consideration in Detail
8:57 pm
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Seniors) Share this | Hansard source
I listened to the previous speaker, the member for Kingston, talk about the fear campaign which the opposition is alleged to be running; yet the fear campaign coming from the government about passing the bills, which is the point I was making earlier, is why we need to have an election before this legislation, which may be passed, becomes operational—that is, it is proclaimed.
The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency again stood up in this parliament today and said that the government were going to bring down the number of millions of tonnes of carbon emitted, yet the government's own document called Strong growth, low pollution, on the summary page, shows that, in 2009-10, carbon emissions were at 578 million tonnes and, in 2020, they will be at 621 million tonnes. In other words, emission levels will not come down; they will go up. But the pain being inflicted on the people is enormous.
That is why we have said that we will repeal the carbon tax laws if they are passed by this parliament, just as the Labor Party repealed Work Choices. You said all along that you would do so. We are saying all along that we will repeal the carbon tax. Just as you repealed Work Choices, we will repeal the carbon tax. To make it very clear, the reason we did not need to support the steel industry plan today is that, once the carbon tax is removed, it will not be necessary, because the jobs will not be impacted.
The bottom line is, very simply, that, as the polling showed this morning, the opposition parties are more trusted to deal with the question of climate change than the government. It also showed that we are also the parties more trusted to deal with the economy, to deal with interest rates, to deal with all the matters that are of importance to the Australian people. For you people to sit there and fly in the face of the Australian people when you only got elected because you misled the people into believing you would not impose a carbon tax is a huge insult to the Australian people. That is why this amendment has been moved, to ensure that the Australian people can have a say. If you had an ounce of decency you would say that you accept that you were elected because the Prime Minister promised the people there would be no carbon tax.
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