Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Deakin for his question. On 1 July the carbon price came into effect. The carbon price is responsive to the climate science. It will cut our carbon pollution and it will drive investment in clean energy. It is already evident that the Leader of the Opposition has run the most mendacious, deceitful campaign in living memory against an important environmental and economic reform. Time will throw further light on the extent of the deceit of the Leader of the Opposition and those opposite in relation to this issue.

As the Treasury modelling demonstrated, the facts are that the economy will grow with a carbon price in place. Jobs will grow, income will grow and the price impact will be less than one cent in a dollar. And, of course, the government instituted a household assistance package that will provide and is providing an average of $10.10 per week in cash assistance. What that will mean is that millions of households will be better off under the carbon price arrangements.

The Leader of the Opposition has made a vast array of deceitful claims. Most notable amongst them is that there would be unimaginable price increases. Wrong. Last week the data started coming in. The TD Securities-Melbourne Institute price index showed that prices had risen by just 0.2 per cent, or one-fifth of one cent, in the month of July.

And it is important to note that that 0.2 per cent increase in consumer prices takes into account all electricity price movements coming into effect from 1 July, including the network costs and other costs. In fact, as the Treasurer pointed out yesterday, underlying inflation is at its lowest point in 13 years. The opposition leader has made other claims—the death of the coal industry: wrong! I have a lot of them in my electorate. Two are currently expanding! And there is $100 billion of investment coming into the coal industry. The Leader of the Opposition claimed there would be no fewer than 45,000 job losses in energy-intensive industries and 126,000 job losses in regional Australia—wrong! During July employment grew by 14,000. He is patently going it alone with carbon pricing.

While the Leader of the Opposition was in China recently, Shanghai province announced their carbon pricing plan, through an emissions trading scheme that will come into effect next year. At every step of this campaign, the Leader of the Opposition has made deceitful claims, and he will be judged very harshly by people for that.

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