Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to the 87 per cent increase in the number of Western Australians who cannot pay their electricity bills after a 26 per cent price increase this year. I also refer him to the further 19 per cent increase, on Treasury’s own figures, coming down the pipeline as a result of his great big new tax. I ask the Prime Minister: will he apologise to those 77,000 Western Australians who already cannot pay their bills for threatening to make their lives worse? And will he now admit that his emissions trading scheme will not work and drop the whole idea?

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

I welcome the question from the Leader of the Opposition. I have a very good working relationship with the Liberal Premier of Western Australia but this is the first time in this House that I have been asked to be accountable for his actions. I would just—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The last time I looked there was not at present a carbon pollution reduction scheme in operation, therefore the Leader of the Opposition’s question goes to electricity prices already announced by the Liberal government of Western Australia—and apparently I am responsible for that! As a matter of basic logic I would suggest to the Leader of the Opposition that he might reflect further on his question.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order going to relevance. The Prime Minister was asked about what he is responsible for, which is the 19 per cent Treasury estimate of the increase in electricity prices. That is what he was asked about and he should not dissemble that—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat and he will not debate his point of order.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, further to the point of order, he is responsible for making a bad situation worse.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition knows that the opportunity under our standing orders to raise a point of order is not an opportunity to enter into debate. The Prime Minister has the call.

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

I am sure Colin will be pleased to know that the decisions he is taking about the electricity industry are judged by the Leader of the Opposition here as bad decisions. I am sure Eric Ripper will have fun with that one in the Western Australian parliament when it convenes on these matters. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the impact on gas and electricity prices. They have been the subject of detailed responses by me and other ministers here at the dispatch box based on the Treasury modelling. On the question of the impact on prices, there is one key element missing in this whole debate—that is, the hidden pricing regime of those opposite. When Senator Joyce, who has been the subject of some discussion in recent days, was asked about the impact of what would happen to the opposition penalties regime for non-compliant businesses he indicated that those penalties would apply to business. And if penalties are applied to business as a cost to business then guess what happens? The prices get passed on to consumers. That is the hidden penalty price regime contained in their policy—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Clearly the Prime Minister is not entitled to answer an entirely different question. It is your job to make sure the parliament is not held in disrepute and you should—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The Prime Minister understands that he must relate the material to the question.

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

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The question went to the impact on electricity prices and went to recent decisions by the WA government prior to any passage by this parliament of any emissions trading scheme. I will just repeat that to go back to the basic logical flaw in the question. Secondly, our position in terms of the impact on electricity prices is clear, it is documented, it is on the public record and we have said it day after day. What has not been clear on the part of those opposite is the hidden penalties regime buried within their own scheme. They say that, if you breach so-called business as usual, then businesses unspecified in number will be penalised. When asked what the financial penalty is, they run and they hide and they do not say what it is. But there are three questions which arise here: how many businesses, how big is the penalty and where does the compensation lie?