Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Does she agree with her Minister for Resources and Energy and Minister for Tourism, who said on 19 June 2007 that a $30 carbon tax would kill the Australian aviation industry both domestically and internationally?

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

I will show my usual caution when it comes to the opposition and the use of quotes because we know that as recently as 48 hours ago the Deputy Leader of the Opposition—

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! The Prime Minister will resume her seat.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Hockey interjecting

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

I will show the usual caution because not 48 hours ago the Deputy Leader of the Opposition was in here misquoting by cutting a sentence in half, deliberately only quoting a section of a sentence and thereby giving the Australian people and this House of Representatives a misleading impression. So what we know from performances just 48 hours ago is you cannot trust the opposition with much and you certainly cannot trust them to quote accurately.

On the question of the views of the Minister for Resources and Energy and Tourism, I thank the shadow Treasurer for pointing out he has a very fine head of hair, and that very fine head of hair is on top of a head with a very fine mind inside it. The minister, using that very fine mind, is working with me and the government to price carbon because he knows, as I do, that our high carbon pollution economy needs to be transformed and we need to be using the clean energy sources of the future. If anybody wants a lecture on clean energy sources for the future, I would recommend to them spending eight to 10 to 12 hours with the minister, because he will be able to lecture for that amount of time because he has thought deeply about our need for renewable energy sources, he has thought deeply about our need to transform the Australian economy so it is a low-pollution, clean energy economy for the future.

I thank the opposition for giving me the opportunity because the minister does take questions in this House but, given we have only been running at three or four for question time, he has not had an opportunity this week to explain himself, his vision for carbon pricing—the same as mine—his vision for a clean energy future, and to explain to the House his deep expertise in renewable sources of energy.