Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This morning the Petitions Committee will consider petitions signed by 766 residents of the Wide Bay and Hinkler electorates protesting the introduction of the carbon tax. Notwithstanding the vote in the House of Representatives in the last hour, my petitioners still have the right to be heard on a matter they consider very important. The petitioners state they are concerned about the impact of the tax on the economy, jobs and the cost of living, and they ask the House to reject the carbon tax legislation.

Given the abysmally short time frame between the introduction of the carbon tax legislation and the proposed vote on the bills, residents of Hinkler and Wide Bay had less than two weeks to register their objection by way of this petition. The fact that it garnered 766 signatures—409 From Hinkler and 357 from Wide Bay—in such a short time shows just how strongly residents feel about the tax and the damage it will do to our local communities. Right now the unemployment rate in the Wide Bay-Burnett area is 12.3 per cent, the highest in Australia. The unemployment rate reflects the government's failure to recognise and foster the potential of regional Australia and the carbon tax only serves to reinforce this fact. Like many regional communities, people living in the Hinkler and Wide Bay electorates rely on small business, agriculture and tourism for their livelihoods. These sectors will be hardest hit by a carbon tax. The carbon tax inquiry established by the government itself was a whitewash. Earlier this week a constituent contacted my office to protest that her submission to the inquiry had been treated as correspondence rather than as a submission. Carol Edge is quite rightly outraged that her opinion and those of thousands of other Australians do not seem to matter to this government, which is hell-bent on creating another tax for its own sake. To quote Ms Edge:

As I am not a scientist, an economist or a politician I wrote and emailed a simple submission against the carbon tax and it was received in the allotted timeframe. It is not a scientific or economic protest, but as a citizen of Australia I feel that if I went to the trouble of submitting my protest it should be counted. Once again I feel that my opinion is of 'no consequence' and I am truly angry.

This sort of arrogance is just one reason why so many of my constituents, as well as those of the Wide Bay electorate, have gone to the trouble to sign our petition. They are angry about the carbon tax, they are angry about the Prime Minister misleading the Australian public, and they are angry that once again their opinions do not seem to count.