House debates Questions without Notice
Emissions Trading Scheme
Warren Truss Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals
2:22 pm
My question is also to the Prime Minister. Now that the Treasurer has refused to deny that petrol will be included in the government’s carbon tax, can the Prime Minister confirm that a $26-per-tonne carbon tax would add at least 6.5c per litre to the price of petrol?
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Opposition Members:
Opposition members interjecting—
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
This is an attempt to mislead the Australian people and we will hear more of it from the opposition—
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Opposition Members:
Opposition members interjecting—
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
This is an attempt to mislead—shamelessly, an attempt to mislead.
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
They believe in the politics of fear and this is how they deal with the politics of fear. Let me answer the Leader of the National Party’s question. What we have announced today—and I would ask the people on the opposite side who clearly have not read the announcement to do so—is a carbon pricing mechanism to start on 1 July 2012.
What we have also made clear today is that there is further policy work to do and we will be announcing as that further policy work is done. What the Leader of the National Party well knows is that we have not announced a carbon price today and, in making up figures, he is trying mislead the Australian people. I will say this to the Leader of the National Party: perhaps he should be honest enough to say to the Australian people that what the government has put forward today—
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Honourable Members:
Harry Jenkins Speaker
Order! The member for Forrest will leave the chamber for one hour under the provisions of standing order 94(a).
The member for Forrest then left the chamber.
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
is a system in which every dollar raised from pricing carbon will go to assisting Australian households and Australian families with managing the change, and it will go to assisting Australian businesses with managing the change and to programs for tackling climate change. What the National Party leader wants to do, following the Leader of the Opposition, is rip $10.5 billion away from Australian taxpayers without a cent of compensation.
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Honourable Members:
Sid Sidebottom Braddon, Australian Labor Party
Mr Sidebottom interjecting
Harry Jenkins Speaker
Order! The member for Braddon is warned. The member for New England will be very careful to encourage him. The Prime Minister has the call.
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
What the Leader of the National Party should also be honest enough to do is consult with the member for Groom who said very clearly before the last election that when you look at circumstances in the electricity industry, under any scenario electricity prices are going up. That is what the member for Groom said. With the government’s carbon pricing system we will be in a position to assist Australian families and to compensate them as the carbon price comes into effect. What the Leader of the National Party is proposing to do is to offer no compensation but $10.5 billion of tax for programs that are ineffective. Maybe the Leader of the National Party does not understand, but when you make a promise to spend $10.5 billion on programs that money has to come from somewhere and it would come from Australian taxpayers.
Warren Truss Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals
Mr Truss interjecting
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Honourable Members:
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
So it is about time that the opposition, instead of using its slogans, actually went to the Australian people and told them the truth. Climate change is real. We must price carbon in order to reduce carbon pollution. We must rely on our market mechanisms to do that efficiently. We must drive innovation and change to a clean energy economy. We must get the jobs that come with that. We must be fair to Australians on the way through. That is the future; you are the past.