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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Is the Prime Minister aware that her $23 a tonne carbon tax will result in a tax of $75,000 a tonne on refrigerant gas, and that this will cost a large meatworks an extra $55,000 a year, and a supermarket $17,000 a year; and that the cost of servicing a home refrigerator will be an extra $300? Does the Prime Minister expect those extra costs to be passed on to consumers?

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

To the question by the Leader of the National Party, I would say that, as usual, what we are seeing is an attempt by the opposition to make wild claims and cause fear in the Australian community. We have seen it consistently with the claims about astronomical increases in the cost of living. We have seen it consistently with the Leader of the Opposition saying the coal industry would close. We have seen it consistently with the Leader of the Opposition saying Whyalla would be wiped off the map. We have seen it as the Leader of the Opposition has used working people as if they were props in a drama or a play that he was directing—standing next to a steelworker whose job he was not prepared to vote to support, or standing next to a car worker whose job he was not prepared to support. We have seen all of these tricks from the opposition as part of their fear campaign. To the opposition I say this: on 1 July we will see the truth, and the reckless claims of the opposition will crash to the ground at that time. The Leader of the Opposition will then have to explain to the Australian people why he spent month after month after month after month making such wildly inaccurate claims about carbon pricing, whilst doing absolutely no work on the policies that would make a difference to the nation's future.

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

Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order going to relevance. The question is about refrigerant gas and the Prime Minister has not even approached the subject.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will ask the Prime Minister to be relevant to the question before the chair.

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

The point I was making was, like with the many other wild claims by the opposition, we will the truth on the 1 July.